Sheriff trying to return stolen gun

[ColinthePilot]

This is a touching story. I don't have a link to the original story, but a friend sent me this link. I'm posting it here for a few reasons. Its a beautiful pistol which obviously has some history. Second, with all the folks around here living in Texas, maybe someone can help find the original owner or his family.


http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5291911282/m/5440071591001

 

[katonk]

Wow!...a very moving article...I too hope they find the original owner....thanks for sharing!

 

[AZAndy]

Here's the text, for the link-averse:

The Parker County [TX] Sheriff's Office is trying to help one gun owner reclaim his prize.

Sheriff Larry Fowler said he was taking inventory of the property room when an old photograph caught his eye. It wasn't just laying around, it was embeded in the clear handle grips of a military-issued handgun.

"A photo that old certainly had my attention," Fowler said. He believes the weapon belonged to a soldier who served in World War II. The Special Crimes Unit executed a search warrant during a drug investigation in mid December. Although the suspect was not at home, the property owner told investigators he believed the gun was stolen. Officers found it underneath a mattress in the residence and logged it into evidence. Sheriff's deputies traced the weapon, which was not reported stolen by the serial number on the gun. Fowler said it was stamped, "United States Property," with model number 11911 A1. The .45 has clear grips with the photo of an unidentified woman, who Fowler believes is the "sweetheart" of the soldier.

"It appears to be of a significant nature," Fowler said. "It's more than likely [a photo of] his wife or sweetheart. He probably carried it in World War II. Given the condition of the weapon, it was well taken care of." The photo of the woman appears to have been taken in the 1940s, and does not appear to be wearing a wedding band. "It's in the original, excellent condition," Fowler said, noting it is rare to find such a weapon in good shape. "The gun was manufactured in 1943 by Remington Rand Corporation in Syracuse, New York. There's no way we'll pin it down to a sigle G.I. There were 2 million manufactured at that time, But its probably worth a substantial amount of money." Fowler hopes someone will recognize the photo of the woman, who appears to be in her late teens or early '20s. If anyone knows the righful owner of the weapon, or recognizes the woman in the photo, they are encouraged to call Mark Arnett at the Parker County Sheriff's Office at 817-594-8845.

There are photos at the link that are of interest, but they're not included here for several reasons.

A.

P.S. Remington Rand made two million? Wow, I didn't know that.

 

[Hawk]

Seems to be getting a bit more coverage as of 8/28.

http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/868506.html

 

[Frog48]

I caught that in the Star-Telegram this morning. Good story.

 

[LaEscopeta]

Not to be a spoil sport, but…

The .45 has clear grips with the photo of an unidentified woman… probably carried it in World War II.

Was there any type of clear material, that you could see a photograph through AND make usable pistol grips out of, available to GIs in WWII?

He believes the weapon belonged to a soldier who served in World War II. …the property owner told investigators he believed the gun was stolen. …it was stamped, "United States Property,..."

Well, if this is a military issued pistol carried by a soldier in WWII, and he took it home with him, he technically stole from the US government. I know this happened all the time, and most authorities turned a blind eye to it. And the statute of limitations has run out, so no one can be prosecuted for the original theft. However if the soldier never legally owned it, I believe the law says it should not be returned to the solider, or his family. The law says it goes back to the last legitimate owner, Uncle Sam.

Don’t blame me, I didn’t write the law.

 

[scrat]

Dup post this was posted here about a month ago.

 

[Neckshot5seven]

just because it says "property of U.S. government" Does't mean that he stole it from the army. Many combat solders from WW2 had an offer to buy their issue weapon for hardly anything

 

[mgregg85]

I wonder how they made those grips.

 

[win71]

Lots of it

Was there any type of clear material, that you could see a photograph through AND make usable pistol grips out of, available to GIs in WWII?

Plexiglas..........every airplane that was shot down had enough for a hundred sets of 1911 grips. During World War II acrylic glass was used for submarine periscopes, and windshields, canopies, and gun turrets for airplanes.

 

[Funderb]

that handgun is the property of the united states military.
haha, hope it finds its home.

 

[GlowinPontiac]

The article says that the gun was removed from a suspects home during the execution of a warrant while the owner was not home and that the serial number is not listed as being stolen. So why not just give it back to the resident of the house the police took it from? Was he convicted of a felony and now forbidden to possess it?
They should have given the gun back as soon as they discovered it was not stolen as long as the owner was not a criminal.

 

[KBintheSLC]

It's nice to see a cop that actually tries to return a crime scene gun to it's rightful owner. Usually, they like to leave the gun in a damp storage room with no oil for as long as possible so the gun never functions again.

