Long story here about this rifle, but bear with me...People on here will find it interesting because I have never posted it before and the rifle will probably be gone tomorrow.

My dad died in the mid 1990's...He was born in 1930. He drove a tanker for Esso and then Exxon later, but he served in the 4th infantry division in occupied Germany right after WW2. He was newly married and I was 2 years old. Him and my mom were newlyweds and had no money and they lived in an apartment in Maryland. According to my mom, he kept badgering her stating he wanted a Garand like he carried in Germany in the Infantry. She finally got sick of him talking about it and told him she didn't care, go buy it, they didn't need groceries..So he did just that. Apparently we didn't starve though, because I am here.

So, this is in April 1968 and he goes to a place in Baltimore called "H&H Surplus". This is before GCA 68 was passed, so you could just walk in anywhere and buy whatever you wanted. He looked at a rack of M1 garands and picked the best one. A 1945 Springfield. Look at attached receipt from 4/1/1968...Note the date on the receipt...4/1/68. The rifle cost him $110, 150 rounds of ammo was $8.50...Four packages of clips were .35 cents, state tax was $3.71 for a total of $127.50.

Three days later Martin Luther King was shot and my father got home from driving his truck, popped a Schlitz, and turned the black and white TV on to watch the City of Baltimore explode in riots. He said he watched footage of rioters burning that store and carrying out armloads of these very same rifles...In a few months RFK was killed and that same year the Gun Control Act of 1968 was passed, ending all over the counter sales of any weapons without a 4473 filled out.

At any rate, I have a Florida LEO acquaintance that will be buying this from me tomorrow. I have no children and I don't want all of his stuff to get split up after I and my wife die. He assures me that he would rather pass something like this down to his sons rather than have everything sold separately in an auction or yard sale, and I agree. That's why I want to do it this way rather than split it up and make more money. That's really not the main issue here and it's what has caused me to ponder what to do here for years.

I am selling him the M1 Garand rifle, 4 ammo belts full of ammo and clips, bayonet, medical kit, 4th infantry ike Jacket uniform with everything shown, medals, certificates, his photos and photo album from occupied Germany with the Fourth Infantry Division, dogtags and more stuff that is shown.

Again, I wanted it to all stay together as it was my father's... I have the original receipt where he bought it in 1968 and everything else shown. I have never fired it. It has not been fired since 1979. i have owned three Garands myself but I am not a fan of the rifle frankly.

The accessories alone are worth hundreds of dollars, but it needs to all stay together. I have a notarized affidavit that I had prepared several months ago explaining the whole chain of events and how it was bought and how it is till today.

My father and I were not close. He grew up during the depression dirt poor and we never did anything together, so I am not attached to this stuff at all, but out of respect for my father, I do want it to stay together...Reason being, i see so many times we collectors go.."If only that could talk"...Well, my notarized statement and all of the documentation will help it to "talk" hopefully.

UPDATE: 5/9/2024....The LEO friend of mine just bought it and took it with him. He is a collector, so I doubt it goes anywhere but with his boys. He has a bring-back K98, an original blued 1911 and other nice stuff, so it's in good hands. A little bittersweet for me, but I know it's in good hands.

At any rate, ask any questions and I'll try to answer.

You done good. Those "Great Depression Dads" were a difficult lot. They almost starve and as soon as the sun comes out they get shipped out where other young men try to kill them every day, for years. Puts a little extra "spin" on a man. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

I can imagine so...My mother later told me that my father explained to her in private that he had to wear his older sister's hand me down dresses to school because they had no clothes or shoes.

Melvin, Your 3.8 serial Springfield Armory was produced June 1945…The Lockbar rear sight appears original….as does overall finish.. Original Stock would be SA/ NFR stamped….Retracting the Slide and locking it to the rear would show the Barrel date…Should be plus or minus 3 months of 6-45 if original.

A lot of Barrels were replaced due to use of corrosive primed ammunition…during the many re- build programs…..N/C was not available until 1953…..Condition and Bore wear are determining factors in determining value, but close to $2000. + or -range if original.

