Grandpa's Old Army Pistol

[doctorj]

Every once in a while you read some story about somebody hearing something suspicious outside their house or something, and they go and get "grandpa's old Army .45" out of the dresser. Was there ever a time when military personnel were allowed to bring their pistols home? Could "Grandpa" have done so if he were an officer?

[Nick96]

Can't say for sure in all cases - but I personally know of two individuals that were allowed to bring home their GI .45's.

[Bob R]

When I was growing up the retired major up the street from me had his issue .45 mounted in his shadow box.

I think the era of being able to take your weapon when retiring is long past. When I retired in '92 I tried to keep my NM 1911 and M14 (was on the shooting team) but was told no way. Turns out they had no record of me having the M14, it could have been mine, all mine!!

bob

[Stickjockey]

IIRC, after WWII was over, officers were allowed the option to buy their service pistols.

[Preacherman]

Or there's the other way...

My Dad brought back his service-issue handgun after WW2. This was strictly verboten (he was in the RAF), but it seems that shortly before the war ended (about 2 days before, actually), a truck ran over a landmine, was blown up, and burned out. It seems that that 2½-ton truck had been carrying something like 40 or 50 tons of gear, judging by the "property lost to enemy action" report that was submitted - and most of it was service members' firearms and other items of sentimental value. All were "written off" the books, of course, so that no-one had to hand them in any more. However, I'm willing to bet that most of those items found a new and loving home shortly thereafter! :D

[Lone Star]

Preacherman-

What sort of sidearm did he have?

I read somewhere recently that you are originally from an African nation. Is this so? If true, may one ask which?

I note that in, "Something of Value", Robert Ruark commented that, in Kenya, all sorts of former military guns (in addition to sporting arms) came out of the woodwork during the Mau Mau emergency. A female character quipped, "My, the lads WERE sticky-fingered, weren't they?"

Lone Star

[stans]

I had two grandparents serve in World War II!!! One was enlisted, discharged as a master sargeant in January 1946, allowed only to keep his uniforms. The other was a 30 year man, retired as a light colonel. He had a 1911 (obviously built up from parts as there were different finishes and the slide was replacement unit) and a Colt 1917 (parkerized) with holsters and one of the mags was still loaded with 1943 marked ammo. I don't know if these were released to him of if they were liberated from a pile of soon to be decommissioned weapons.

[MrMurphy]

I've heard many times that at the end of WW1, almost all of the pistols issued for use (they tried to get one pistol per man for close quarters trench combat, if they ever got one per man I don't know, but they had more pistols than usual at the time), were rather suspiciously "lost in combat" and probably 95% of those went home with the boys as opposed to back into the arms room......


This is much harder to pull off now, but I imagine it still happens occasionally.

[Gunsnrovers]

My wifes grandfather was allowed to keep his Colt 1908 Hammerless after WWII and has a letter from the Army stating so.

[thatguy]

the military used to be far different than it is today. Now, now personal guns, no bringing back souvineers, no this, no that, no, no, no.

In the WW II days, I think they looked the other way when that Luger or Nambu was stashed in a duffel bag. Same with the 1911s that were forgotten to be returned to the armory. My dad brought one home after WW II. I know someone who brought home a Thompson SMG from the Pacific Theater but that was another story. (Don't ask about it now. He is long passed away and the gun was turned over to the feds many years ago.)

[Jim Keenan]

Officers were allowed to buy their issue pistols, General Officers could keep their individually issued pistols, and some GI's legally bought weapons from disposal depots after returning to the states. But in general, bringing back U.S. or Allied weapons was considered theft and punishable by fine, imprisonment, or (far worse) delay of release from the service.

In WWII, it was permitted to bring back captured enemy weapons, so those Lugers and Mauser rifles were perfectly legal. The GI needed only a document signed by his company commander (collectors call these "capture papers"), and that was usually routine. In fact, most of the rifles brought back were not captured in combat (no matter what someone said) but taken from depots full of captured materiel. When a unit was transferring back to the states, anyone who wanted a souvenir got on a truck headed for a depot and picked out a gun. While pistols were often actually taken from enemy personnel and kept, no one in his right mind carried two rifles around in combat, nor would he have been allowed to.

Many of those who brought back more than one souvenir weapon were in support units (in the PTO, often on ships) where transport was easier. They bought the guns from the GIs who captured or otherwise obtained them.

Mailing weapons home was prohibited, as was bringing back automatic weapons.

Of course, all these rules were violated, many times. Officers even allowed GI's to "buy" their rifles; the officer wrote the stuff off as lost and pocketed the money.

Today, with the passage of time and the passing of so many veterans, the military rifle bought after the war through DCM or from a surplus dealer is often thought of by the veteran's family as "the gun grandpa carried in the war", and fanciful stories abound. They deserve the same consideration as most such stories, which is a polite smile and refusal to pay a premium for the item.

Jim

[Sam]

I happen to have "Grandpa's Old Army Pistol".
He brought it home when he got out just after the great war.
Bought it when they swapped to the 1911.
It is a Colt 1909.
Sam

[ACORN]

My Dad tells the story of coming home from Korea on a troop ship and one of his "cabinmates" duffel bag would make a metallic "clank" when moved.
Someone asked him what he had in there. The guy replied he had three live mortar shells, he was going to take home and make lamps out of them.:what:
Needless to say they were hustled topside and thrown overboard.
I know it's a bit off topic but I thought you might like to hear it.

