Sad message

[jimmyraythomason]

I received this message from a family member that I only know through Facebook.

Heather Thomason May 15 at 11:38pm
Awe I wish I would have known that you were a gun collector my dad just sold his dad's WWII issue 45. he had it with him at Omaha beach. I thought he should have kept it but he didnt want to.

My reply to her;

Jimmy Ray Thomason May 16 at 7:11am
What a shame. A gun with that history and family connection should have stayed with the family IMO. It was your dad's right to do what he wanted but still....

Made my day seem just a little lacking somehow.

 

[LRS_Ranger]

My grandfather had a .32 that he stole off a dead German in WWII.. My dad has it now, but I told him that he is NOT allowed to sell it to ANYONE that won't keep it in the family..

 

[wnycollector]

My wife has her grandfathers WWII bring back Waffen marked Walther PP .32. it is going no where other than one of our sons.

 

[GIJOEL]

While not a pistol, I have my great grand fathers Springfield 1903. Legend has it that he got it from a boot-legger during prohibition as a bribe (he was a local police officer). It was rebuilt with a 1914 barrel and produced in 1906, I still shoot it with some reduced pressure reloads every once in a while. Old guns and passed down heirlooms are my most prized possessions.

 

[capttom]

I have my grandfather's .22 Remington 12A pump, circa 1923 and a Colt Woodsman (1934). Not having children of my own, I was wondering what to do with them when I shake off this mortal coil. Luckily, my nieces are married to nice young men who are into hunting and fortunately both have a son each. I guess these two boys will be blessed; I think they'll appreciate the guns.

 

[RyanM]

My rules on any heirloom-worthy guns I accumulate are going to be: don't sell them until after I'm dead, and for the love of God, get the full market value for them! I could cope with my grandkids selling my guns after I'm dead, as long as they don't get ripped off or do something really stupid like go to a police buyback.

 

[Hatterasguy]

This is why I grabed my grandfathers M1 Carbine when they sold their house and moved to a condo. Before he died he was kind of thinking of selling it, I wasn't going to allow it to be sold. My uncle had it for awhile and was keeping it in his atic, which was going to ruin it.


Some things should be kept in the family. I'm after his K bar now, my grandmother has it somewhere.

I'm 24 and plan on keeping it in the family with his story until I die, I hope a grandkid appreciates it and does the same. If one of my decendents sells it on Pawn Stars for a bike I will haunt them.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

My ex-father-in-law left his Dryse .32 acp that he removed from a German officer in WWII and the Confederate Officer's sword that had been in the family since THE war(I never knew the story behind that one). I talked to a couple of his grandsons Saturday and they are set on keeping them in the family.

 

[stratman26]

That is too bad, good family heirloom gone. we have an old flintlock rifle in my family. my father just acquired it from my grandfather. noone knows for sure where it came from, but its been in the our family for generations. would be cool to find out for sure it came from the revolutionary war.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

My grandfather fought in the Mexican Campaign under General Pershing prior to WWI and then he was off to France. After the war and 2 Silver Stars he was discharged and still had his 1911. He, being an honest man went back and turned it in. He had other weapons that he picked up and brought back, but by the time I was old enough to ask he had given them away. I think he had enough of war. He never talked about the war or how he got his medals (he had a bunch of them). My sister has his medals along with a letter from the War Dept. for his second Silver Star.

 

[rondog]

My brother Dave has his FIL's Luger that he took off a dead German officer. It still has the same ammo in the magazine that was in it when the officer fell, I believe the holster too. Dave also has the Drilling that Marion liberated from a Belgium farmhouse. I've only got to see these guns once, live too far away.

 

[stork]

I know the feeling. My godfather (childless) passed away and my godmother presented me with a Mauser 32 he had taken off a German officer. She also wanted to give me his 98 Mauser, but he had lent it to nephew who never returned it and she didn't know which one had it (big family). I only wish I knew more of the story behind it.
I treasure it and have shot it, but it will never leave my family. the next generation to receive it will only get it with the above requirement.
Allen

 

[Jolly Rogers]

Dave also has the Drilling that Marion liberated from a Belgium farmhouse.

I find it sad that a farmer in Belgium had his hunting rifle stolen due to the circumstances of war. I of course don't know any of the details, the farmer may have been killed but still...
Joe

 

[jayjaypunisher]

a guy I work with was getting divorced after our last return from "the box" and needed cash, his father gave him an old pistol to sell, which he did at a local pawn shop for 250 bucks............... turns out it was the grandfather's 1938 German Luger with the eagle and swastika stamped on it, found this out afterward and by the pics my co-worker took of it tring to research it for like a day before he pawned it, what a shame

 

[rondog]

Quote:
Dave also has the Drilling that Marion liberated from a Belgium farmhouse.

I find it sad that a farmer in Belgium had his hunting rifle stolen due to the circumstances of war. I of course don't know any of the details, the farmer may have been killed but still...
Joe

I had the same thoughts, Joe. But Marion said they took or destroyed weapons they found in order to keep them from being used against USGI's later on. It's a very cool gun, double barrel 20 ga., I believe, with a rifle barrel underneath. Very nicely engraved and in great shape, but the trigger guard had been broken and replaced. Dave still has the canvas bag it was hanging in on the back of the farmhouse door.

 

[ccsniper]

My Grandpa had a .45 S&W revolver he had got off a dead British soldier in France. He sold it long before I was born to pay for food for his 5 baby girls.