M1

[My(2)Cents]

Hi All,
I am doing research on my M1 Garand and just want to see what if any information any of you out there might have. I completely understand that most records have either been lost or destroyed over time by the military. I am currently in the Marine Corps and I understand how information can be lost by the military.
I know that this is probably going to be a search to no avail and that lots of other people are looking for the same info on their rifles too. Please do not respond with the answer of use the search function as believe me I have done many searches over time and I know how to do that. Please only reply if you have anything to add.
I am intrigued by the history of these weapons. The storys it could tell would probably be amazing. Being that both my grandfathers fought in WWII one in the Navy and one in the Marines that just adds all the more to my interest.
Before I leave let me tell you guys some of the things I have tried already. I have submitted a freedom of information search as detailed here http://riamwr.com/MuseumFAQ.htm (I am not holding my breath on this). Also I am a subscriber to the Springfield research here http://usmartialarmscollector.com/. I also found out quite a bit of good information from the good people of the CMP where I bought the M1 this is their sight http://www.thecmp.org/m1garand.htm and http://www.thecmp.org/forums/.
Let me know if I’m missing out on anything.
"...The M1 was the Greatest battle implement ever devised." - General George Patton
Thanks and Semper Fi!

• Springfield SN 2084887
• Made in October 1943
• Barrel December 1954
• Bolt numbers D28287-12SA S-B7◊
• Barrel numbers SA F6535448 12 54 A2226 (Big) P M
• Trigger housing numbers 6528290-SA
• Hammer numbers SA D554600
• Inside of receiver first line B 1 5 b ◊ second line D 28291 30
• Operating rod inside numbers D35382 6 SA

 

[61chalk]

I believe the only thing you can hope for, is to locate men who remembered
an wrote down their Garand serial numbers while in sevice. Some actually did
this an are looking for owners of their old Garands...how many have been reuntied.....
...? But if they were found, they could tell you where there Garands have been.
If you been to CMP then I'll take it that you know in WWII it was not uncommon for a Garand
to go through several soilders.....they would turn in their weapons in for leave, injury..
an in returning be issued a different one....Good luck in your search.

 

[hso]

Here's your best chance. Http://www.garandm1rifle.com/ contact eclancy and ask his advice. If anyone can help, it's him.

 

[ol' scratch]

If you do 'crack this nut' let me know. I have a 1901 DWM Bulgarian Luger (yes it is real, no it is not a re-weld, check photos in other posts) brought back from WWII by a great uncle from Dachau (of all places). I am trying to trace. It would also be cool to trace the origins of my 1943 Garand.

My understanding is that there really is no way of tracing who may have carried your M1 outside of direct connection to a veteran or paperwork from the arsenal. That Luger has eluded me since I was 12. I am 33 now.

 

[My(2)Cents]

Here's your best chance. Http://www.garandm1rifle.com/ contact eclancy and ask his advice. If anyone can help, it's him.

Thank you emailed him today haven't got anything back yet but I'm hopefull.

 

[medalguy]

Well if the rifle was made in 1943 but has a barrel dated 1954, you know it's been through at least one arsenal rebuild, maybe more, and every part has probably been replaced. The real Garand collectors over on CMP forums could probably tell you the dates for each part based on the heat numbers but this rifle is definitely a "mixmaster" and is a combination of many different rifles.

 

[My(2)Cents]

yes I understand this. The stock, barrel, and trigger are not original. I know for some people this matters but not for me. I am still interested in the history of this weapon.

 

[Sunray]

'DWM' is German made, not Bulgarian. Mind you, Bulgaria was Axis during W.W. II and would have been supplied with whatever was laying around.
Hi, My(2)Cents. Unit records of who got what weapon were not kept. The guys at Springfield Research literally pour through the National Archives and hope. That's why there's a fee now. No guarantee of anything, of course. They can't. Most of the records just don't exist.
You have a typical 'mixmaster' rifle with a post war barrel. That's isn't a bad thing. The post war barrel may well be an excellent thing. Especially a 1954 barrel. It was put on after Korea. It might have been there too. Probably was.
All the 'SA' stamps(those being drawing numbers that have nothing whatever to do with the S/N or the rest of the rifle) means it was rebuilt at the Springfield Armoury with a bunch of SA parts taken out of a parts bin. It's not a combination of many rifles. It's just a rifle that the weapons techs put parts on to make it work. That's not a bad thing either. Weapons techs, most likely in 1954, didn't care who made the parts, any more than they do now.
Think in terms of it being an example of the rifle your Marine granda used, get some clips and ammo(Hornady and Federal load M1 ammo.) and go shoot it. No rifle is quite like an M1. I've shot all kinds of assorted battle rifles, FN's, M14's(have a real semi'd Winchester), et al, and not one is quite like an M1. I think it's the perfect balance with little felt recoil.

 

[Jim K]

Hi, My 2 cents,

I am not sure of what you are looking for. A common belief is that the all-knowing "government" kept track of every rifle ever issued, knew where each one was at all times, and will keep those records forever. Just ain't so. It is simply impossible to learn where a given rifle was or to whom it was issued unless someone wrote a book in which he says something like "I was issued an M1 rifle, number 123456" or "I carried my rifle number 2345678 on Omaha beach". Of course that rarely happens.

As you know, as an active duty Marine, that once you leave your unit, your weapons card is tossed in the trash and "your" rifle will be issued to someone else. Your unit inventory sheet will be trashed when it becomes obsolete and computer records will be changed every time a rifle is turned in to upper echelon, lost or destroyed.

In other words, those records are almost never saved (why would they be?). Then consider that a given rifle might have been issued to one unit at a base, turned into base ordnance when that unit moved, issued to another unit, perhaps turned in for rebuild and sent to a depot for issue to troops deploying overseas, and so on.

Was that rifle carried ashore on D-Day in Normandy? Or was it at Iwo Jima when they raised the U.S. flag? Was it carried by a soldier, sailor, or Marine who later became a famous movie star or a well-known politician, even a president? No one knows, but we can always look at it and wonder.

Jim