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“US Infantry Weapons in Combat” – Jack Walentine
Jack Walentine enlisted in the US Army in 1947. He was 16 years old at the time; he got in using his older brother’s birth certificate. The Army sent him to Fort Dix, NJ for basic training. Following basic, he attended jump school at Fort Benning and then was assigned to the 188th Infantry Regiment of the 11th Airborne Division in Japan. In 1949, he was transferred to the 25th Division and he remained with them until the outbreak of the Korean War. He served in Korea from July 1950 until being wounded for the fourth time in February 1951. After being wounded in February he was returned to the…
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“US Infantry Weapons in Combat” – Darrell ”Shifty” Powers
Darrell ”Shifty” Powers enlisted in the U.S. Army in early 1942 in Portsmouth, VA. He volunteered for the Paratroops and was sent to Camp Toccoa, GA. where he was assigned to E Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The story of Easy Company has been described in Stephen Ambrose’s excellent book, “Band of Brothers” and in the HBO miniseries of the same title. The Regiment became one of the three infantry regiments assigned to the 101st Airborne Division during World War Two. After intensive training in the US, the 506th moved to England and continued to train for the invasion of Europe. Mr. Powers made combat jumps with Easy Company into…
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“US Infantry Weapons in Combat” – Personal Experiences from World War II and Korea
The first thing that the reader must know about this book is that it is a gun book. It is not simply war stories, but is a series of interviews with soldiers and Marines specifically relating their experiences with the US infantry weapons in combat during World War II and in the Korean War. We decided to include both wars as basically both saw the same weapons used. As I first read the manuscript I was fascinated by the dramatically differing opinions. One man loved the M1 rifle and hated the M1 carbine while the next loved the M1 carbine and hated the M1 rifle. One thought that the Garand…
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My Favorite Ruger 10/22
Let me begin by saying that I’m not much of a .22 rifle guy. Like many youngsters who grew up in the late 1950s and early 1906s my Father taught me firearms safety and shooting at around age 10 to 12. I learned to shoot on my Dad’s Marlin Model 81 bolt action rifle. We shot at tin cans behind grandpa’s barn. I inherited that rifle when my Father passed away in 1999. Still own it. A used Marlin Glenfield Model 25 bolt action rifle was my first firearm purchase after I turned 18 and had a steady, full-time job. The price was $50 in 1973, which was all I…
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My First AR-15 (Part 2/3)
When my future wife and I started collecting martial arms, we followed a predictable progression. First a M1 Garand. Then a M1 Carbine. As finances allowed, and opportunity knocked, a M1911, a Krag, a Trapdoor, and so on. We loved the history they represented, but we were shooters as well. We shot in Grandpap’s cow pasture, but kept scores and tried to maintain correct fundamentals of rifle marksmanship as best as any self-taught people could in the era before the internet. I always was deeply interested in the Vietnam War, after all, that was the war Dad was in. Owning a M16 seemed “a bridge too far”, simply too expensive. …
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My First M1 Garand (Part 1/3)
“Let’s begin the meeting. Hello, my name is Michael, and I’m addicted to collecting U.S. Martial Arms.” Let me tell you how it began, what I call “The fatal moment of my life”. I was a student at Pitt in 1996 and to break the monotony of our studies a friend and I attended the big gun show in Greensburg, PA. I was raised in a hunting family, and was no stranger to firearms, but viewed them more as tools rather than something you would want to own for its own sake. A 16 oz. Plumb claw hammer is a nice hammer, but its job is to pound nails, not…
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My AR-15 Journey: The 1994 Assault Weapon Ban & the Global War on Terror (Part 2/3)
As I mentioned in Part 1, the Colt AR-15 SP1 rifle was by far more prevalent than the SP1 carbine. But it seemed that as each year passed the carbine version was becoming more and more popular. Initially the popularity of the Colt AR-15 SP1 rifle was driven by Vietnam War veterans and those of us who grew up watching that war on the six 0’clock news wanted to own a rifle like was used in Vietnam. The same thing had happened after World War II and the Korean War with the M1 Garand and M1 Carbine, and later many veterans of the 1991 Gulf War wanted and AR-15A2. The…
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My Latest AR-15 (Part 3/3)
In earlier installments in this series, I told you about my first M1 Garand and first AR-15. Now I would like to tell you about my newest AR-15. My first AR was an SP-1. She was as close as I could get to the M16 my Father held at Tan An bunker number 4 during a V.C. rocket attack. A sleek, elegant and handy rifle, she’s a beauty, a joy to shoot. Her new sister is nothing like her. She’s not fat, but she’s definitely thick. With a heavy stainless free floated barrel, 1:8 twist, Wylde chamber, half minute sights, detachable carry handle, and insanely long stock. She is, of…
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My AR-15 Journey: The Effects of the Global War on Terror and End of the Assault Weapon Ban (Part 3/3)
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban in September 2004 changed the civilian AR-15 as much as the military M16 was changed to the M4 by these wars. The benefits of the military M4 were lighter, shorter and more adaptable than the rifle. Returning veterans and civilians who watched the wars on the news wanted to own a civilian version of the M4 carbine. The end to the Assault Weapons Ban made it possible. The AR-15 market reacted to that demand and many companies were soon making an M4 carbine version for the fast growing civilian market. The 16.5” barrel of the civilian…
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My AR-15 Journey: The 1994 Assault Weapon Ban & the Global War on Terror (Part 1/3)
If you have been following my Blog posts, from my review of authors Perry Cox and Bruce Kaufman’s wonderful new book, A Collectors Guide to the Colt AR-15 SP1 Sporter Rifle, you know that I am a longtime fan of the Colt AR-15 SP1 Sporter Rifle. When I bought my Colt SP1 in 1982 there were two choices in the purchase of the AR-15, a Colt SP1 Sporter rifle or a Colt SP1 Sporter carbine. That was it as there were no other makers. I chose the rifle. The price was $500. I shot my SP1 a lot back in the day and used that rifle to compete in early…
