WWII VET an my CMP M1 Garand

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Wow, what a great story and I'm sorry to hear that Norm passed away - on Veteran's day no less! :(

Yes, we will truly miss the WWII veterans.

Interesting to look at photos of old veterans - Norm appeared to live a very humble life. Interesting that he never held another M1 Garand after the war. Makes you wonder... so many unanswered questions. Did he not have the interest or means to own one? Did he have PTSD or was he not successful in post-war life? Also saw no wedding band. Did he never marry or did his wife pass? Very modest clothing and surroundings. Fascinating.

As for Camp Perry, I visited there in 2010 and it was awesome. Amazingly friendly staff and it was really wonderful being in a room with so many relics! I picked out my favorite rifle. It was a treat.
 
leadcounsel.... Norm did live a very humble life. He married after the war an was still married to her when he passed, she survives. An one son, 5 grandchildred an 15 grandchildren. Norm an my Dad fished an hunted alot together, he liked shooting. He would sometimes shoot out in the lake he lived on at swimming muskrats!!! Norm did just fine an was always great to be around, he worked on cars alot like my Dad too.
Another story he told that day was they come under fire from a sniper, he took off running with his BAR an bullets were kicking up dirt all around him. "I'm not lying Davy, I was running so fast my web belt, you know how thick an wide those are, got caught on a fence post or something an it ripped almost all the way through, never slowed me down!! I saw this hole an dived in as bullets hit all around me...they got the sniper an told me to come out of the hole. Davy, I had dived into a German S#%t hole, I was covered an stuck, O my God, the guys got a kick out of it."
 
They say the greatest generation is dying at a rate of one every 90 seconds.

My Dad died in Jan. If you know a vet tell him Thanks before he is gone.
 
I remember this post from last year...really sad to hear about Norm.

Rest in peace. We shall be forever grateful for what he and many others have done, and for all of those now that are serving today. Celebrate our freedom, but not gloat in the shadows of those that gave their life for our country.
 
RCArms.com said:
These heroes are leaving us at an alarming rate and we are not likely to see a generation similar for some time to come.

I make it a point to buy lunch/ dinner/coffee whatever for our active duty soldiers in uniform or vets when you bump into them in daily life.

Best $2.89 I EVER spent was several years ago when I bumped into a Marine that had enlisted Dec 8th 1941. A McDonalds hamburger and coffee turned into a handshake and 40 minutes of conversation with a Combat Vet that served at Pelielu (sp?), wounded twice; one "scratch" (his words) from an artillery fragment and a nasty gunshot wound in the hip from a Nambu LMG, and then served in the occupation forces in Japan.

Point being is that whenever you get a chance, slow down and talk with the heroes that walk amongst us. You done good with Norm and while he's answered his final muster call, the memories you have will last a lifetime with you.

I hearty THANK YOU to all our vets.

Don
Click to expand...
We went to the WW2 Museum in New Orleans a couple of years ago. I spent the better part of an hour talking with a docent who had been a Higgens boat skipper. He had his scrapbook, too. I can come back and see the exhibits, but he was the main show that day. It was a wonderful experience.

I also went to the WW2 Memorial in DC 5y or so ago with my son. It was neat shaking hands with the vets and thanking them for their service. I did not get one weak handshake. My son is a LTC in the Army and enjoyed every minute, too. Everyone at the memorial was friendly and made it a special place just with the positive attitudes.

I was intimately involved with a M1 at ROTC summer camp in 1960. I didn't like the positions they made you shoot in, but I thought it was a better rifle than the M14. I certainly liked shooting it better.

We who have used the M1 love to "I told you so" rookies when they inevitably get a M1 thumb.
 
That was a great generation. Their values and sense of duty are sorely missed these days... Most were drafted and nevertheless fought until the end of the war because it was the right thing to do.
 
WOW!!!

As always, I try to read through a thread before replying, and so it is with tears in my eyes that I respond to this one.

Take eternity, Norm. You've earned it well. You have an unlimited chit at the big PX in the sky...

To all:
Do search out veterans and thank them while they are still alive.

I shook many a hand over the years of that generation of guys who shuffle along, stooped and bent, with a veterans hat on their wrinkled brow. Yet they stand tall and proud when a complete civillian like me quietly and respectfully asks:
"I noticed your hat, may I shake your hand?"

Whenever someone ID's themselves as former military, I ask to shake their hand while telling them thank you for your service...

I recently had a Viet Nam vet thank me back with tears in his eyes saying:
"I've waited 40 years for that!"

NONE of our soldiers should EVER have to wait even 1 year to hear a heartfelt thank you from a Joe Nobody like me.

To all of you, past, present, future, whether you were in the rear with the gear or on the frontlines, it doesn't matter to me. To ALL of our veterans:
THANK YOU!!!!

P.S. My eldest son got a job at the local Shaw's supermarket and thanked 12 veterans from 5 different eras of conflict on Vetrans day.
 
8 Nov.2010 another WW2 and Korean war vet died. He was at home and tripped over something and hit his head. It snapped his neck and he died. He was a friends neighbor and every time we saw each other we said hi. I never got the chance to show him my M-1. I did have the privalidge to buy him and his wife an icecream and we sat on their porch and talked. I found out he was shot in the face [in Korea] and he had the scars to prove it. I want to get a display case to put his medals/ribbons in and give it to his wife. I think she would appreciate that. I just wish I thought of it while Marv was still with us. God Bless our vets!
 
My grandpa was in the Navy in WWII... he was on the USS Fulton, a submarine tender that would go out and resupply the attack subs that were attacking the Japanese convoys.

The day of the funeral of someone he cared a lot about, I took him to the range to cheer him up a little. I let him shoot my M1. I figured he might recognize it from his days in the Navy, but he didn't remember ever shooting one... he said he didn't think he ever fired a rifle the whole time he was in the Navy, lol. However, he thought it was a hell of a rifle, and he now wants one of his own!

I drug him to an Appleseed, which he actually completed, including all of the position transition stages, which is pretty impressive for an 85 year old if you ask me. Anyway, through Appleseed and the RWVA, he is now CMP qualified and will soon be the owner of his own M-1; still one of the finest and most capable battle rifles in existence, if you ask me.
 
Thank you Norm and 61chalk's father, it is men like you that make men like us proud to serve our country...60 years between our service yet we are all one...Semper Fi
 
Rest in Piece Norm, You and your brothers in arms made up the greatest generation of Americans and will never be forgotten
 
Our brothers in arms from WWII and Korea are dying every day.

My wife is a historian, her academic research is on POWs from WWII. Her big problem is that the guys are dying before she gets the oral history from each individual serviceman.

God bless our brothers who served in WWII and Korea.
 
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