Post pics of your WWII items/collection, stories about them are welcome too!

[ncthorn]

After looking around these forums I could not for the life of me find a thread where everyone could just post pictures of their WWII based collections. I know that there are probably several members within this community that had family in the war or just like to collect militaria. I invite all of you guys to share pics of your collections and give us a little background on them when possible!

Ill start this off with a little background information about my grandfather and my great-grandfather:

My grandfather is 81 years old and still going strong (knock on wood). He was one of those high school boys who joined the Navy Reserves at the age of 17 years old as result of his parents signing off to let him go to war. It has not been until very recently that he has comfortable to discuss his experiences in the Navy. He went through basic training at Great Lakes, MI. Oftentimes he jokes about the guys who had never fired the M1 and gripped the rifle incorrectly, resulting in black eyes. He also claims that he was very impressed with the accuracy of the Springfield M1903 which he utilized the most in rifleman training. In January of 1944 his ship, the U.S.S. St.Mary (PA 126) set sail from San Francisco bay for the South Pacific. He was the lead amphibious craft operator on-board. The first landing he participated in was in the Philippines. He doesnt say much about this landing other than the fact that he loved the M1 Carbine (claims it would make a great hunting rifle) he carried and could have done more damage by throwing his M1911A1 rather than shoot it, as it was too big for his small figure and he couldnt shoot it very accurately. He primarily operated an LCM with dual M1919 .30 cal machine guns one on each flank, but also operated a few LCTs which were equipped with dual M2 .50 cal machine guns also one on each flank. The noise from said weapons has damaged his hearing and he struggles to find suitable hearing aids today. The second invasion he took part in was that of Okinawa. This was a very difficult one for him as in the nights leading up to the invasion, his ship and many next to him in formation came under several aerial attacks many of which consisted of 8 to 20 fighters (normally Zeros) including several kamikaze planes. During one such attack, the ship directly adjacent to theirs took a direct hit to the control tower from a kamikaze plane, a very traumatic scene from what he has told me. When the landing on Okinawa finally occurred, the hardships only continued as a typhoon set in. During one of the landings, he lost one of his good buddies to Japanese MG fire. To add insult to injury, he could not get his LCM off the beach and was stuck there for quite a time before he could get it to break free and head back for more troops. While attempting to un-beach his landing craft, he managed to bang up his knee pretty badly and is still bothered by the injury today. On one of his final landings at Okinawa, he was prepping his craft for return to the U.S.S. St.Mary's when he spotted something shiny in the sand. He began to approach the object. When he came within arms reach of the item, a Japanese soldier covered in sand lunged at him with a knife (the shiny object). Fortunately my grandfather was able to grab hold of the soldier's arm and kick him square in the head, rendering the man unconscious and allowing him to be taken as a POW. When my granfather returned to the U.S.S. St.Mary's, he could not pull his LCM up onto the ship due to some damage the craft had taken during the typhoon. When one of the ship mates saw this he demanded that my grandfather report to the captain's quarters (Navy version of Court Marshalling). Thankfully the captain took my grandfather's side on the issue as it was my grandfather's boat to look after and pulling it up would have been too risky. Okinawa would have likely been the last invasion in which he carried his beloved M1 Carbine. In the invasions at Ie Shima and Iwo Jima he carried an M1A1 Thompson which he used primarily in semi-automatic mode of fire as he claims full-auto on a Thompson was nearly impossible for him to manage and fire accurately. He never really says much about his last two landings other than going through the tunnels of Iwo Jima after the battle and the greusome sights there. He watched the signing of the armistice in Tokyo Bay through binoculars from approximately 300 yards away. Shortly after the signing, the Japanese soldier who unsuccessfully tried to kill my grandfather and received a boot in the head found my grandpa on the deck of the U.S.S. St.Mary's and thanked him for not shooting him and sparing his life. A moment which I know touched my grandfather and one he will never forget.

My Great-grandfather served in the 1155th Combat Engineer Group in Europe but died in the 1960s. I, being born in 1990, never had the chance to meet him but have learned some about his journey through my grandparents and many of the things he left behind.

Truly remarkable men.

Now for some pictures:
This rifle is a 1934 "Hex" Ishevsk M91/30 and was purchased from J&G Sales. The rifle is all stamped matching and it appears that all parts minus the stock are original to the rifle. The gun came lightly oiled but thankfully was not caked in cosmoline so it cleaned up rather nicely. Other than some very minor pitting on the rear sight leaf, it is in excellent condition with a pristine bore. Overall nothing too special but I am very happy with it and look forward to grabbing more Mosins in the future.









Bayonet, sling, and ammo pouch came standard with the rifle.

Next is a Russian Captured K98 with an AR (Berlin-Borsigwalde) 43 receiver and a CYW barrel. It was purchased in late July for $185 from InterOrdnance. The metal is in very mice shape and has as expected undergone arsenal refinishing. The stock is laminated with white glue and the handguard is laminated with red glue. Both wood pieces match rather well thanks to a light coat of Soviet shellac which I intend to leave on the rifle as a part of its history. The bolt is a complete mismatch but works fine in the rifle. The triggerguard appears to have been used on an old Gew.98 and the floorplate bears a WaA77 (Steyr-Daimler-Puch) IIRC. It is important to mention that IO was kind enough to allow me to request a cupped buttplate at no extra charge. The rifle did arrive with a generous coating of cosmoline but it seems to have done its job well as no rust was found upon initial inspection and mineral spirits melted the cosmo right off. Under the cosmoline/shellac, the stock seems to be rather dry and will likely require a light application of oil very soon. All things considered, this was a very good deal and hopefully IO offers the deal again sometime soon. The bayonet pictured on the rifle was brought back by my now deceased great-grandfather who served throughout France and Germany in WWII. It is an ASW 44 with s/n 1815 aa and features a matching scabbard. When I first showed my grandfather (who served in the PTO in WWII) the rifle, he found it to be very cool and as soon as I mounted the bayonet he exclaimed, "I like this thing, it looks mean!". The ammo crate and book along with the patch (actually a repo, but same design) and the M3 trench knife were carried by him in the PTO. The shelf was built several years ago by him so I found it awesome that I could display a collection which was inspired by him on a shelf that he himself built. It has been amazing being able to share my findings and learn from him. Hopefully with him at 81 years of age, we still have a lot of fun times ahead. Without further ado, here are some pics:






