World War II Marine Reunited With His M1 Garand Rifle After 73 years

Now that is one nice son to take the time and effort to track down his father's WW2 rifle and buy it for him.


www.kiro7.com...

This Veterans Day, the old Marine is reconnecting with the dented, scratched rifle that became his third arm during the war. Today, it’s a historic relic that is bringing his family closer.

“It’s my baby,” Cowell said of the rifle. “I am very appreciative that Richard was able to find it after 73 years.”

Richard, who lives in Tequesta, spent six months hunting down the rifle after finding a white piece of paper with the word “Springfield” written in cursive followed by the serial number “3594593” in his father’s desk.

“It didn’t matter the cost. The rifle was a piece of history and it is part of him,” Richard said. “I was going to buy it even if I had to mortgage the house.”

He spent “a pretty penny” buying the rifle, he said, but declined to reveal the price. “It’s not about the money,” Richard said.

a reply to: infolurker

Wow, that is awesome! What's the chances? Not too mention the Garands high collectability ... what, 2k plus on average for a Garand?

Great ol rifle.
Eta: auction site on values for average pricing EXCLUDING super high-end versions:www.rockislandauction.com/blog/m1-garand-prices-trends/

So $2500 is closer to reality these days...good investment, somethingvfolks don't often consider...better firearms hold or increase in value.

How did he ever find it, that’s the story......

a reply to: infolurker

How good is an M1 Garand as a personal weapon? I've always wanted to own one.

What a great story. Just what I needed to brighten my day. Probably took a ton of internet sleuthing, and quite a few phone calls to find it.

a reply to: starwarsisreal

Figure good enough to help win a world war.

My Springfield 1908 drill rifle weighed 9.8 lbs. So close, a little heavy and a tad long for a personal...

originally posted by: starwarsisreal
How good is an M1 Garand as a personal weapon? I've always wanted to own one.

What would be your main reason(s) for wanting one?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

It looks cool and plus I have an interest on WW2 history.

Another rifle I wished I owned is the 98k.

a reply to: starwarsisreal


You said as a 'personal weapon' so I assumed you intended on using it, if it's just for collectors purposes then that's a different aspect.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Well what about as a hunting rifle? I've heard some people used it to hunt moose.

a reply to: starwarsisreal


The caliber is of decent size, just keep in mind it's effective range is 500 yards.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Effective range on getting consistent bullseyes and or qualifying for a badge, but its effective fighting range, if we want to call it that is well over that figure.

For all of those snide posters to this thread: that weapon is a major reason we defeated the Nazi in addition to many other types of war material we employed. In that regard, you just as well try to get cute about a B-17 as that famous, old rifle.

originally posted by: Aliensun
Effective range on getting consistent bullseyes and or qualifying for a badge, but its effective fighting range, if we want to call it that is well over that figure.

He asked about hunting which would require more accuracy than what the rifle's final fighting range may be.