As a kid back in the 60s' , the neighbor guy showed me his Luger brought back to the states. He said - "I'm not going to tell you any bullshit war stories . I traded 3 packs of cigarettes for this pistol". Thanks Dr. Felton for another excellent slice of history.
One of my college professors had a 17th century German sword on his office wall. He gave the formerly wealthy owner 5 K rations for it when his platoon kicked his family out and quartered themselves in the home. They only stayed one night.
There must have been thousands of those lugers distributed out at that time cos my Dad had one, in my hands at seven years old it was so heavy I could barely hold it up.😎
@@jonnaylor3154 Given they stopped production for these in 1942 and those were unceremoniously given to second-line troops, I am sure the Lugers they got from the war have a high chance being once owned by an invalid...
My dad, a WWII veteran, who was in the 8th Army 11th division in the Pacific brought back a Jap rifle and bayonet with a Samurai sword. Played with them when I was a kid,then when I was 19 bought the 7.7mm ammo to shoot the rifle. Great shooting rifle by the way. My dad passed away last year at the age of 94 and was buried with full military honors. My whole life I couldn't wait to have them,, but now I would trade them back in a heart beat to have him back.
@@todcarter110 Quite true. The fit and finish on the pre-war Arisakas I've seen were second to none, although of course as the war progressed the quality of the rifles deteriorated. That being said the Arisakas were solid, serviceable rifles. They weren't Enfields, Springfields, or Mausers but they were far from pieces of junk.
My sympathies to you. I lost my father in May of this year and I understand how hard it is to say goodbye to someone who's been part of your life for so long it's seems like he'll always be there, but one day he's not. But what can either of us do? Time passes and the inevitable comes and we have to move on. But it's sure not easy.
One of my neighbors was in Pattons army also and he did post-war garrison. He brought back some Lugers, Walther P38s and two k98 rifles and one of my favorite was the K43 he brought back. One of his unit mates brought back an MP-40 and when I met him one time at the reunion, he stated that he was visited by a federal agency who told him about the NFA and that he needed to pay a $200 tax for it. Being he was flush with cash, he handed it to them and they did the paperwork for him. Last, I heard, his daughter sold it to a dealer in Arizona in the late 90's. My neighbor when he passed, his wife gave me one of the K98 and one of the Walther P38s. Thanks for doing this video. RIP Dr. Danner my next door neighbor and WWII veteran.
@@JacksonMcgarvey2665 Yeah, he was a great old guy. Told me a ton of things wrong about the PATTON movie and A Bridge Too Far. He wasn't stand offish about his service. He knew stuff to be dangerous and knew how to do things unlike other WWII veterans I knew that kinda felt to me that "talked the talk but didn't do the walk". He helped import Mercedes to California back in the 70s and 80s by going over to Germany and buying it and driving it around to circumvent some rules and save some money for his friends. Really really cool guy.
As for Soviets and "bring backs," I recently saw a video of Wagner Groups leader in an old mine full of weapons from WWII. Hundreds of thousands of German and Soviet WWII weapons are stored in abandoned mines and military caches, along with ammo as well. Another great subject and video, Dr. Felton.
My dad said that they were threatened with an inspection and anybody that was caught with anything was six more months in country. He said that night soldiers were burying rifles and souvenirs all over the place. Hoping to return for them after the war. The next morning, no inspection. People were not happy. My dad, however, disassembled a Mauser rifle, put it in his duffel bag and got by with it. Still have it today. A matching numbers k98 dated 1939.
Family friend of mine had a sword captured from the Japanese. They actually had its engravings translated, and contacted the family of the original owner, travelled to Japan and returned the sword. I believe this family is still in contact with the Japanese family. I don’t remember the specifics, but it’s a touching story.
@@markr394 well said. My grandfather brought back a sword from Korea as well and after his death as a family we decided to try to research it's history and possibly return it. It ended up being manufactured around the war and not a centuries old heirloom. We did return a dog tag from another Marine grandpa served with to his family. None of us know the story but I do know it wasn't a happy ending.
@@carywest9256The main word here is "story". Having spent years in modern Japan I'm sure the family had it sold before the finders were back in the states.
My grandfather brought a Beretta M1935 home from N. Africa, which he sold to another GI who had never left the states for $65, upon returning. My neighbor has quite a few souvenirs that his grandfather bought back from the Pacific. An NCO sword, two Arisaka`s and bayonets. There are probably more Lugers in America than Germany at this point.
That's definitely a fact, same with Japanese swords. Once upon a time, especially when their economy was booming, there were a few movements from Japan buying back the legal, traditionally made swords (nihonto) from veterans, their relatives, shops, etc. to bring back their heritage back to the homeland. There are still a few (of the few) pre-war designated national treasures that are missing to this day, known to have been surrendered during the occupation, but no details of who the Allied servicemember was who picked it up for a trophy. A few were found and returned/bought back, but hope is that they're's still in someone's collection, or the vet's/family's possession and will be made known by a knowing eye. If I remember correctly, since they've been lost and also the grading system changed post-war, they would have to be reevaluated for their status (assuming they are still in the same parameters that led to their designation). Harder yet is even though accurate written documentation were made of the blades, few etchings or photos exist of them.
I grew up seeing SS souvenirs along with arms collected by my father during WW2. He told me he had 2 duffel bags stuffed with rifles, and pistols, but he also had a MP40 in a black leather satchel along with SS knives and daggers. I saw these on rare occasions growing up along with the stories for some of them. When I came home from the service on leave 1978, I went into the garage and opened the black leather bag and took out the MP40. I was not supposed to be snooping but I could not help myself. It was intact with a full mag and the bolt was back. I had training on the grease gun being a tanker in the Army and knew this weapon was ready to go. Needless to say my dad came in the door and caught me and asked for me to put it back. His story was one that I remember as he had reported after the war to the FBI that he had the weapon and had attempted to demil it by working over the firing pin but was not able to. The ATF was not an agency yet and he never heard back from the FBI. He was a doctor in good standing and an upstanding citizen and nothing came of it. He sold most of the trophies to a museum after I had discovered the MP40 and that was the last I saw of those Hitler youth and SS knives along with an officers sword. He was in the 103rd division, 409th Regiment, 1st Battalion, Company D from June 44 to July 45, Dr. Loy L. Hudson and they had captured many SS, he said, "If I did not take these items the next guy would have". The Luger pistol he found in France under a seat of a wagon and I still have it. Unfired since 1945 and with original ammunition still in the magazines. All matching serial numbers and spotless condition. Thank you Dr. Felton for the memory kick in the pants. All of this came rushing back from decades ago..
super cool finds shame he sold so many of them i would have wanted them. There was an amnesty in the 60's he could have registered the mp40 then possibly.
@@samrodian919 thats the same, you give something thats gonna stay behind a glass and never used. ah weapons is meant to be fired, or its just a piece of steel.
