A 6.5mm Arisaka Rifle from Iwo Jima

[Travis McGee]

An Arisaka Type 38 rifle from Iwo Jima

And a samurai sword, and a Japanese battle flag, and a photo of my father-in-law taken a long, long time ago. But since there is a rifle in the photo, I'd like to take a moment to mention that my father-in-law died just before Christmas. This thread is gun related, because he brought back two Arisakas and a Nambu pistol, as well as the sword and bayonet, in his G.I issue seabag. The barrels of the rifles stuck out a good foot and nobody gave one damn as the demobilzed Marine made his way home. My how things have changed. Just try to bring a Dragonov clone (semi-auto) home from the sandbox in your seabag today!

 

[NCsmitty]

Your photo is a reminder that freedom isn't free. You are paying homage to a true hero who has passed, and I'm sure that you had high regard, and respected the man who touched your life. That's a wonderful collection of memorabilia.
My condolences to you and your family.



NCsmitty

 

[gun addict]

semper fi to your grandpa, one of the old breed Marine, cant imagine what people like him had to go through on that lil volcanic island

 

[chasw44]

During the Vietnam war, I saw a GI in class A uniform walking around the terminal at SFO with a "trophy" SKS slung over his shoulder. I thought it was a little odd at the time, but as I recall, this was before the onset of heavy duty airport security checks. Also before the Army prohibited the taking of war trophys, before Clintons came to power. - CW

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

Sorry for your loss. Keep that stuff together & Pass it down. If it leaves your family, it just becomes another surplus rifle. In your hands it has the history and invidual story behind it. Do future generations a favor and write down as much as you know.

Are you sure it's a type 38? looks type 99 from the pic.

 

[shootingthebreeze]

Iwo Jima.

I have three hand forged Samurai swords all signed by the makers-and one was captured at Iwo Jima was paces away from the Flag Raising. The sword was captured by a US Marine who killed the Japanese soldier who was was fighting with that sword and had already killed with it-except for small damage on the cutting edge it is in top condition because I have taken care of it and the others over the years using the right polishing powder and oil.
The "Iwo Jima" sword is quite historic relating to its proximity to the Flag Raising.

Travis, if you take the handle off the sword depicted it might be a signed sword. Something to look into.

 

[Deus Machina]

Amazing history behind that. Sorry for your loss, but congratulations on the memories he left behind.

Completely off topic, that flag looks awfully familiar. Was it framed at a Micheal's, by chance?

 

[engineerbrian]

Are you sure it's a type 38? looks type 99 from the pic

I agree, it looks like a type 99.

I have a type 99 that my grandfather brought back from WW 2. It may not be the most expensive gun or nicest gun i have, but it means the most to me.

 

[threefeathers]

Keep and cherish. My uncle brought a M28 home, he 'modernized' it into a hunting rifle by cutting the barrel down, putting a Fajen stock on it. and new Marbel sights. I shot my first whitetail with it. When I went to VN my brother sold it for a bag of dope.
Last year I managed to get another from a fellow on this site. It is original and I will keep it that way. I gor 50 pieces of brass rom Graf & Son and will reload as these are outstandingly accurate rifles/

 

[scaatylobo]

WOW

Thank you for sharing and as stated = keep it in the family AND check that sword.

Remove the tsuba [ guard ] and look at the tang of the blade,if your at all hesitant about touching the sword then by all means take it to someone for dating and value.

If its a good one ,they will attempt to buy then and there - do not sell till you get online and look up the name of the maker.

Some family swords were taken to war and might be REALLY old = like 13 th century.

Good luck.

 

[shootingthebreeze]

There are one or two wood pins which hold the handle; remove the pins and the handle slips off to include the tsuba or guard. Look for a signature of maker pay attention to how the tang is made does it have cross cuts? Are there dates, seals? Lineage?
The blade though extremely hard is fragile and must be maintained get a Samurai Sword kit which includes polishing powder and oil. Never never put your fingers on the blade.
In respect never show the cutting edge of the sword to a visitor when showing the sword.

The forged blades were folded (when red hot) thousands of times creating an incredible hardness. It also helped that the Japanese made steel with titanium rich iron sands and selected the best steel for weapons in the old days.

 

[shootingthebreeze]

http://www.martial-art-potential.com/samurai-sword.html

Also, you might want to get Swordsmiths of Japan 1926-1945 (most common types found) by Richard Fuller and Ron Gregory. Older swords will take a more detailed research. Japanese Swordsmanship by Gordon Warner and Donn F. Draeger has good information on Japanese swords.
Anything before 1926 starts the path towards rarer swords. The key is that is has to be a forged sword, not machine made.

