He was only about 15 at the time (he's 96 now.)
I inherited both of these from my uncle Marty when he passed away in 2001. He brought that Luger home from Germany in 1945 when he was helping to pack up and ship the V-2 Rocket program to the U.S.. He never spoke of it and I was unaware of its existence until he told me about it in 1997. His son (my cousin of course) was executor and I thought that this gun would be disposed with the rest of the estate. Until my cousin told me that he had been directed to make sure it went to me. My cousin isn't really into guns and had no pistol permit and wasn't too interested in it. Then a few weeks later my cousin gave me that Marlin 30-AS lever gun in .30-30 that my uncle had purchased new circa 1991 at age 72 that he also said could go to me if my cousin didn't want it; so I got that also. It had less than two boxes of ammo through it when I got it. I added the sling and scope (it was already drilled & tapped) . It's now my go-to woods rifle when hunting in rifle zones and I carry it proudly in his memory with my 30-30 handloads. The Luger has an even better story; when I first heard of it in 1997 we talked about using handguns like 9mm or 38 Spl. to dispatch wounded deer at close range. It's a bit more classy than a 12 ga. slug or high power rifle at point blank range. First heard of it reading of elk guides who did that to wounded disabled elk. One round to back of head -- Lights Out...........So after inheriting said Luger it went hunting with me every year in a soft case in the event I had to administer the coup-de-gras to a wounded deer at close range. Didn't need it for 10 years until 2011 when I knocked down a small buck with a 12 ga. sabot slug in a shotgun/handgun zone. He was thrashing around but couldn't get up and then lay still. Would have been dead in a few minutes but I got to give him what gamekeepers in the UK refer to as "humane dispatch". It was a moment I'll always remember... Standing over that dying deer with his Luger; looking up at the clouds overhead and saying; " Thanks, Marty.... I know you'd get a kick out of this.."..... Then putting two rounds into the back of the head/neck area and he expired instantly and his suffering ended. Just having that surreal experience and living something that my uncle and I had spoke of doing with that gun really made it a very special gift to me and something I'll always treasure; not just the gun but the memories and its story. ETA - don't ask me how that last picture got in there twice.