It still goes on to this day. One Vietnam vet I worked with in the USA, got an M16 back from Saigon, broken down and smuggled thru in HI FI stero components and mailed back to the US. The Gulf War,there was stuff coming back in the 1990s too. Give people an incentive,enough time to figure out how to game the system and fancy their chances ,and they will bring stuff home.Long may it continue!!!
Friend of mine served in Kuwait during Desert Shield/Storm and him and some buddies buried a huge crate full of gun/treasures they collected with the intention to one day return and retrieve them. I don't think any of them ever went back for it.
Very true. I knew a guy who had a full auto M14 that got here somehow from Vietnam. How that soldier managed to smuggle that gigantic thing back we’ll never know
I knew a student in high school whose dad brought back a Thompson SMG and an MP40 as well as P08 Luger pistols. In Vietnam they brought back M14s, M16s grenades, AK47s, and Tokarev pistols from what I saw here in California. Thank you Dr. Felton for another very informative presentation.
I wonder if any World War II veteran officers brought their Luger pistols with them to Korea a few years later (I have to imagine some did, either as a good luck thing or simply because they preferred the gun's feel).
@@thunderbird1921 As silly as this sounds, (mm parabellum was not that common in the US after the war. There were even some Lugers converted to 8mm Nambu as that ammo was more plentiful in the US.
I have a friend who served during the Falklands war. He and his buddy collected a number of Argentinian Colt 45 1911 pistols as souvenirs. As they were heading towards the Isle of Wight, an officer informed them all of a last minute inspection of contraband. In a panic my friend threw his souvenirs overboard. To his fury the inspection never went ahead. He did spend a number of years inquiring about obtaining some diving equipment but never followed through.
Probably was a good thing he tossed them as he would have potentially put other people in his household in danger having modern firearms as souvenirs. Word gets out he has them and criminals break in to steal them, or kids find them and show them off to their friends who then tell their parents who tell the police who raid the house. Not worth it.
Utter bloody disgrace that the British soldier is considered untrustworthy to own in civilian life a keepsake of his combat.But perfectly capable of using deadly weapons for King and Country. I know of two high ranking officers who resigned their commissions in protest at the pistol ban post Hungerford. Figured if they couldn't be trusted with a pistol in civilian life, by their govt they would not be in charge or command an armoured brigade for the same govt.
@@jamesjanson6129 sad very sad. I own multiple rifles and pistols. There are plenty in America who want us to go the way of England. I don't think it'll be so easy here. I'm a veteran as well and if they tried to confiscate I'd fight the government that I fought for before.
My dad who fought in the Pacific didn't have a single souvenir, he wanted to forget the war and rarely even talked about it. Probably the most interesting WW2 piece in my collection was purchased directly from the Gettysburg Museum in Pennsylvania, it's a sterling silver "AH" monogrammed oyster fork that has solid provenance as having been liberated from the basement under Hitler's bombed out residence in Munich by a US medical Corps Captain. It was part of a personalized cutlery set that was given to the Fuhrer for his 50th birthday in 1939 by Albert Speer.
Yep…my father in law, a Lt.Col. in Patton’s 3rd Army, brought back pistols, swords, daggers and two rifles. One of the rifles was taken off a 14 year old Hitler Youth who had put a bullet through the windshield of his jeep during the last week of the war. His soldiers wanted to shoot the kid but he would not allow it. Instead after disarming him, they gave him a spanking and turned him loose.
There was a case a few years ago here in australia when someone handed in a German WW1 artillery Luger with all the kit to go with it in mint condition, when the public found out that it would be destroyed with all other amnesty guns there was a mild uproar and thankfully it was put into a museum
Thanks Mark. This brings back memories. My dad returned from the European theatre with a Walther P38 I think, and a Beretta M1934. Unfortunately for me, both of these were, I believe, stolen by my eldest brother shortly before our father died from cancer. Being an MP who had occasion to work undercover in the post war period. He had a shoulder holster for the Beretta, which I assume helped him pull off his guise of being a well dressed hoodlum. As he infiltrated counterfeiting gangs lurking around Frankfurt between 1955-1958. I saw him pull out that pistole two times and only when he was ready for action. Sadly he passed away before I grew old enough to hold mature conversations with him about his work as an MP. I recommend that everybody question their parents, and grandparents, and gather as much first hand accounting of their lives as you can before their gone. All the best to you!
My paternal grandfather was an engineer who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He never spoke of the war, ever. But late in his life, I approached him sitting alone at a family reunion, and discussed the World War II history class I was taking in college at the time. He started talking in detail about his experience that day. I was kicking myself for not having a tape recorder or notebook with me. Unfortunately, my loudmouth brother came over and interrupted us. I wanted to visit him later at home with a recorder, but he was in poor health, and it never happened. He died soon afterward. His experience was far from unique, but I think it would have been a treasure for my family, especially the many who followed him into military service.
@@texaswunderkind Yeah... I had a friend, a German regular, surrendered at the Battle of the Bulge. Why did I never get his story? What about my friends dad who was a POW on the Death Railway? Another friend who accidently befriended a convicted war criminal. My own dad who dropped and picked up agents from Burmese jungle strips..... it goes on... every adult I knew as a kid would have their stories and I let it all slide away.
None of my great uncles, or my grandfather, ever mentioned the wars [first or second] and dad never said much about his service overseas either. I think they preferred to forget and while there were obviously bad memories/experiences that lasted literally until they died they largely kept them to themselves.
You're right: many people in our lives are genuine witnesses to - and even participants in - history. They provide invaluable opportunities to learn directly from people who were there without the filters imposed by historians, editors, etc.
@@texaswunderkind And yet you are a witness to and participate in history. It will do future generations good to read about the events in your life, and how they affected you, how you dealt with them. Our mundane lives, however prozaic they may be, are yet full of detail and meaning that future generations will only be able to dream about. Actually those in this column are living in interesting times if they could only see it. All the best.
My shooting partner's take home gun from WWII was a Holland and Holland shotgun his grandfather found in a manner house turned nazi HQ. It was a take down model and he stuffed the stock in his coat and the barrel down a pant leg and tried to walk as normally as possible out. He was a prolific trap shooter and bird hunter and immediately knew what it was when he picked it up. It's a gorgeous piece.
As a kid here in the U.S. one of our neighbors let us kids wear German uniforms /w helmets and deactivated MP40’s. He did this so we could play properly (he was a collector) as the WW2 U.S. gear was readily available from the “army surplus” store. Us kids ran around the neighborhood dressed as U.S. and German army. It was great fun.
As kids we annoyed a former paratrooper across the way until he went inside and brought back an actual MP40 instantly recognizable from so many episodes of "COMBAT" and hoisted into the air! Then the wife intervened and brought him and the weapon inside the house.
And I'll bet nobody complained about you kids wearing German uniforms either. Nowadays some people who never even lived through the WW2 era would have meltdowns over your doing so.
