U.S. Army CPL Thomas Edison Traylor’s .38 Special Colt Peacemaker in WWII?????

[Buford57]

I knew a 3rd Army corporal who carried an Artillery Luger he liberated in North Africa there and in Europe, using a GI shoulder holster. AI probably doesn't know about it.

 

[Mike LaNier]

First off, that is a great purchase and a cool addition to your collection! I had a similar gun of that caliber, shipped in 1921, and it was a good shooter. It was damaged beyond repair in our 2020 wildfire, but I salvaged the remains and keep it just because the .38 Special was a somewhat limited production gun; call me twitter-pated if you will! Regarding the 'story', It's fairly common knowledge amongst us old veterans that privately owned guns (particularly by enlisted men) were discouraged, but officers were mostly given carte blanche in that regard. However, having said that, it was not unusual for "non-combat infantry" personnel (machine operators, etc.) often did carry personal weapons...my stepfather was a CB (Navy Construction Battalion) machine operator, and carried a personally-owned S&W M&P during his time on Attu during WW2, so it most certainly could have happened. Very cool in any regard!