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**Bill Grist** · 03-13-2007, 10:25 AM

Some of my picts of the end...

let the souviner hunting begin.. A couple of my picts. from vets...BILL

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**Bill Grist** · 03-13-2007, 10:25 AM

2

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**vitts** · 03-13-2007, 12:31 PM

You know whenever I make a personal direct purchase the story I usualy hear is "they were all in a big pile and I just picked up whatever I wanted". It is when the items get passed down then you get the "dead Officer" story. Most GI's were not in a position to carry eveything around with them and they were to worried about staying alive to go souvenir hunting. I am sure some did but not the majority. I am looking forward to seeing more pics and stories on this subject. Thanks for starting this post Bill and nice pics frank v.

**Alan Smith** · 03-13-2007, 01:21 PM

Vitts,

I agree. In my experience, most souvenir items were obtained at or near war's end (or during post-war occupation duty), when things had stabilized a bit. At that point stuff could be picked up from surrender piles and, usually, mailed back with no trouble. Particularly at war's end, the G.I.'s had free time prior to shipping back home (or heading to the PTO) in which to pick up stuff.

BTW: Ever seen PTO "capture papers" for German items? Contrary to the stories that some dealers would make up, such items are not rare examples of German military material supplied to the Japanese but, rather, are simply souvenir items that ETO vets had with them when they shipped out from the ETO and headed directly to the PTO.

Once the A-bomb came along and finally put things to rest, the vets got PTO capture papers for anything in then in their possession, including their German items. By way of example, I know a vet in Florida who has a P.08 w/ PTO capture papers as a result of these events.

**r.blue** · 03-13-2007, 01:41 PM

Vitts,
I talked to a vet yesterday....27th Division. I asked him how he got his Japanese swords and he told me an announcement was made to go down to the local courthouse in Tokyo and pick up a sword. He told me that he sent his friend down and told him to bring him back a couple of swords....that's how he got them.
He said the same thing about souvenirs in combat areas.
His recollections of our Navy off the coast of Okinawa...I've read about it but have never had someone personally describe it to me. The sight of that vast armada with it's battleships firing slavo after salvo has to be one of the most incredible images you could ever see. He saw it.
R.Blue
R.Blue

**r.blue** · 03-13-2007, 01:42 PM

Alan,
Yes you are correct...lots of ETO stuff found it's way home from the Pacific.
R.Blue

**Von Hoth** · 03-13-2007, 03:24 PM

while on this subject, my grandfather who earned 4 bronze stars in europe in the third division as combat engineer had the unfortunate order to not sneak the 1911's back home for keeping.

he said he was told they would do a search before they shipped out of england so he burried his .45 behind some barracks. I was like "what the hell" because he said that they didn't even check so he could have kept it.

that sucks so much.

to make matters worst, one of my uncles lost the german pistol he was allowed to bring back.

**vitts** · 03-13-2007, 05:21 PM

Lots of stories about officers taking guns away from soilders, GI's stealing from each other, I have heard that a lot of GI's threw their pistols overboard rather than give them to an officer. I picked up a browning high power from a vet with the name Kreidler written on the inside flap and I told him "look the german wrote his name in here" He told me "thats me i had to turn it in when one guy in his unit shot another guy accidently while playing with a luger" He told me how he picked it up at a msss capture bu the Elb river along with about 30 otherpistols and then he gave them all away but this one highpower. i got the holster, extra mag, luft buckle and belt just the way he brought it home. Which reminds me I will always try to give a vet the proper price for any item, and you know a lot of times they refuse. frank v.

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**starshy** · 03-13-2007, 06:01 PM

Originally posted by BILL GRIST View Post

let the souviner hunting begin.. A couple of my picts. from vets...BILL

Holy cow, what a shot!

**Rich Pouncey** · 03-13-2007, 10:33 PM

Thank you for posting this website! I will spend several hours studying this intensly interesting part of WWII history!