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 In 1965 My father worked at a Mexican place called "El Pancho Villa" in North Hollywood, Ca. To tell you the truth back then we still had Drive-ins. On Saturdays they hosted Hugh swap meets where you could buy Nazi Helmets, authentic SS daggers, Holsters for Lugers etc. If you could dream it was likely on sale!
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 No, no complaints about the uniforms or guns…however one funny story about the dummy U.S. pineapple genades we threw all over. We kids got yelled at for leaving one in a guys yard. He ran it over with his lawnmower and he was very mad. When confronted..we wise cracked that we were glad he found the gerande and could he help us find the land mine. Our sense of humor may have saved us from punishment.
Mark's videos is one of the things that got me into collecting ww1 and 2 firearms, now I have almost 2 dozen lugers, and nearly everything else now. I even have a lufwaffe m30 survival drilling rifle!!!😁😁 if only they could talk. I'm a younger guy and I really wish more of my generation would appreciate history and videos like these.
When clearing out my Grandfather's garage following his death, we found a Walther P38 in a biscuit tin with spare magazine and 20 rounds of 9x19.He was a Royal Marine and served in Africa, Italy and the Netherlands during WW2. My uncle remembered seeing it when he was a boy and asking my Grandad how he got it. My Grandad gave him a long look and said "You don't ask a man a question like that."
My father served as a PT Boat skipper in the Philippines towards the end of WWII. In fact, he was the last skipper of his boat. Because almost all of the PT boats were scuttled and/or burned after VJ day, including his, my dad allowed the crew to take any souvenirs from the boat. As the last skipper of the boat, he appropriated the wheel, its national ensign (flag) and a Bureau of Ships US Navy comparing watch made by the Hamilton watch company. He boxed those items and sent them to our hometown in Missouri. All arrived at our family's home at the time. They were eventually passed on to me, his oldest son and the only one of his eight children who served in the US military (Marine Corps). He also procured a Type 38 Japanese bolt-action rifle. Like most of those captured rifles, the Japanese POW who had surrendered it defaced the chrysanthemum (flower) in an effort to save face. The chrysanthemum was the symbol of the Japanese emperor and it was stamped on all Japanese weapons to show that the weapon was was manufactured for the Imperial Japanese Army and therefore belonged to the emperor. He wrapped the rifle in brown paper and wrote an address on it. It, too, arrived safely at its destination in Missouri about three weeks later. I still have the rifle as well.
In Yugoslavia, my grandad was a partisan fighter and later a JNA officer. He used his personal, captured Radom Vis 35 as his personal sidearm until retirement in the early 1980s. He was issued a carry permit by the army for it. His dad, did however, return a captured MP40, at some point.
My dad had a story about a guy in his unit who claimed he was going to get rich selling the souvenirs he sent home. My dad and the others talked him out of mailing a hand grenade that no one knew how to disarm. The guy died when he went out into a minefield in search of more stuff.
My Uncle openly admitted to picking all his weapons from those piled in town centers by German citizens. They were told they had to "surrender them, or else you will regret it." He mailed three foot lockers back. Only one wasn't stolen in transit. In that footlocker were at least a K98k, Kar 98, a Luger, a P38, and a Browning Trombone .22 rifle.
I'm enjoying all the comments as much as the video! My grandfather was in the 8th Air Force and had a duffle bag with pistols and other souvenirs that was unfortunately stolen during his train ride stateside. He also told me how you could buy lots of old German weapons at local hardware stores in the 50's and 60's for a few dollars. It's hard to believe now, but for many decades after the war, they didn't hold much value and weren't even seen as collectible. Hence why so many were sporterized or refinished.
My moms cousin brought home a Luger, an SS uniform, several flags, a set of silverware from an SS officers training school, and a suit of medieval armor! He must of had his own troop transport home. 😅
Probably SS Junkerschule at Bad Tölz. The building still exists. I was there in 1990, they have hallways in black, it was called the black autobahn. The building is in hiatus or unused only for storage, it was home for decades to the US Army 7th ATC NCO school.
My late uncle Griff served in the 2nd AIF in New Guinea during WW2. He brought back a samurai sword. The one thing he, along with his brothers, one of which was my late father, & ALL soldiers brought back was the one souvenir they definitely didn’t want… PTSD. 😢 Lest We Forget….
While living in Rhodesia in 1978 I got my hands on a remarkable WW2 trophy, a 1928 A1 Thompson sub machine gun. It was fully functional and had two 20 round stick magazines. It was hand painted green and brown in a jury-rigged camouflage style. It did not have the forward pistol grip but had conventional furniture. Apparently this weapon had been used in Burma, so the story went and brought back to Rhodesia. I had the gun beautifully re-blued and restored. A friendly gun dealer in Salisbury gave me a hand written note confirming that the weapon was ‘deactivated.’ I took the note to the Firearms registry office and got it registered. Later I acquired a 50 round drum for it from America. When I left Rhodesia I sold it to a friend and it is still in his collection.
Your description of British troops coming home to be searched for weapons is spot on Mark. My father, and RAF Flight Sergeant came to the port of embarkation back to the UK and being in possession of a Luger was told of the trouble he would be in if caught with it back in Blighty promptly handed it in. Too honest by far was my dad!
A vet I knew was stationed in Seattle where his team passed mine detectors over barracks bags shipped home by GIs. A beep resulted in the lock being clipped and hundreds of weapons were retrieved. These were dumped in the bay (after the the CO took a pistol he liked). A vet from Europe told of shipping home some nice weapons. Only one made it past pilfering and Customs; a boar rifle "liberated" from Herman Goering's hunting lodge, not a military weapon. My wife's family has a NCO samurai sword brought back by their Marine dad.
Fascinating video as usual, Dr. Felton. A few years ago, my father and I were talking with the man who ran the storage center we rented a unit at. He told us about how one day, he happened to be present when a guy who also had a unit rented came in with an large open box to put in it. Inside was a HUGE Nazi flag carefully folded. Rather unsettled by this, he asked the fellow why on earth he would possess such a thing, and he was told that this flag was in fact one that had flown over the Reichstag in the last days of World War II, and had been brought back to the United States as a war trophy. It is unclear however if American GIs found it themselves or if they bought it from Soviet soldiers who had taken Berlin first. Quite a piece of history to own, even if it is a nasty symbol.
A couple years back, my cousin and I were helping his in-laws move into a condo. On the last haul, we were emptying the SUV one last time and wrapped up in the footwell was an Arisaka rifle.
Hey Mark, just a small thing. At 3:02, that is not a Kar98k, that is a G24(t), a substitute standard weapon often used by second line troops or early on by the SS, before they got more ready access to regular German weapons. Incidentally, my grandfather served in the Pacific but came back with a German Naval Dagger, his story being that he took the surrender of a German naval officer since he was the highest ranking officer present when the man arrived (1st Lt). We still have it.