The two Manufacturers of the Garand was Springfield and Winchester, early 50’s Springfield, Harrington and Richardson and International Harvester and no Winchester after WW2.

Garand was replaced by M-14…..

The Garand 10 pouch enbloc Belts appear to contain ammo….If any ammo is Black tipped, that is AP or armor piercing ammo issued to front line Combat troops and worth 3-4 dollars per round..…It too is corrosive primed ….I would not leave the ammo in the canvas….attracts moisture.

Your 10 inch Bayonet value will vary according to mfg. and condition…You can look it up.

Look inside the Buttstock, might have a a cleaning kit in there….

Great grouping of your dad's things. It's nice to see it kept together so the story can stay a little more intact.

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PTLAPTA!

OK, let me go through it with you. I checked the receiver date with SA website at some point in the past and from memory it was May/June 1945.

Bolt says "DS8287-19SA" and then "A-10"...If I pull the slide back, barrel is stamped " 1- SA 6 45"

There is a cleaning kit, extraction tool in buttstock.

Some of the ammo is black tipped AP, some is plain, some of it has cardboard covers over the bullet end of the shell.

The ten inch bayonet is marked "PAL", "U S" with a flaming bomb in the center and no date that I see. The bayonet is attached to a cartridge belt from my Dad's brother who was in the 2nd Armored Division in Germany during WW2...He died in the mid 1970's....My dad had two brothers in WW2; the one that gave him the above cartridge belt and another brother that was in the 45th Infantry Division in Anzio during WW2. One of these belts was my fathers, one was from his brother, one I got when I was little at a flea market and gave to my dad and then another one somewhere? All are full of ammo on clips.

Bore looks dirty to me, but I'll run a brush through it...It seems like my dad griped about it being hard to clean the last time he fired it in 1979.

Thanks for sharing your story, and thanks for sending the time capsule to an honorable home. Reading your post, I kept muttering but... but... but... and then you explained your reasoning. You are doing the right thing and I admire your actions. The right thing doesn't have to make sense to anyone but you. Good on ya!

It'll be a little tough tomorrow because there has never been a time in my life since a small child that this gun and these items were not in my dad's possession, (until he died), my mom's possession, (until she died), and finally me...I have no brothers nor any children. I have seen what happens so many times when the items are separated from the actual story.

One this forum alone we spend hundreds of dollars and hours trying to piece together the story of a particular Victory Model or a certain police issued M&P. If someone had possibly thought to document some of that information, it gives a much richer background to the item.

If any of my S&W's are still around when I die, there are letters to go with them and possibly even forum inquiries on this very forum...However, even then we don't have a direct connection to the item unless it has been passed down from family member to family member.

Plus there is just an interest factor...I have never particularly cared for the M1 Garand on a personal level. That's not sacrilege, it's just firearm preference. If my Dad had been Air Police in Vietnam and I was passed a Model 15-3 USAF marked gun, I would certainly keep it and keep the documentation with it because I have a direct interest in it.

I know there is a huge following for the Garand, so it's going to go all together with everything and hopefully in the future it can stay together as I sold it.

I have 2 Garand’s, both bought from the CMP. The CMP is charging nearly double now for what I bought them for so I’m keeping them. One is a Springfield dated March 1944, with a matching barrel with very little wear, and an H&R from 1955 with a matching barrel with zero wear. I have two kids and they will each get one. I hope to raise them to cherish them as I have. I hate the thought of them ending up in a gun shop rack one day.

I shoot them every now and then. So much fun. The history of them brings me great pleasure. I also have a Colt 1911, also from the CMP. Not selling that one either.

Very impressive grouping, and I appreciate your plan. I’ve been (slowly) building a PowerPoint presentation that contains photos and stories associated with family firearms that I am currently “caretaking.” My goal is to have as much documented as I can, even if it’s just “family lore.”

As you noted, we often “wish theses items could speak.” If we don’t capture these stories when we can, these items remain mute.

Talk to your older relatives now. Write it down now.

Can you say anything about the pictures posted also?

I, Like you, have no heirs and have sold off almost everything I have.

