My first observation of foreign troops or police with firearms was in 1956 as a US Army private, newly assigned to duty in Germany. I joined the Coleman Barracks Rod and Gun Club and by the time I was i had bought four pistols of various military types. I had a .45 remington Model 1911, a Browning P-35, a Walther P-38, and a 1929 Russian Nagant seven shot revolver.
I met a German Army corporal in 1957 who liked to go to the range and practice with a P-08 Luger. We would go in uniform and I suppose we made quite a sight, two soldiers with pistols of their respective countries and wearing the uniforms of those countries. If the Stars and Stripes would have known they would have wanted to do a feature story about our pistol practice.
The MP's required those of us carrying a firearm to the range to do so openly. I was carrying my .45 pistol in a black holster just like the police carried with the exception i was using a pistol learly twice te size of the
polezei . I was in civvies with my pistol around my waist when a German cop saw me about to step in the crosswalk just before the light changed. He ordered me in German to remain on the disewalk as he pedaled by on his police bike. He nearly fell off the bike when he saw my belt and holster on my left side.
On leave in Paris, I happened to be there when the local government was picking up Algerian males up and placing thenm in a bicycle racing track with barbed wire around it. This was during some terrorist incidents in 1957 or 58. I had watched the patrols of three soldiers armed with the MAS Mle 1936 bolt action rifle and the gendarme armed with a .32 semi auto pistol and a MAT 49 SMG. This weapon had a magazine that was hinged and could be folded foward under the stock.
The following morning I was waiting for the Metro to open and i heard footsteps coming along the sidewalk. Through my periperal vision I noticed it was a gendarme on patrol alone. I went on reading my paper and a few moments i noiced that the footsteps had stopped near me. I lowered my paper and found my self looking down the barrel of a 9mm SMG (it looked like a 90mm at that moment!)
He looked me over and shrugged and walked off. I suppose the dumbfounded look on my face was what he was really wanting to see.
During the riots I observed the Paris police using their clubs and rifle butts on hapless demonstrators sveral times. I saw a traffic cop standing on a white drum shaped box at an intersection one evening. He was wearing the traditional cape (now banned) and as he moved his arms to direct traffic i saw the cape come up and revel the MAT 49 SMG that was secured to the side of his chest near his right arm.
In 1983 I would see the paris Police again patrolling the Metro and city streets. This time the soldiers carried the FAMAS bullpup rifle that is standard in the French Army. (Whoa! was that an oxymoron ???) The gendarme was carrying the SMG of the current issue in 1983. In 1999 i saw this all again with some slight change in arms for the police.
In 1959 through 1961 I was stationed in the PI at Clark AFB (13th Air Force). One evening I was returning to the base by bus from Manila. nearly everyone was asleep on the bus. I was sort of nodding off but with one eye open. I noticed a man in slacks and a white short-sleeved shirt was asleep and his snubby .38 Special was about to fall from his pocket. I leaned over and gently tapped him on the shoulder to gain his attention. He came awake and I quietly told him his piece was about to fall from his pocket. He thanked me and smiled and told me he was the body guard for the mayor of Angeles City.
Another night I was riding back from Manila on a rented Jitney or Jeepney, the colorful jeep conversions that are all over the PI. There were about 6 or 7 Filipinos and me riding in back and nearly all of us were asleep. I saw flashing lights as a Philippine Constabulary patrol car was gaining on us. (The PI version of CHP state police) As the car drew closer the passenger stuck his head out the window and blew his whistle. I suggested o the guys who were all very wide awake that the driver should stop before the PC pulled out a Thompson and opened fire. It seems the Jeepney was out of its legal jurisdiction and was in violation of some laws. The passenger was a very stern but fiar officer. I found out when I talked to him that he had been a US Army lieutenant in Korea in the early 50's during the war there. He chewed me out and told me I was responsible for getting to my duty station on time. (I had asked for a note to show the AP's at Clark when I came in late.
In 1963 to 66 I was back for another go-around in the US Army.This time I found myself in Korea.(Frozen Chosin) I had brought a Savage rifle/shotgun combo with me as well as a Ruger Standard pistol. I used the Savage in its case to keep a kid from stealing my duffle bag at Seoul Train Station. The kid tried to grab my bag and make off with it. I used the gun in its case to give the kid a vertical butt stroke and bowled him over. A railway cop ran over and grabbed the hid and hustled him off.
Another time I was visiting downtown Seoul to go to the German Embassy. I took a short cut through a nice quiet area on a path with a canal on one side and a green area on the other. A workman carrying a tool satchel was walking towards me and when he saw I was alone he probably thought here is a dumb GI all by himself and I will show him a thing or two!!! He went into a martial arts stance as I pulled out my ace-in-the-hole, a small pocket pistol. I held it so that it was visible and yet firmly grasped in my hand with my right thumb pressing it into my palm. His look of almost triumph turned to a scowl as he relized that I had outwitted him.