My grandfather was a US Army officer stationed stateside during the Second World War. One of his duties was to process German POWs after they arrived to the states. My grandfather noticed one prisoner acting suspiciously so he called for assistance. Thankfully he did because the prisoner he was processing had smuggled in a Luger. My grandfather and his backup tackled and forcefully disarmed the prisoner. My grandfather kept the gun and it is still with the family.
My grandfather used to own a Walther P38 that a friend’s father had picked off of a dead soldier. I still remember him showing it to me at a young age as I stared at it in complete awe.
Some of my most prized possessions are trophies that family members brought back from the war. A T99 Arisaka captured during the Aleutian Campaign, three Japanese battle flags brought back from the pacific, a Mauser M1914 pistol liberated from an elderly Volksturmm member, and a Nazi flag signed by the squad of American tankers that captured it. I believe the knowing the circumstances behind how the items made their way back to the US is just as important as the item itself. The stories and history give these inanimate objects life.
Dear Mark, my grandfather, a colonel in the Soviet army was fighting with the Japanese in 1945. He brought the Luger from that war. However, around 1960s weapon ownership laws were getting worse so we disposed of a gun in the nearest lake. Later on, there were several campaigns to collect unlegal guns in exchange for immunity in USSR. However, a lot of wartime trophies were still in the possession of veteran families. Thank you for your amazing stories.
Back in the 80's a classmate showed me a nice MP-40 in his duffel bag in our geology class that his grandfather had brought back from Europe. His family was dirt poor and he would use it to poach deer so his family could eat. He'd sneak up on a herd in the forest across from school at first light, pick a deer, give it a quick burst and note where it fell. Using the payphones by the cafeteria he'd call one of his brothers who'd come get it later in the day. I never felt unsafe with this student having that in school. Those times were just different.
Because that kid was concerned with how to feed his family rather than some narcissistic notion that the society owed him something and he had to settle his grudge with everyone by voting from the rooftop...
One of my classmates brought in his father's pistol to school back in the late 70s. He flashed it at me and I thought, how cool. Definitely different times.
I remember back in the 70s when people would drop there kid's off at school and in the back of their pick-up truck they would have a M1 or a shot gun on a rack , you never had any problems back than because the MSM didn't make celebrities out of lunatics or & they didn't get there face plastered on the cover of the Rolling Stone Magazine ( the Boston Bomber) that had a pressure cooker not a firearm to kill innocent people.
When you showed the two soldiers holding up a rifle in front of a Panther tank I was half-expecting a story of how the Panther was brought back! Thanks for another interesting and informative video.
Its thanks to these troops thst alot of historical items still exist. I bought an iron cross liberated from the Reichs Chancellery by a British soldier in July 1945. This was the earliest that most of the Western Allies were able to access central Berlin after the end of hostilities.
I'm an Iraqi freedom vet, USMC.. I'm jealous because we couldn't bring any firearms home. I'm sure higher ranking guys were able to, but most of us couldn't. I remember finding things like AK 47s/ AKMs, RPDs, a TT33, a Sterling SMG, RPG 47s, things like that. The TT33 would have been cool. Today sucks because you listen to stories like this and you think of all the history these men brought home and then you realize we've been denied such an opportunity. Personally, I think they earned the right to bring back souvenirs such as firearms. My hope is , as that generation passes on, my generation will try to pick up as many of these items as we can as to preserve history and the stories behind these items. ( I'm a 100% 2A guy, btw ) Beyond the 2A, its the history as well, the individual stories that need to live on and be shared with generations to come.
I’ve got a buddy whose grandfather passed away a few years back and was in the European theater during the war. They were going through his house and they found a crate a WWII grenades, I kid you not I saw it with my own eyes.
There's probably a lot more out there to be found as WW2 veterans pass away. Some guys brought things back they shouldn't have. It wouldn't be a bad idea for local police to put out PSA's concerning the same covering what grenades and other explosive devices look like and what to do when or if you find them.
@@ps5801 Grenades can be extremely dangerous especially if you die without telling your family that they are sitting on top of a crate of them, especially where there may be young children around the place. "Well cared for" means that every adult in the place must know about them and know how to manage them.
My grandfather brought back a Type 99 Arisaka Paratroopers variant from the Pacific. It shoots real nice too it's a family heirloom. We also have the bayonet too.
There was a military store and gun shop I would regularly visit in Toronto in the late 80s and they would regularly get bring back pistols . Usually brought in by the widows of vets who wanted the guns out of the house . Lots of rare and unusual firearms.
One of my great uncles served in Europe in the US Army 97th Infantry Division (allegedly responsible for firing the last shot in the ETO). The division was sent to the pacific in preparation for the invasion of Japan. While on their way the war ended. When he landed in Japan on occupation duty he was part of a group responsible for defacing and destroying Japanese firearms. According to him, every one of his group grabbed an Arisaka Type 99 and brought it back. I still have the Arisaka.
Never thought I’d see humble ole Hartford, CT mentioned in a Mark Felton video 😮 I can only hope that some of these historic and oftentimes rare firearms are sent to museums and not simply destroyed.
Agreed; it really caught my attention the moment I heard him mention Hartford. I had the misfortune of living in West Hartford for ~12 years Something about that place - as you've suggested - really *does* make it seem profoundly peculiar and unexpected to hear it mentioned in a Mark Felton video I'm not sure what that 'thing' is, but it is very real, and your comment is 100% warranted
@Taylor Cuts Trees Hartford contains a mere two ingredients: insurance and aggressively unpleasant people. If you've made any observation outside of those two things, you're simply mistaken
Ive been a bomb tech in a major American city for decades and have come across war souvenirs weekly during that time. Generally these items are found by family members when the vet passes. Grenades are the main item found but we have a museum full of bring backs collected including Japanese knee” mortars, vietnamese rpg launcher and mines. Crazy discoveries included a ww1 gas round and an ammo can filled with c4 and det cord. I would love to hear the stories of how they made it into a garage…
I bought a japanese t89 "knee mortar" from a guy who had bought it and demilled it the week prior, found at a garage sale, iv been offered non demilled stuff befor as well but dont want that headach no matter how rare the items were. One time was a ww2 willy peat unopened, and even if the nfa was not a thing i kinda dont want somthing that can burn my house down if a bit of air got into it due to 80 years of rust or how probably unstable it is lol. Have herd storys of jap grenades going off because the explosives were unstable just by dropping them... i do disasemble everything i own to make sure its demilled, have not come across any supprizes thankfully.