Except one of those model 15 USAF guns you mentioned... and a consecutive pair of 29s, but as soon as someone wants to take them home- they're gone too.

The pictures are just a few from my Dad's photo album that is shown in the first couple of my pictures with everything in the group...If you look closely, there is a brown photo album in the upper left corner with two US Fourth Infantry Division patches on the front of the album and in the middle is his DUI for 8th Infantry Regiment..These photos were from that album.

The backs of the photos are marked "Butzbach" and "Wildflecken"...I do remember him telling me that his headquarters was in an old castle in the town of Butzbach. the Nazis used it for some sort of headquarters and then the US Army captured it back and used it for their headquarters. I remember him telling me that the steps were marble and so old that the marble was worn from centuries of walking up and down the steps...I don't know if he ever told me the name of that building in Butzbach Germany.

You understand what I understand... We are just not going to live forever and we only really rent this stuff until the next generation rents it and so on.

That Model 15 sounds really nice and worth a fortune I am sure as are the Model 29's.

This is the post of the day. Maybe the week. For the entire internet. You are doing exactly the right thing. We must needs venerate and enshrine our history, individually and collectively, else it be lost. You rock.

The 4th ID was involved in the occupation of Germany 1951-1952. Do you know what Company your father was in?

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If you look closely in the first couple of pictures I posted, my dad's yearbook is there with all of the other items and identical to the one you posted.

He is in Company A, Middle picture...The first person in the company lineup is named "H.L Cupps".

Tom Brokaw nailed it when he called them The Greatest Generation. My Dad lived in a tent for awhile during the Great Depression, left home at 14, and enlisted in the Navy on his 17th Birthday. He was a tough taskmaster when I was a kid so I can relate (and I was the oldest). Fortunately we became very close during the last half of his life (and I miss him everyday).

The Garand is a fine military serviceman’s weapon. Excellent stopper and can be kept in the fight with its fast clip loading mechanism. They’re smooth shooting rifles that pack a punch. Here’s mine:

The castle you mention is called "Landgrafenschloss" I believe. Thanks for the story.

Just my opinion, but I would have donated it to a museum. With the understanding that the collection be displayed completely and never broken up.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

But museums don’t always understand your “understanding”. And will sell your cherished objects to raise funds.

Where were these artifacts sold and, if the sale is over, can a link be posted?

The sale is not over....The buyer looked at everything this morning and liked it, but he didn't bring enough cash. He has an Essex frame 1911 with an original Colt 1911 slide that he wanted to possibly trade in on it, but I don't need another 1911.

These items were not listed anywhere. It was by word of mouth from me to an LEO that bought some ammo from me in the past.

At least we got to look at some guns this morning. We compared some guns and he wanted to buy my 1974 Model 15-3 in the box, but I don't sell S&W's...It was his birth year and he collects guns from 1974.

True, I have heard horror stories about donated items that never get displayed and end up in an auction later...Never for me.

Then get a table at Lakeland and put the collection up for sale there. Lakeland Arms Show You may find a collector that would be interested in the whole display there.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Yeah, and "understandings" get misunderstood.

Better with the friend.

Thank you Melvin for this great post. You are an honorable man.

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Sure you did

AJ, thank you for bringing up that show; much appreciated. I have been a member of the Lakeland Rifle & Pistol Club since 1990, and it's our show; so, I have a table. This is our Spring show (we also have one in September and one in January), and Spring's is our smallest show of the year. However, we are sold out and we have a waiting list of folks who are hoping for cancellations to get a table. With all that being said, a lot of our attendees are collectors and there is a good chance to sell an M1 Garand for a fair price.

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A friend of mine has a table there for every show and has had one for quite a few years. He specializes in Colt M1911's & M1911A1's and any government issue M1911/A1's. Look for his sign at the corner of 8th & I. Yes, the January show is usually the best.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

AJ, will do!

Here is a photo of TR's Rough Riders leaving Tampa Bay to go to Cuba...

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I admire your determination to keep it all together; after all, it is yours to do with as you like.
That was a nicely written explanation of the history and your rationale.
Well done! Best of luck on your sale.