Helmet, Flying, United States Marine Corps, Major Joseph J. Foss

This standard issue Marine Corps leather flying helmet was worn by the donor and Medal of Honor recipient Maj. Joseph Foss. He used this helmet during his training and as a flight instructor at U.S. Naval Air Station Pensacola and on several combat missions in the South Pacific.Foss is credited as being the first American fighter pilot to equal Eddie Rickenbacker's score with 26 aerial victories. Foss fought the Japanese in the skies over Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands, while flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat. He achieved his record between October 1942 and January 1943.