It's interesting to hear how common grenades are. My own late grandfather- who was a mechanical engineer in the army during the war- worked at Aberdeen proving grounds in Maryland in the early '40s. He told me a story (which I only vaguely remember because he told it to me when I was very young) about how some of his colleagues were developing and testing a new type of hand grenade. One day he went out to the testing range and found a small pile of this new "baseball grenade" just sitting on the ground, and he was told they were all going to be destroyed because it was a bad design and the project was being scrapped. He told me that apparenlty a few GIs had blown themselves up with the grenade, because- due to it's baseball shape and size and the average GI's experience throwing a baseball- soldiers would unadvertently put a bit of spin on it when they threw it. This caused the fuze to activate prematurely and the grenade would detonate only a few yards ahead of the thrower. Anyway, my grandpa grabbed 3 of these "beano" grenades, had them rendered inert, and brought them home. Seventy years later I inherited one and my mother now owns the other 2. (But don't worry, mine is officially and clearly stamped with the word "INERT" and mounted on a plaque that bears a short writeup about its failed development.) Thanks for reading.
I'm 62,and in all the news reports of "grenade found in vet's belongings" stories, all but 1 turned out to be a practice grenade. If there is a 1" diameter hole in the bottom, it isn't dangerous. A year or so ago a "torpedo " was in the news, turned out not to be 20" dia. X14' long torpedo, but an air dropped seismic sensor, about 18" X30"
My grandfather was in the Royal Engineers during WW2. His home had several souvenirs. Above his fireplace he had a couple of spent British mortar shells, a oil painting in his dining room he took from a house in Germany and a massive brass Nazi eagle on top of a cabinet. That’s what was visible, he had stuff stashed all over his house. He also snuck back a Beretta pistol he acquired whilst in North Africa. Funny story to that is when he came home on leave he showed it to a friend who started fiddling with it. The friend accidentally discharged the pistol. There was a large US army presence near by who heard the shot and mistook it for a spy. Apparently they started getting in a flap flying around in jeeps searching for a German spy. Anyway he handed it in during a amnesty during the 1950’s.
In the1990s a schoolboy's father was 'persuaded' by the police to donate a Luger to the IWM after he brought it along on a school visit and hid it in the grounds outside when he realised bags were being checked. We were also conducting checks of the grounds and found it. It was a civilian model that was later stamped for military use, making it an interesting piece. Grandad had 'aquired' it during his war service.
My grandfather was an officer in the French Army, he brought back home a lot of german stuff... Medals, swords, 2 rifles, an MP40, bayonets, knives, some SS memorabilia as well, some helmets, flags, etc... He would keep them in his cellar and sometimes he would show us something. When he died my dad inherited it all but he sold almost everything... I still got some items like plates, forks, knives taken from the Kommandatur of Beauvais, a beautiful Luftwaffe knife, a nice SS belt buckle and a coat hanger "found" in Pforzheim with a stamped swastika on the rear 😊
Absolutely. I would have brought back a couple of dozen FG42's and then,having sold them,spend the rest of my life sipping Pina Colada's on a beach somewhere. 😂
@@opoxious1592 doesn’t make them worth fighting for. Anyone who has actually done some fighting would agree. I’m not saying that souvenirs aren’t important and quite cool…just that no one really goes fighting for them.
Brilliant info again! Well done, Mark I had a neighbour whose father had brought back a British and German bayonet from WWI. I couldn't believe the lengths of them. They looked like swords as a young boy, back then.
My uncle Cliff managed to bring home a real live German woman - 5' 2" blonde hair and blue eyes - in '46. She was pretty high caliber. And they had my cousin hidden inside her!
My father served with a man who collected several MP40s and crated them up to ship to his home in Pennsylvania. When they arrived his family found that the crate had been drilled through and through in many placed destroying the guns.
My dad who was an officer took a P-38 off of a dead German officer and I still have this gun to this day. A friend mine who's dad served in the Pacific had in his basemen a large Japanese machine gun of some type. I remember asking him how he got that because it was on a stand and very heavy. He told don't ask because you won't believed what I had to do to bring this back with me!
@@robsonez I was 14 at the time and the diameter of the bore looked to be about the same size as my 30-40 Krag that my great uncle had given me for deer hunting since I was them just old enough to get a deer hunting tag.
My Father bought with him a P38 pistol, a German dagger reading "Deutschland Über Alles", a German helmet and a variety of German Army Veterinary instruments made by Hauptner. He had been in the US Army Veterinary Corps, helping to buy, issue and care for pack mules by the thousand in Africa, Italy, France and Germany. He kicked himself for not bringing back some German hunting rifles or shotguns which were readily available instead of the veterinary instruments.
Fascinating! You always find the best topics to explore. My mom's dad, a tech sgt in the signal corps, didn't bring back any weapons. Instead, he brought back a huge flag flown from a building. It has the German cross on the upper left and the large symbol of the party of the Little Tramp in a white circle in the center. It even has a piece of rope attached, as well as manufacturere's tracking numbers on it. I still have it, in a box clearly labeled "Grandpa D's war trophy, brought back from Europe, 1946." I did find a Luger in an abandoned home in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana while doing Katrina cleanup - no idea if it was authentic - but it was disposed of along with frag grenades (!!) we found elsewhere in the house.
My father brought back a Japanese Ariska rifle. Appeared to have been a late production model because it wasn't made all that well. This video reminded me of Lester in "Mchale's Navy" with his very extensive war souvenirs. He had weapons, uniforms, flags.....even a plane's wing.
My father spoke of hunting with my grandfather using various WW2 bring backs. He served in the Burma theatre as a MP so I think he just brought his stuff home, probably took it back with him when he was called for Korea
In the 1950s I had a friend who had a room in their basement he called "The Museum". My friend's dad was a medic in Europe in WWII. He told us when a building housing a natural history museum needed to be turned into a hospital, all the exhibits were simply thrown out the window. He crated up a lot of stuffed animals, stuffed birds, and minerals samples most of which had German labels on them and sent them home. He also had a pretty extensive collection of military stuff such as gas masks, Nazi flags, helmets, etc. No guns that I ever saw, however.
My Great Grandpa was one of the officers in charge of the postdam conference and in charge of all military and civilian activities in the American sector of Berlin after WW2 ended, he brought home ID cards used to get in the conference, pictures of generals, and he even brought back a full German uniform (though sadly it got worn out over the years due to moth holes). Despite that I still have a good amount of his equipment and papers from the day.
Excellent video. My Father was a Sgt. in the US Armys 160th Combat Engineer Battalion and was at the battle of the bulge. He told me that he had an artillery model luger but some other GI stole it from him. He did bring back a silver panzer badge and a NSKK stickpin which I still have to this day.
My great grandfather brought back an SS officers dagger from the Battle Of The Bulge. Showed me the paperwork that allowed him to bring it back with him too.