About 10 months after Korea I found myself on a ship to Vietnam with the First ID (The Big Red One). Several of us had brought handguns with us. we knew the policy was not to allow them but a captain at the pre deployment briefing suggested that if we were to find a handgun in their gear to be sure that they were at least in .45 ACP or .38 Special.
I needed a decent belt holster to carry openly when we got the word we could do so. I went down to the large main market place in the middle of the city. (The opposite side was where public executions were held.) I found a kiosk attached to the wall that was full of leather holsters and belts. There was a Vietnamese man and teen-aged daughter at the kiosk. As I was looking at the wares the girl asked in perfect English, "What type of holster are you looking for, revolver or semi-auto"? I replied a revolver and she asked what brand Colt or S&W. I replied a S&W. She asked what barrel length, 2 or 4 inch? I replied 2 inch. She then pulled several types out of a box on the ground and in the wall mounted kiosk. I bought a sholder holster and a belt holster and belt. I also bought a drop down case that held 12 or 24 bullets. I carried the revolver to Saigon and Binh Hoa on several occasions.
One time in Saigon a buddy and I were looking for a place to crash for the night. We found a nice, decent little hotel and went inside to register. The Vietnamese desk clerk frowned when he saw I was packing a revolver. He siad that carrying a gun in Saigon was "interdite", French for forbidden. He suggested that I leave it at a police post about two blocks away. I smiled and assured him him that I would deal with that little problem after our evening meal. We went to eat and about 50 feet from the hotel I removed the revolver from the holster and placed it in my trouser pocket. As we entered the lobby area I patted the now empty holster and the desk clerk beamed and said : Very good"! (after all I did notwant to do anything to damage American and Vietnamese Relations!!!
On the few nights I was in Saigon and able to carry my revolver I carried it my pocket while being ferried about on a Honda driven by a "Saigon Cowboy" Of course he did not know i had my hand on the revolver because he never saw it. I did not want to be taken to an alley and robbed or killed.
I needed some .38 Special ammo and wrote my mother and asked her to send me a cake with te cartridges all wrapped in foil on the cake like they were candies. She did so and when the cake arrived my tent mates were ready to help share the treat from home. O had one tiny slice and gave the rest to my buddies. I told them that the "candy" was mine alone though.
When I opened the foil wrapped cartridges I found that they were .38 Super and not .38 Special! I did not know what to do but was determined to get some proper fodder for my Centennial model 40 revolver. One day I had to go to HQ to deal with the ever present paper work that the military drowns itself in. I took the .38 Super cartridges in my musette bag and the revolver on my belt. As the C-123 Provider was flying towards Binh Hoa i took a look at the pistol carried by the Airman First Class crew chief. It looked like a Colt .38 Super! I confirmed that it was by asking the airman. he lamented the fact that he could not find any cartridges for his piece. I smiled and opend my kit and showed him the 25 rounds I had. We went into a trade talk and he canvassed the pilot and co-pilot for some .38 Special cartridges. When he were on the ground he had my Supers and I had their Specials and we were all happy.
I found that when a GI was around a Vietnamese police officer and the GI was armed the cops were more polite than when we were unarmed. What is the saying again? "An armed society is a polite society"??? Works for me!
One evening I was in a Chinese restaurant and I asked to be seated away from the window behind a thick concrete pillar. I was perusing the menu when a young PFC came to my table. He asked if he could join me and I said be my guest and he sat down. He opened the conversation by saying he liked my choice of location to sit. I told him that I fugured it was the best seat in the house if some terrorist set off a bicycle bomb out in front. We got introduced and started talking guns and ammo sort of like folks do here on THR. He said he had a 6 round S&W .38 Special in an ankle holster. I smiled and siad that I had a .38 Special 5 shout in my pocket. It seems that like-mided fold can meet under the oddest of circumstances. He said that producing the pistol the previous evening saved him and a sergeant a severe drubbing by a Sumo look-alike bouncer at a club they were being asked to leave.
When the great gun grab of 1966 went down I was not surprised. we were initially told we would be allowed to carry our "contraband" handguns. I did not believe it and I asked the first shirt and the PMO sergeant when the confiscation was to take place. The both professed no knowledge of such an event. I told them it would be within 30 days most likely and that we would all learn from the experience. Sure enough a few weeks later all personal handguns were taken and locked in the field safe. In order to take them home at the end of our tour we had to apply for an export permit from the South Vietnamese Government in Saigon. I still have my little model 40 and would not trade it for anything.
During my tour I had a M14 rifle converted to full auto and a M3A1 .45 caliber "grease gun" I bought for 45 bucks. I sold it to another GI for 60 bucks when I left since i could not take it home.
Sorry to take up so much space but I thought these little anecdotes about guns being used and carried in other countries might be interesting to some. When the SOL runs out I will probably add a couple more stories.
