A helmet that belonged to a Manitoba soldier killed while fighting in the Second World War has found its way back into the hands of his family.

Earlier this month, Toronto man Phill Di Cecco went searching online for the family of Joseph Edward Gagnon of Sagkeeng First Nation, whose helmet had been found in the basement of the house Di Cecco's grandparents bought back in the 1960s.

On Wednesday, Di Cecco gave the helmet to Eugene Restiaux, Gagnon's nephew, who was in Toronto while working for VIA Rail.

Di Cecco connected with Restiaux's sister, Cecile Restiaux, after posting on Winnipeg Facebook groups that he was searching for Gagnon's family.

He found Gagnon's military records online, after finding the helmet had the date "1942" stamped on it and the name "J.E. Gagnon" written on the chinstrap.

He doesn't know how it ended up in his grandparents' basement.

Due to their schedules, the two men could only meet for about 20 minutes Wednesday, but Di Cecco said it meant a lot to both of them.

"I wanted to give it to them in person and I was not sure what I was going to do for the cost too, so to have this work out, it literally could have not been more perfect," Di Cecco said.

"He looked over it quite a bit. He just kept saying, 'Man, this is really cool.'

"His face was all red, he was all smiley — you can tell it meant a lot to him, so it was really cool to see that. Just good to know that is why I was doing this whole journey. It made it all really feel worthwhile."

Gagnon enlisted in the army in 1940 and was killed in action in 1944, at age 23. He is buried in the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery in Italy.

Di Cecco said the helmet belonged to Restiaux's family, but he had some mixed feelings about handing it over after having it in his family for so long.

"It looks like the house was purchased in '67, so that thing has been in our family for 50 years exactly. So in some ways it is a little bit of our family history too, but definitely not to the extent it is theirs. So I mean, it was a little weird to see it go but [it] definitely belongs with them."

Although the helmet is out of his hands, Di Cecco hasn't let go of the mystery of how it came into his family's possession. He's currently looking into the meaning of the word "Templeton," which was also written on the helmet.

Di Cecco says his research has led him to believe that Templeton might be a place, not a person as he originally thought. He now thinks the helmet might have a connection to the township of Templeton, Que.

The next time Restiaux comes to Toronto, Di Cecco said he hopes to meet up with him again and talk longer, and said he hopes next time Cecile can come, too.