[Blackcloud6]

General Officers purchase their official pistol from the army. That is what they do now and I suspect always have.

[Jim Keenan]

I once knew a Navy vet who had a 37mm Japanese tank cannon. I asked him howinhell he got something like that back, seeing it was a bit too big for a seabag. He told me he was his ship's engineer and he just stood the thing in the corner of the engine room and painted it gray. The only comment he ever got on it was from an ensign who told him it was dusty and to clean it up. When the ship docked, he and some buddies got it off the ship and he rented a truck to take it home, fortunately a matter of only a few miles.

Jim

[jeff-10]

In Florida we have quite a few WWII vets who pass on every year. Every once in awhile you will read a small blurb in the papers about an old widow who calls up to have a Thompson or MP40 disposed of. I have heard some of the Thompsons go to some museum out west. I actually know a guy who bought a drum from a widow who had the police haul away the actual smg.

[4v50 Gary]

I know of one flier who frequently "lost" his pistol during his missions over Korea. Awwww.:)

[stans]

In Florida we have quite a few WWII vets who pass on every year. Every once in awhile you will read a small blurb in the papers about an old widow who calls up to have a Thompson or MP40 disposed of.

I have heard that BATF takes these firearms very seriously. Since they were bring backs, they were not registered with the BATF and that makes them illegal to possess. From what I understand, the BATF usually confiscates them and then they are destroyed. I suppose a legitimate firearms or war museum might be able to purchase them, but I expect they must first be rendered permanently inoperable.:(

[buy guns]

my grandpa brought back a luger but grandma got rid of it when he started drinking. that was all before my time so i never got to see it.

[Bwana John]

I think my grandpa got his M1911A1 thru the DCM. I know that is where he got the M1917 Enfield 30-06 that he gave me with 2 full bandoleers of AP when I was 12 Y.O.

[Domino]

My friends dad was telling me that his uncle had kept his Thompson after WW2 :eek: . He also said that they used to shoot jackrabbits with it out in Texas, not sure how he managed to bring that one home.

[Nick_90]

My British Grandfather brought back a old Mauser pistol from WW1 but wasn't able to keep his rifle. However I have heard many stories about of handguns and rifles getting conveniently lost towards the last days (or even hours) of the Great War...

[Kamicosmos]

Both my grandfathers in WWII brought back trophies. A luger from Europe and a Nambu from the pacific. Also have other souviners: Big Nazi flag, couple bayonnets, a big 37mm cartridge from something, various medals, a german Twin lens reflex camera, a patially loaded M1carbine mag. I remember seeing a 1911 as a child with the Luger, but I think that was given to a friend when grandpa died. I'll have to look through his discharge papers again, see if there are any 'capture papers' with them.

Now, for comparison, my dad tried to bring home his combat boots and helmet from Vietnam. Big No there. He said he had briefly considered breaking down his M16 and trying to smuggle it home, but had already heard of too many guys getting court martialed for trying it...so that was it. As he put it, he knew that his fatigues and boots and stuff were just going to get tossed in a dumpster, why couldn't he keep them?

[countertop]

My father in law purchased his 1911 while in Korea and carried it as a sidearm through that police action, through the Vietnam Conflict, through years in Germany and Iran, and after retiring from the military, still carries it to this day in Virginia and Georgia.

He said that at least for Calvary Officers, going back to the begining, they always supplied their own side arm.

[shootist2121]

I can tell you how one Thompson got back to the states. My father was Navy amphibs,and was preparing for the invasion of Japan. He being an officer, they were issued in a large crate what he refered to as an invasion packet. it consisted of his handgun, rations ammo gas mask, four grenades, and his Thompson with six magazines and some other things I have forgotten.
Well the bombs went off and he ended up in charge of Inchon Harbor till he got his orders to go state side. He simple told his chief to pack everything and forwarded to his folks, having completely forgotten about the invasion packet stuff beneath his bunk.
Upon arriving home he discovered the packet and imediately called the local Navy Reserve Depot.. They only came out to get the grenades and he literally had to force the Thompson on them. The 1911, they completely refused as they said they had piles of them . Talk about such a different perspective than about ownership of arms than now...I still have his service 1911 and it's still shoots fine..

Be safe:
:cool:

[WhiteKnight]

he literally had to force the Thompson on them

:banghead:

[m.i.sanders]

My grandfather managed to bring back a Luger that he had been shot with. I never did get to hear the full story from him about that. I'm not sure what happened to it either, but I'd love to get my hands on it.

[cxm]

Not exactly grandpa's ...but my Dad flew B24 bombers from England in WWII.

He brought back a 1917 S&W with an interesting story.

Seems a German fighter pilot decided to surrender one day...but not before giving everyone a scare. He flew to England and the first runway he saw was that of the 446th Bomb Group. As he approached everyone thought they were under attack, hit the ground etc.

The German belly landed his FW190 to ensure it was not usable and surrendered to the first Americans to runup to the aircraft. The German climbed out of the FW walked up to my Dad and surrendered. Dad took his sidearm... the S&W 1917. The German spoke pretty good English, and answered Dad's question about his having a 1917 by explaining his father brought it back from WW I.

Anyway, it must have been written off the Government's property book a LONG time ago.

FWIW

Chuck

[jdomin]

Got a 1911 a1 that was lost in the sea of japan my uncles brother in law brought it home after the action in Korea they had to ditch in the ocean. Gee it looks brand new!