GI's stealing is nothing new,naturally, especially high value items! I occasionally spend a little time with Andy York, Sgt.Alvin York's youngest son. A year or so ago I asked Andy if the Army had allowed his Dad to keep his '03 when he was released,and he replied that the piece was stolen from the armory aboard the troop ship "Ohian" as soon as they made New York Harbor. No trace of it has ever been found,either.

**Bill Grist** · 03-14-2007, 02:02 PM

Originally posted by Rich Pouncey View Post

Thank you for posting this website! I will spend several hours studying this intensly interesting part of WWII history!

GI's stealing is nothing new,naturally, especially high value items! I occasionally spend a little time with Andy York, Sgt.Alvin York's youngest son. A year or so ago I asked Andy if the Army had allowed his Dad to keep his '03 when he was released,and he replied that the piece was stolen from the armory aboard the troop ship "Ohian" as soon as they made New York Harbor. No trace of it has ever been found,either.

Rich, I wonder if anyone knows the S.N. of Sgt. York's rifle...BILL

**phild** · 03-14-2007, 08:15 PM

Originally posted by Rich Pouncey View Post

Thank you for posting this website! I will spend several hours studying this intensly interesting part of WWII history!

GI's stealing is nothing new,naturally, especially high value items! I occasionally spend a little time with Andy York, Sgt.Alvin York's youngest son. A year or so ago I asked Andy if the Army had allowed his Dad to keep his '03 when he was released,and he replied that the piece was stolen from the armory aboard the troop ship "Ohian" as soon as they made New York Harbor. No trace of it has ever been found,either.

I think (I could be wrong!!) that Alvin York was using a Mod.1917 "Enfield" during the events that he was awarded the MOH for. I believe that he was trained/qualified on the 1903, but he mentions in his diary account the his unit was forced to switch to the 1917 rifles when they got to France (or maybe it was England)...at any rate York actually called these British rifles, but historians know well that his unit in the 82nd (and perhaps the whole Div.) was armed with model 1917 "Enfields".

**Rich Pouncey** · 03-16-2007, 03:22 PM

I will see Andy a week from tomorrow, and will ask him if he or anyone else has a record of the serial number. After all these years I doubt that it will surface, though.

According to Sgt. York's hand written diary which Andy still has, his Unit was forced to swap out their '03s in England for 1917's, but once the Unit arrived in France, almost as a last minute thing, Unit members were given the option of swaping back to the '03 if that was preferred. Sgt.York did swap the 1917 Enfield for an '03 because, as he says, he was trained on the '03 which had a post front sight and notched rear sight just like the Southern Mountain Rifles that he grew up with.

The annual Sgt.York Memorial "Over-The-Log" Chunkgun Match will be held Saturday 24 March (a week from tomorrow) at Sgt.York's home farm in Pall Mall, Tennessee. This is a traditional Southern Mountain Rifle Match/Turkey Shoot that has been held at this same site since settlement times in the late 1700's. Tradition says that Sgt.York's ancestor,Coonrod Pyle, initiated the Turkey Shoot in this same location.

Rifles must be either flintlock or caplock,open iron sights,black powder, shooting patched round balls. This is prone position,over the log with muzzles permitted to rest on the log.About 215-225 shooters will compete for prizes with the top 20% winning a few pounds of T-Bone steaks right on down to hamburger meat!I have shot in this match for some years. My rifle is a .50cal flintlock weighing close to 20 pounds, and sometimes I win steaks

. But more importantly it has given me the opportunity to become friends with Sgt.York's youngest son and a couple of nephews, and to be invited to squirrel hunt with one of the nephews who owns a littermate Curr dog to one of mine.

The public is invited to visit and observe an old time Southern Mountain Rifle Match, so if anyone is in the Tennessee-Kentucky area and would like to see an exciting event you are welcome! Dress for participants is overalls,plaid shirts, brogan shoes and fedora hats just like Sgt.York wore at rifle matches at this site back in the 1920's and 30's!

**pitts duncan** · 05-17-2007, 05:47 PM

now that is definitely cool........

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Dissarming of German forces 1945 and 1946

Dissarming of German forces 1945 and 1946

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