If I may ask did he ever told your story's B About the war? Also I am verry thankfull for him for fighting the nazis He must have been a great man a treu hero so to say. If he is still alivr send him my greetings from the Netherlands and thanks fof his bravery
I brought back 16 or so weapons from Kosovo as unit trophies. The paperwork took the whole 6 months tour, our unit was in charge of the Secure Weapons Storage Site at KFOR Main. What was regularly destroyed would break your heart. Each Mess got a weapon, each sub unit got 2 weapons SKS and AK47 mainly. I also got a nice MP5 Jugoslavian copy for my Battery. A nice slab sided MP40 and a 1917 DWM PO8 Luger which are now in a local museum here in Germany.
My Dad never brought anything back to the uk from North Africa or Italy, he did try to bring a pair of Pearl handled Colt .45 (1911’s) he had traded in Korea , but stories of regular checks and threats of jail meant he dumped them in the sea on the way back to Japan. A close by neighbor passed away in the 70’s and he had a box under his bed with several Mills hand grenades , and a Webley revolver and ammo, I’m sure he would have had a custodial sentence if found out.
My dad served in the U.S. Army between WW2 & the Korean conflict. One day as he was unpacking crates of war materials recently sent back from Europe to the U.S., he pried off the top of one crate of communications equipment (as a private he worked on telephone lines) and found laying on the very top of the equipment a small cache of war souvenirs including a German flag and a P08 Luger! Evidently some soldier who packed the crate in Europe had secreted the items there hoping to be lucky enough to be the one who unpacked that particular box upon arrival in the States. My dad turned all the items over to his commanding officer, but Dad said that officer probably ended up keeping the items for himself. In college during the 1980s, I had a friend who once showed me a Japanese Nambu pistol that a relative of his had as a bring-back from the Pacific. Both pistol types bring ridiculous prices at American gun shows today, especially the Lugers.
Mark... when I was 10 years old or so {around 1980} I was spending some time with my grandfather in Washington who had served in the Army during World War II. He was in Italy most of the time and had learned to speak Italian in the time he was there... he also knew quite a bit of French and German. I was always very impressed with him when we would go get donuts on Sunday mornings and he would speak Italian to the Italians down at the bakery.... One day I asked him about the Nazis and Germany. I was still a child then and did not have context or the understanding of the depth of War and what it brings... but he proceeded to tell me a bit about the concept of right and wrong good and evil and such... He then goes and fetches an old canvas bag and proceeded to pull out an old luger pistol and leather holster. I believe it was a P8 model as I recall and it was a bit I don't know if it was normal but had some real swastika and eagle Bakelite grips. It was very clean and rather new looking and I was told by my grandfather that it was taken off a dead officer somewhere in Italy. The item was later passed down to my cousin when my uncle and grandfather had passed that later found out from the family there was more to the story and more detail if you look inside the flap of the holster you will see the name of the officer inscribed on it along with what I believe is to be a serial number of some sort? Grandpa also took a few other things off of him... a flag lapel pin with the swastika, a pen and notepad with Nazi propaganda printed on it, and the gold wedding ring the man had been wearing... The luger and the other items alli came together as a collection when it all finally passed to my cousin. The next time I cross paths with him I'll try to fix some pictures and such and send them your way it might be something you'd be interested in... take care and thanks for the good history!
Japanese bayonets are so common where I live because of all the WWII Pacific veterans than lived in my neighborhood. As a kid I would see them at garage sales all the time along side canteens and mess tins. Nobody was really interested in buying these things, they bought the Samurai swords but not so much the bayonets which could be had for just a few dollars. I bought once once and still have it, the old man who brought it back having served on Iwo Jima so it likely came from there.
For US watchers/residents of this video. Depending on what state you live in if you found a fully auto WW2 machine gun or sub machine gun from your grandpa’s ‘bring back trophy’ stash it is not illegal to possess (in most states) if you are not a felon or have been previously convicted of a gun related crime. Any fully auto weapon manufactured prior to 1986 is likely worth a bundle on the collections market. My advice bring the weapon to your local federally licensed gun dealer who may be able to help you obtain the necessary paperwork to keep or sell the gun. Given that these weapons are highly valued by collectors DO NOT surrender it to your local police department. You could be sitting on weapons worth tens of thousands of $’s depending on condition and who the weapon is resold to.
My Grandpa (Mom's side of the family) was a veteran of the British 8th Army, he brought back a few Iron crosses and a Hitler Youth knife, which my Grandma turned in! My great uncle ( U.S. side of the family) fought in the Pacific, he brought back a machete used by tribesman in New Guinea (it's still sharp as hell) and an Arisaka rifle. The rifle (ammo being difficult at best to find) is now in the weapons collection of the Palm Springs Air Museum! Growing up in the 70's and 80's it was difficult NOT to come across some type of Axis trophies held by family, friends and neighbors!
I got a Luger from an old guy in 1996, he had about 30 of them he had bought up from old war buddies over the years. His favorite example was a mint condition, but non firing one. He speculated that it had been sabotaged at the factory where it was produced. I can't remember which one that was, but it sure was a beautiful pistol.
In Australia, Japanese swords were always the most prized weapon. Personally, had I been alive then, I’d have tried to bring home a tank or two. A Panzer IV or V would be a wonderful item of loot,
I think one of the more darker war trophies I've heard about were Japanese skulls sent home by US soldiers. I saw a post on reddit awhile ago from a guy who bought out a veterans estate, among the uniforms and other pieces was a human skull with the top sawn off and cigar resting notches filed into the skull walls, crazy to think he used that as an ash tray for all those years.
I was at a gun show a number of years ago, and on one person's table was a human skull with "Souvenir of Pelileiu " written on it. the next time I came around to that table, it was gone.
The biggest tragedy for surrended weapons was in Japan . Many swords were melted down including family heirlooms dating back hundreds of years . Blades that had been made by master sword smiths and were not only weapons but priceless works of art
@@brendanroberts1310 Certainly. The Japanese of the time (and maybe still) were raised from birth to respect power and authority. Post-war the Allied occupiers were the power and the authority and were to be obeyed.
My father was an infantry man in the 87th Division. They spent most of their time in Europe under Patton in the 3rd Army. He was wounded a day or so before the Battle of the Bulge started and spent Christmas 1944 in a hospital in Paris. On returning to his company, he still had trouble walking fast because of his leg wound so while he healed, he filled in as the company postal clerk. While doing this he helped guys send back hundreds of trophies. And he even sent back 4 or 5 German rifles and Lugar and a trunk full of other items. His uncle had a number of farms between Seneca Lake and Keuka Lake in upstate New York - near Dundee. His mom, not wanting the rifles in the house, sent them to her brother's farms and they were used for 'deer pest control' for years.
