An American Vietnam-era helmet that was discovered at a charity shop on Guernsey, in the United Kingdom, has been returned to the deceased man’s family in Wisconsin. It was spotted for sale by father and son Tony and Hugo, who realized the artwork on the liner was of significance and placed a bid for the helmet, which they won!
The pair started a search to hunt down and, perhaps, try to learn more about Jeffrey David Rupp, to whom the helmet belonged. As Tony explained, “We realized that, if we could do that, then we felt that the helmet must be returned to the family, but where would they be?”
Appeals on social media and extensive online research helped to locate the family, who now reside in the midwest town of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on the banks of Lake Michigan. A YouTube video about the two finding the helmet was spotted by Jeffery’s sister, Christine, and the link was eventually made – and Christie did, indeed, want to have the helmet.
Next came the challenge of getting it to the family, so Tony and Hugo set out to fly from their tiny Channel Island to the midwest, via Chicago, Illinois. The helmet did cause some concerns when they returned it to the United States. Airline security checks at both Guernsey and London Heathrow did throw up some concerns by staff, who had to swab both the helmet and the liner before it was cleared for onward travel to America.
Meeting the family was a great experience, and hearing about Jeff was amazing.
One key part of the story: was it really Jeff’s helmet and not some other person named Rupp? That question was easily cleared up by Jeff’s brother, David Lee. He confirmed that it was, indeed, his writing on the helmet, as he recognized it immediately.
Although the family now lives in Manitowoc, Jeffery is buried some miles away, in the town of Eden. He died on January 17, 1969, and was awarded the Bronze Star for valor, which the family still has – he’d served in the very famous 101st Airborne Division!
When Hugo visited Jeffery’s grave, he left a pebble of pink Vazon stone, brought from the island of Guernsey. Now, young Hugo has a tight bond with the Rupp family. “It’s like having a separate family in America and they, too, feel the same,” he said.
David is now the custodian of the helmet, and said of the item, “It’s nice to have had some closure.”
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“This has been quite an emotional journey for Hugo and myself, and the family in the US,” Tony shared. “But what gets me is how Hugo, in this modern Gen Z world of social media and no real threats, became so absorbed with the life and death of a soldier of a similar generation who was killed in action some 40 years before he was born.
“I remember the Vietnam War. Now, through returning this helmet some 4,000 miles from home, Hugo has come face to face with family members still grieving the loss of their loved one 55 years ago. He has learned so much about the Vietnam War, its horror, futility and impact on both American and Vietnamese innocent people.
“He is clearly not the same since coming home,” he concluded. “All linked by a helmet he found in a Guernsey charity shop.”
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