Gunfighter Photo Collections, Company A, 1/6th Inf. : Photo Keywords : bruner : JF-40_This helmet belongs to a replacement named Edward Bruner. During a night attack naval artillery was called in; everyone was told to lay down, put their helmets toward the incoming, and put faces down toward the ground. Bruner evidently looked up to see the show and got this piece of shrapnel right where the 1st Lt. bar goes- powered by SmugMug

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A-1-6 > GM-3 (See caption for first helmet photo for more info.) Bruner was relatively new and hadn't been in the field but a couple of weeks or so. Alan Allen was told (Allen was on R&R) that the gooks hit the Company at night, and things were pretty bad. They called artillery in close. The men were told to lay with their heads toward the enemy, and to keep their face close to the ground, as the rounds would be hitting close to the Company's position and that would be safer for them. When the rounds began to land, Bruner, being a new guy, wanted a better look--he was hit just as he raised his head.

A-1-6 > GM-3 Bruner was relatively new and hadn't been in the field but a couple of weeks or so. Bruner, being a new guy, wanted a better look--he was hit just as he raised his head.

A-1-6 > GM-2 (See caption for second helmet photo for more info.)This helmet worn by Bruner when he was hit by a piece of artillery shrapnel. As can be seen, the fragment pierced the helmet and penetrated his skin and skull--and almost his brain. When Alan Allen visited Bruner and saw the helmet, bits of bone, skin and hair could still be seen on the piece. Allen was told that when the frag went through the helmet, it's sharper edges were rounded off a bit and, instead of cutting into his brain, the blunted fragment 'pushed' his brain back. It was wedged into the helmet and his head so tightly that it could not be removed in the field, and he wore it until he was choppered to the hospital. When Allen saw Bruner, Bruner's head was bandged from top to below his eyes. Allen took his hand and said, 'Bruner, it's Alan Allen, how are you doing?' To which Bruner replied, 'Oh, I'd doing pretty good...but I do have a real bad headache.' Yep, bet he did. Allen later held the fragment and shook the helmet; it was still so tightly wedged that it didn't wiggle.

A-1-6 > JF-40_This helmet belongs to a replacement named Edward Bruner. During a night attack naval artillery was called in; everyone was told to lay down, put their helmets toward the incoming, and put faces down toward the ground. Bruner evidently looked up to see the show and got this piece of shrapnel right where the 1st Lt. bar goes

JF-40_This helmet belongs to a replacement named Edward Bruner. During a night attack naval artillery was called in; everyone was told to lay down, put their helmets toward the incoming, and put faces down toward the ground. Bruner evidently looked up to see the show and got this piece of shrapnel right where the 1st Lt. bar goes