The SA Dagger, Hitler Youth knife, and the K98 bayonet were brought back by my great grandfather.





The ammo chest, dog tag, book of visited locations (starred locations are sites where he made an invasion landing), initiation card, and M3 knife were carried by my grandfather in the PTO. The M1 helmet is a post-war issue. The patch is a repro. of the one on his uniform.









Some pics from the middle of the Pacific:




The WWII shelf:


Lastly are a few pre-WWII firearms that have been given to me by my grandfather:







Winchester 1885 .32 rimfire (circa 1900)
Stevens .22 Visible Loading Repeater (mid '20s)
Dual H&R "American Double Action" revolvers .38 S&W

[|:XAS:| Bravo]

Friggin' sweet.

[henriksultan]

Some really nice stuff you got there Im no collector but I do like to look at the stuff.

Your grandfather a ww2 veteran? If you dont mind me asking?

[Glyndwr]

Yo Henriksultan, read his post, it's about his grandfather being a vateran of the Pacific war. A fantastic read ncthorn! It's incredible to think that these guys were so young going into battle. My Grandfathers were both part of the RAF, my father's father was a Anti Aircraft gunner based at home here in St Athens air base and my mother's father was ground crew, fixing Spitfires and Hurricanes he was invovled in the South Africa and Italian campaigns. He sadly lost his leg after they had taken a German airbase and the area still hadn't been cleared entirely and he stood on a mine. Lost his leg at 21 and it never stopped him in any way. Was a tough Irishman, there's an old photo of him cutting the hedge standing on one leg.

They've both passed away now, i wish i could have chatted to them about their experiences. But sadly their generation are slowly fading away.

[Lt. Hanley]

Actually http://www.1944game.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4010

Nice collection and a great read. You sorely need some of these though :

[SWAT Pointman]

I have an No 4 MK1 Enfield, maybe I'll get some pics up.

[ncthorn]

Pardon me for not searching very well. Luckily it appears that that thread is pretty old so I dont think a new one will hurt. Ill definitely be grabbing a CMP M1 as soon as they get the new batch popped open and for sale. Currently they are out of Service Grade M1s but will have some ready for sale by the new year. Until then, to curb my addiction I may pick up a No.4 Mk1 or maybe a couple more Mosins. I also rounded up a few pics from a slideshow I did last year in my European History AP class. Some of these items are in the previous pictures but these pics are pretty good so Ill share them anyway.

Thank you letter given to all troops from Harry S. Truman. Notice my granfather's last name "Callahan" is spelled "Callahn". HAHA


Initiation certificate and Naval unit history book from my grandfather. 1155th Combat Engineer Group history books (Pacific and Europe).


Map of the Pacific with important campaign information given to my great-grandfather during their Pacific service.


Grandfather's book of places he visited while serving. Stars indicate invasions.


Grandfather's dog tag closeup.


.30 Cal ammo box.


Couple pics of the ASW 44 K98 bayonet. 95% original finish still remains. Brought back by great-grandfather.




SA Dagger. 1942 Carl Eickhorn production. Late variant. Brought back by great-grandfather.


Early Hitler Youth (HJ) knife. Emil Voos manufactured. Brought back by great-grandfather.


Imperial 1943 blade marked M3 trench knife. Grandfather's.


Close-up of post WWII production M1 helmet. Ebay find lol.

[SambuthLong]

damn i wish i own a ww2 gun but i cant because im too young and i dont know where to get them at

[Crazythumbs]

It's a safe bet that a few gun stores near you hold at least a few WW2 firearms. As for me I have a Type 99 Arisaka short version, and a Mosin Nagant 91/30, but no pictures.
I also have my great grandfathers WWI gear, but the pictures are on another computer

I might be able to find the thread I made over at the RO forums....found it
http://www.redorchestragame.com/foru...ead.php?t=9848

[ncthorn]

How old are you Sambuth? It is actually legal in many states for a parent to purchase a long gun and give it to a minor as a gift as long as adequate supervision is practiced. I am only 16 years old but my parents are willing to support my collecting and therefore my dad applied for an FFL03 or C&R License so that I may collect classic weapons. I am however, not allowed to shoot my rifles or purchase ammo but thats okay for now.

A few places that sell surplus firearms online (require a license or a dealer willing to do a transfer to you):

InterOrdnance
Century Arms Int'l
Classic Arms
AIM Surplus
J&G Sales
Southern Ohio Gun
Centerfire Systems
Empire Arms
Gunbroker- Ebay of guns

[Senlui]

I have none at home but I've got alot of this kind of stuff at my grandfathers place. In 1944 when the war between Finland and Russia was on, the officers ordered the soldiers to hide their guns at home, barns and stuff in case they are needed again in the near future.