Once I went to a Japanese Sword Society show and had in my hands a sword worth a little over $10,000. It had the signature of the maker, and a whole lineage (seals) on the tang. It was repolished professionally and when I held it it was so well balanced that it felt like a feather in my hands yet what a fearsome weapon.
I noticed a lot of Japanese buyers at the show loaded with money looking for rare swords to buy and bring back to Japan. Many Japanese buyers want to bring back the rare swords because they are national treasures. I saw a short sword in the 50K range-gorgeous, an absolute beauty-which the Japanese were looking at very closely.
One thing about these swords-the Japanese were sticklers relating to documentation. So the information is available when researching a maker.

 

[Travis McGee]

I'm not sure if the rifle is a 38 or a 99. The bore does look to be about 6.5mm. Neither rifle has been fired since the last Japanese fired them on Iwo. I have info on the sword and scabbard, but I don't want to post it online. It's worth a lot, let's just say that.

My FIL went ashore with the 5th Marine Divn on Iwo Jima in one of the first waves. He was ashore in the thick of it for all 36 days. He was damn lucky to come out alive and not WIA. He has a 5th Marine Division history of Iwo with all of the names of the WIA and KIA, and I flipped through it and found dozens of tick-marked names of his buddies. Most of the killing and maiming was done by Japanese mortars. Our Marines had nothing but foxholes for protection for the entire month-long battle. Life or death just came down to which foxhole took the mortar hit.

My FIL enlisted at 17, was on Iwo at 18, and spent all of 1946 in Japan on occupation duty. Then he came home, married and had five children and lived to his mid-80s, still driving two months before he passed. If you asked any Marines in those Higgins boats, or trapped on the beaches or in the shellholes, "Do you think you'll make it to 85?" They whould have not believed it. It's a miracle he made it off the island.

 

[Ky Larry]

You may want to call your local historical society or VFW post. All historical info should be recorded and catalogued. Once these voices are silent, there is a very real danger of our national history eroding away. We must never forget the courage, dedication and sacrifice that has gone into the building of our nation.

 

[chevyman097]

Thanks for the post. Thats very interesting. Sorry for your losses, and congrats on the pieces of history.


P.S. Thats one HECK of a bayonet on that rifle.

 

[rocky branch]

Your rifle is a T99, 7.7mm.
Shorter than a T38 and full length handguard are giveaways.

In the VN days, you'd see guys all over airports with slung SKS or MNs.
Usually the bolt and folding bayonets were removed.

99% of souvenier swords are 1940s machine made.
Ya never know.
It usually ruins the wooden pin to knock it out-a bamboo chopstick can be used as a replacement.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Are you really able to look at a rifle from the side, and tell the owner (caretaker) or a rifle that the caliber is different than what he says it is? DAMN, that's incredible!

 

[Vyacheslav]

Are you really able to look at a rifle from the side, and tell the owner (caretaker) or a rifle that the caliber is different than what he says it is? DAMN, that's incredible!

uhhhh, you can see from the picture that it is obviously a type 99, and type 99s only came in one caliber....

 

[Slamfire]

Is the crest gone from the rifle?.

My Dad, who brought back two Arisaka's, said the crests were removed by the Japanese. He got his rifles from a storage depot in Tokyo bay Feb 1946.

A gun club grey beard, he brought back a duffle bag of stuff after the war. When his ship docked in San Pedro Harbor CA, all bags were opened for inspection. He said there was a confiscated pile of grenades, land mines, mortars, off to one side.

Those that had rifles, they got in line and the chrysanthemum crests http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Seal_of_Japan were ground off by American personnel.

 

[Hatterasguy]

Sorry about your loss, that generation is dieing out at an alarming rate. I love my Grandfathers M1 Carbine; cherish and enjoy the keep sakes he brought back with him.

For everyone with a vet still alive please try to get them to write down their story, because all to soon they are gone and it can get lost.

I just finished watching the Pacific, fantastic series! I think it was the best Hollywood depiction of combat I have ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xej0SsmiZ8w

 

[brandon_mcg]

sorry for your loss but thank you so much for the post. take good care of those articles of history.

 

[bushmaster1313]

Freedom isn't free

 

[Jesse Heywood]

"Do you think you'll make it to 85?"

At that time not many made it to 65.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[rocky branch]

Are you really able to look at a rifle from the side, and tell the owner (caretaker) or a rifle that the caliber is different than what he says it is? DAMN, that's incredible!

In over 50 years collecting one picks up a bit or two.

Sounds like you have an issue with me.
Want to get it in the open?

 

[whitecoyote]

Excellent!