Sherwood Oaks resident Joe Schewe has been collecting military hats, helmets and insignia from around the world since he was a boy. His collection is on display in the lobby of the main building at Sherwood Oaks.

CRANBERRY TWP — When Joe Schewe was a boy in the 1940s, a relative gave him a gift that he still has today: an Army Air Force officer's hat.

Not long after that he was given another World War II memento: a German helmet a soldier brought back from the beaches at Normandy after D-Day.

These wartime mementos kicked off a lifelong hobby as a military collector for Schewe, a Pittsburgh native who now lives at Sherwood Oaks, 100 Norman Drive.

“Once you get started collecting, you just keep going. It gets in your blood,” he said.

He has 40 hats and helmets and about 2,700 military insignias, or shoulder patches.

During March, they are on display in the lobby of the main building at Sherwood Oaks.

Some of the headwear in his collection dates back to the 19th century, while embroidered insignias were first made during World War I and became more common by World War II.

After World War II ended, the companies that manufactured the insignias had a lot left over, he said. There were a couple of Army/Navy surplus stores in Pittsburgh that would sell them for a quarter each. Schewe said he worked a paper route and used some of his earnings to build his collection.

In 1957, he enlisted in the service, serving for two years in the Army and two years as a sergeant in the active reserves during peacetime. His own helmet and insignia became part of his collection.

Before retiring, Schewe worked at PPG Industries and Carnegie Mellon University, and both jobs gave him opportunities to travel. He would frequently find himself in New York City, which he called a great place for collectors to seek out rare or intersecting items.

Since 1985, he has been a member of the American Society of Military Insignia Collectors, an organization founded in 1937 that has 2,000 members, according to its website.

Each piece in the collection is tied to a specific military unit and a specific time in history. Schewe also tells stories about how he acquired some of them.

While Germany prohibits its residents from selling any items bearing swastikas or Nazi logos, Russia did not have such a rule after the fall of the Soviet Union.He bought Soviet Russian hats and helmets in Russia while on a trip there in 1994. Poor merchants there were more than happy to sell anything to tourists, he said.“They were so short on money that if you were willing to pay in dollars, instead of rubles, they would sell you anything. So I got as many as I could stuff in a suitcase,” he said.One of his favorites is a Prince of Wales Royal Lancers helmet from the late 1800s or early 1900s that includes red horsehair and lists the battles the soldier fought in.Another favorite is a combat helicopter pilot's hat from the Vietnam War that was made in the style of hats worn by 19th century cavalry officers. Many people recognize the hat because Robert Duvall wore one in the movie “Apocalypse Now,” Schewe said.Fran Borrebach, a fellow Sherwood Oaks resident, is co-chair of the curio cabinets committee. Committee members plan a new display every six to eight weeks for the cabinets, she said.Schewe's military display has gotten a lot of attention from residents and also from a group of people who visited the building during an open house, she said.“This will be hard to beat,” she said.

This Vietnam War helicopter pilot's hat, styled after hats worn by 19th century U.S. cavalry officers, is part of the collection of Sherwood Oaks resident Joe Schewe. He says it's one of his favorites in his collection.