For Canadians, my great uncle told me in 1970s how during WWII he was in Germany guarding several piles of weapons, flags, stationary etc that were along a street. From them he grabbed a nazi flag and a very fancy wooden box that was made to hold a highly ornate Luger with 2 magazines. In 46' he returned to Canada on the Empress of Scotland and as they got in St. John's harbor the officers & senior NCO's sent word around there was to be a kit search on the docks. They won't see a thing if anyone was to toss souvenir guns/knives etc over the side before they docked. Minutes later the water rose by a foot he said laughing, everyone scrambled to toss those things out of their kit bags. But he didn't since he thought he'd get away because he was ordinance and would declare the boxed luger was for the regimental display. The ship docked, they formed up on the docks and after a bit were marched off without a search. So he sold that boxed luger in mid-1950s it was enough cash to buy one of the earliest colour TVs and he said it was a surprise when they did get a show in colour in those early years. But people in neighborhood would line up to watch a bit of TV and would even stand on front lawn and watch through the big living room window, some would even bring snacks often peanuts or popcorn. By the early 80s he said that made the experience of bringing it back and the sale well worth it.
Worked with a man back in the 70s that was a WW2 vet. He told me he brought a small dog back he found in Italy. A terrior of some sort. I asked him how he got him over here. Said he just took him on the ship and nobody cared. Upon arrival in New York he put him in his duffel bag and just walked unchecked right on through. The guy said he was an excellent squirrel dog.
My grandfather brought back a stray miniature pinscher from Luxembourg that he tamed by feeding it C Rations. He brought it back on the ship and would take up above deck at night to "do its business" which he would then kick into the ocean. When he arrived in NY a bus driver tried to give him a hard time about bringing it back to GA on the bus but he acquiesced after a good cursing out.
For context on the Machine Gun restrictions for the US, in 1933 the NFA (National Firearms Act) was passed which was the first major Federal firearm law in the US. This act required the registration of machine guns in the US along with a $200 tax stamp which at the time was very expensive. Most other guns were unaffected by this act and as such there were practically zero federal regulations regarding these.
First World War trophies we had around the house while I was growing up included a Frankenstein helmet that took a glancing blow from a bullet, a Pickelstaube helmet with interchangeable ball and point, and a gas mask in a metal canister that in retrospect was probably pretty toxic. Over there! Over there!
My grandfather an Army officer who fought on Guadalcanal and New Guinea returned with a Type 26 revolver (with an early serial number and production date around 1900-1910) and a Katana. He never told the story about how he got them but through research we figure they are more than likely from the same Japanese officer as the Katana has all the hallmarks of being a family sword and not military issue. Plus the Type 26 revolvers were rare as in service front line pistols at that time being that production stopped in 1926. It's amazing how high quality the Type 26 is even to this day.
Ooh! finally a video i have a personal story that relates to! My pop was in the army in the pacific and at the end of the war when they were beginning to occupy the mainland, he was put on a mission to go capture a munitions dump. There was no resistance, and they took it peacefully. the CO let everyone on the mission choose between a type 99 revolver, binoculars, and a katana. My pop chose the type 99, but told me in hindsight he wished he had chosen the sword. i think i agree with him. He also took home a japanese battleflag, but years later in the 70's, a Japanese foreign exchange student attended the local highschool. Pop had been making ammends with the japanese in his own mind areound this time and asked the principal if he could give her the flag to take it back home to her people. The principal insisted they have a school assembly for it, so that's what they did. I wasnt alive yet, but i have heard it was quite emotional.
@@scottallpress3818 He was awesome! He went through hell and back, including being interned in a japanese prison camp, and somehow still managed to be a very mellow and loving grandfather.
@calebfrondren6598 - Your pop was kind to return his captured Japanese battle flag by means of that exchange student, and it probably did his heart good to have some closure on that. Thank you for sharing your personal story with us!
In the UK., A 'Family Member' had 2 UK revolvers and a Pristine Luger in its original Holster with a full clip , the gun blue and the hand grip sharp, never held much. All from WW1 They were all handed in to the UK government in an Amnesty in the 80s. He showed me, What a great loss. This 'Family Member also fought in Italy and Northern Europe in the REME. A tank transport driver. God Bless. Great post Felton !
Mark, I purchased an almost perfect condition C96 Stock/Holster circa 1930 from a seller in Mother Russia. It must have been a war trophy bring back item. The question is, did the same soldier have the matching pistol? No one will ever know.
One of my uncles was in the Seabees and participated in the invasion of Saipan. He brought home a Japanese “Lugar”, along with the battle sword that he took off of a dead Japanese officer. He was very proud of the artifacts that he risked his life for.
By japanese luger do you mean a actual luger or a Japanese nambu that looked like a luger and yes I know the Germans gave some of there things to the Japanese
GREAT VIDEO MARK!! I love collecting Axis firearms , edged weapons and of course that lead to helmets, uniforms and equipment. The best is when you get it directly from a vets family. Preserving their memories through the trophies they brought back. Not too long ago an American collector in Virginia had a rare Polish Wz38M confiscated from him on the ordered of the Polish gov. It’s an interesting and angering read if anyone wants to check it out.
I had a friend in the infantry, late 70s. who mailed an M72 disposable rocket launcher to his parents place. Wanted to fire it for his friends when he next had leave. His dad, Returned To Sender. Thinking, my son doesn’t live here. It sat in the mail room where it was finally discovered. He did a few weeks in closed custody. Never kicked him out. It just became another regimental legend.
My Dad's Uncle was a Marine Corps tanker and he brought home several Japanese flags, a pistol and a beautiful Katana. It was razor sharp and my cousins and I loved to take it down from the wall it was hanging on and run around with it, much to the annoyance of my Dad's Uncle.
Great subject!! I own an MAB Model D (French Pistol) that was made under occupation, used by the Germans, taken back by the French at war's end, found it's way to French Indochina, and finally was captured and brought back by a US Marine during the Vietnam War. We deduced this from the markings on the pistol and the capture papers from the Marine.
Those were not capture papers but an import license required by the Federal Firearms Act of 1938.After GCA68 form DD603A was required to bring back a firearm into the USA..
@@QuantumMechanic_88 A case I heard recently was a woman who had on display in her buisness a 40mm anti-aircraft round which she always told customers was her father's de-activated bringback from WWII. One day she had it sent off to be officially inspected and turns out the round was still active. She had essentially lived with a stick of dynamite's worth of TNT her whole life.
Canadians were forbidden to bring back firearms. However I know for a fact that many did come back. I have an Arisaka type 99 in 7.7mm which I use for hunting. Excellent rifle.
"An Indiana man was killed and his two children injured after a hand grenade found in a grandfather's belongings exploded, say police. "The blast happened on Saturday evening in Lake of the Four Seasons, a community about 140 miles (225km) north-west of Indianapolis. "Police believe someone pulled the pin on the device. "The father died and his 14-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter suffered shrapnel wounds. "Both teenagers were taken to hospital. Their condition was unclear. "In a statement posted to Facebook, the Lake County Sheriff's Department said that responding officers found the 47-year-old victim fatally wounded at his home. He was later declared dead and identified as Bryan Niedert. "A bomb squad was called to the scene to check if any other explosives were at the house. "Authorities have not released any more information on the grenade or why it was in the grandfather's belongings. "While deaths from unexploded ordnance are extremely rare in the US, they are not unheard of. "In 2020, a 12-year-old boy in Virginia was killed when a Second World War hand grenade bought at a local flea market exploded. "According to experts, the vast majority of grenades and other ordnance found in private homes are inert and safe to handle. "Last year the FBI warned: "Some families of aging US war veterans are finding unexpected, and highly dangerous, souvenirs among their loved ones' belongings - ticking time bombs."