 

[win71]

Usually, they like to leave the gun in a damp storage room with no oil for as long as possible so the gun never functions again.

I'm assuming your use of "usually" means "most cops" or "most departments"

Pretty bold statement considering there are over 670,000 uniformed officers in over 14,200 departments in the good ol U.S.of A.

 

[230RN]

Was there any type of clear material, that you could see a photograph through AND make usable pistol grips out of, available to GIs in WWII?

Yes, Lucite (or Plexiglas, per the above posts) from aircraft windows. They made all kinds of stuff out of it, including jewelry, picture frames, whatnot.

I remember one of those cop shows a while ago with Sheriff John(?) Bunnel, where they had uncovered some thief's cache of stolen goods and were trying to find the owners. There was a whole garage full of stuff.

At one point the owner of a stolen gun was shown, with Sheriff Bunnel handing it back to him, saying, "We won't need this for evidence at all."

And he just gave it back to the owner. Just like that.

Like wow, man!

 

[Bob R]

The gun has found a home.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/500103904/m/5721026813/p/1

bob

 

[DnPRK]

A lot of 1911A1s were sold through the NRA in the early 1960s for $25 each.

 

[Officers'Wife]

This sheriff is head and shoulders above those I've had the misfortune of dealing with. A man that actually believes property belongs to it's owner. Well done sir, you are a credit to your uniform and to the people you serve.

Selena

 

[fatelk]

Sometimes folks forget that police are human, and as such there are good ones, bad ones, and everything in between. It's good to see this guy getting some positive recognition.

Coincidentally, some years ago I had a .45 stolen out of my truck (I didn't even have the serial number written down), and a county sherrif's deputy went out of his way to make sure I got it back.

 

[MIL-DOT]

True story : Many years ago a good friend sold a 1911 to another mutual freind. Friend #2 was minding,then closing, a family store one night in lovely,scenic Pine Mountain,Ga. He left a bag with the money from the till and the previously mentioned 1911 in it on his front vehicle seat and ran back inside for an instant, when he returned, the bag O' cash and .45 was gone. ( imagine that !) He then reported it stolen to the local constabulary.
Flash forward about 10 or so years, friend #2 gets a call from the Federal B.I. saying his stolen .45 had been used in a bank robbery in Chi-town ( IIRC) and the case had run it's course, and they actually shipped it back to him, then soon after, good friend #1 re-purchased his beloved 1911 back from friend #2.
Bizarre for sure, but I've known these guys for years, and am especially confident enough in friend #1's word to know this one's true.

 

[C96]

Starting around 1960 or so DCM was selling 1911A1's for $17.50 and $35 depending on their functional condition. If you were a member of the NRA you could purchase one. They also had 03 Springfields for under $20. I didn't want a Springfield but I did buy one of the $17.50 1911A1's. I had real sights put on it, had the barrel replaced with a NM version and had the ejection port opened up so I could reload the brass.

Hardly a collector after all of the mods, I still have it, take it to the range most every time. It is still marked Property of US Government and I still have the sales slip that came with from DCM.

It is a Colt made in 1942 or 1943.

Allan

 

[LaEscopeta]

Starting around 1960 or so DCM was selling 1911A1's for $17.50 and $35

Yes, an a lot of people leagly own pistols stamped "Property of the US" this way. But these are not the pistols they carried in WWII.

Many combat solders from WW2 had an offer to buy their issue weapon for hardly anything

Scource please?

Plexiglas..........every airplane that was shot down had enough for a hundred sets of 1911 grips.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the info.

 

[C96]

I also doubt

Many combat solders from WW2 had an offer to buy their issue weapon for hardly anything

There were a few military firearms that were "liberated" from the supply chain immediately following the end of hostilities.

I doubt that there would be a method set up whereby returning grunts could purchase their firearm. Anybody that has had to deal with government agencies and their record keeping will understand that position.

Allan

 

[TexasRifleman]

Many combat solders from WW2 had an offer to buy their issue weapon for hardly anything

Scource please?

As the war was winding down Congress formed the War Assets Corporation, a subsidiary of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

Under the Surplus Property Act of 1944 they sold all kinds of stuff.

The most famous purchase was that made by Paul Mantz of 475 surplus aircraft for $55,000 in Feb 1946.
B24s, PBYs, B25s, B17s... the list was impressive. Friends of mine that knew Paul say he liked to tell the story that he made more off of the fuel that was left in the tanks than he paid for the airplanes. Don't know if it's true but it made a great story

The father of a friend of mine bought a P51 for $3300 out of the same Corporation.

The War Assets Corporation sold everything that wasn't nailed down... airplanes, heavy equipment, firearms, massive tracts of land, you name it.