@@QuantumMechanic_88 My first ever call was for a 25-pdr artillery projectile that a guy had on his fireplace mantle for many years, his friend finally convinced him to call it in. Turns out it was a live HE. 🤦♂️
In my family we had a M1 Carbine, a long barrelled Artillery Luger, a standard barrelled Luger and a Browning Hi Power all brought back from WW11 as trophy firearms. All were legitimately laundered and put on U.K. certificate but unfortunately fell to the 1989 and 1997 bans respectively apart from the M1 which ended up in the Isle of Man where, as far as I know, still is to this day held legitimately on certificate. Very interesting piece and thank you for posting.
My grandfather made many friends and collected a lot of favors while in the U.S. Navy, serving as a Corpsman in the Pacific. He managed to bring back his own cargo crate from Japan. Yes, his own create - he loaded it with machineguns, swords, bayonets, and grandfather clocks. He made decent money selling the grandfather clocks and used to for his semi-retirement.
Keep them coming. You can never talk enough about the anecdotal aspects hottest topics. Topic request is that you might cover wear uniforms of different countries came from. Who designed them and who generally manufactured them. Who was employed to make them by the millions like this, and how did whole Nations have the capacities to make outfits at the rates they needed them especially with new ones needed all the time? Boots belts pants shirts coats helmets at cetera? Thank you again for everything you do, doctor!
My great-grandfather, who was a Commander in the Swedish Navy during the war, had a German Luger pistol in his apartment that he often let us kids gaze upon. He didn't live long enough for me as an adult to ask him the more serious question of how he acquired it, but my uncles have told me that he was a navy attaché in Warsaw in 1947-1950, so that explains some of it.
I volunteer at a small museum in the states. It is largely the private collection of one individual, and a number of items have been donated. Veteran bring-backs that are donated by family members are some of our favorite pieces.
As a kid back in the 60s' , the neighbor guy showed me his Luger brought back to the states. He said - "I'm not going to tell you any bullshit war stories . I traded 3 packs of cigarettes for this pistol".
Thanks Dr. Felton for another excellent slice of history.
With how much Luger's are, sounds like a pretty good deal lmao
One of my college professors had a 17th century German sword on his office wall. He gave the formerly wealthy owner 5 K rations for it when his platoon kicked his family out and quartered themselves in the home. They only stayed one night.
There must have been thousands of those lugers distributed out at that time cos my Dad had one, in my hands at seven years old it was so heavy I could barely hold it up.😎
You could get almost anything for cigarettes just after the war. Same in the British zone.
@@jonnaylor3154 Given they stopped production for these in 1942 and those were unceremoniously given to second-line troops, I am sure the Lugers they got from the war have a high chance being once owned by an invalid...
My dad, a WWII veteran, who was in the 8th Army 11th division in the Pacific brought back a Jap rifle and bayonet with a Samurai sword. Played with them when I was a kid,then when I was 19 bought the 7.7mm ammo to shoot the rifle. Great shooting rifle by the way. My dad passed away last year at the age of 94 and was buried with full military honors. My whole life I couldn't wait to have them,, but now I would trade them back in a heart beat to have him back.
That was probably an Arisaka.
@@keith3970 Keith you are spot on. It is a Arisaka Type 99 short rifle.
Rip, and all respect to your father. How great are the 7.7 Arisaka's to shoot though! One of my favourite Iron sight Shooters.
@@todcarter110 Quite true. The fit and finish on the pre-war Arisakas I've seen were second to none, although of course as the war progressed the quality of the rifles deteriorated.
That being said the Arisakas were solid, serviceable rifles. They weren't Enfields, Springfields, or Mausers but they were far from pieces of junk.
My sympathies to you. I lost my father in May of this year and I understand how hard it is to say goodbye to someone who's been part of your life for so long it's seems like he'll always be there, but one day he's not. But what can either of us do? Time passes and the inevitable comes and we have to move on. But it's sure not easy.
One of my neighbors was in Pattons army also and he did post-war garrison. He brought back some Lugers, Walther P38s and two k98 rifles and one of my favorite was the K43 he brought back. One of his unit mates brought back an MP-40 and when I met him one time at the reunion, he stated that he was visited by a federal agency who told him about the NFA and that he needed to pay a $200 tax for it. Being he was flush with cash, he handed it to them and they did the paperwork for him. Last, I heard, his daughter sold it to a dealer in Arizona in the late 90's. My neighbor when he passed, his wife gave me one of the K98 and one of the Walther P38s. Thanks for doing this video. RIP Dr. Danner my next door neighbor and WWII veteran.
Honestly don't know how the P38 wasn't more well liked than the Luger. The p38 is damn sexy
That’s nice of them to give some of them to you.
@@JacksonMcgarvey2665 Yeah, he was a great old guy. Told me a ton of things wrong about the PATTON movie and A Bridge Too Far. He wasn't stand offish about his service. He knew stuff to be dangerous and knew how to do things unlike other WWII veterans I knew that kinda felt to me that "talked the talk but didn't do the walk". He helped import Mercedes to California back in the 70s and 80s by going over to Germany and buying it and driving it around to circumvent some rules and save some money for his friends. Really really cool guy.
Fiz o serviço militar de 1982 a 1984,usava uma pistola Walter P38 9mm Parabellun quando estava de serviço à porta de armas.
@@prdubi nice one.
As for Soviets and "bring backs," I recently saw a video of Wagner Groups leader in an old mine full of weapons from WWII. Hundreds of thousands of German and Soviet WWII weapons are stored in abandoned mines and military caches, along with ammo as well. Another great subject and video, Dr. Felton.
If it is the video I saw, also crates of lend lease mint condition Thompson machine guns 😮
@@bertroost1675 Yep, same video.
My dad, 5th Army, buried a case of Lugers wrapped in cosmoline near some railroad tracks in Italy but never had the chance to return for them.
Some metal detectorists probably found it by now, bet they were happy.
Let’s go get ‘em.
My dad said that they were threatened with an inspection and anybody that was caught with anything was six more months in country. He said that night soldiers were burying rifles and souvenirs all over the place. Hoping to return for them after the war. The next morning, no inspection. People were not happy. My dad, however, disassembled a Mauser rifle, put it in his duffel bag and got by with it. Still have it today. A matching numbers k98 dated 1939.
Let's go find em. Real buried treasure!
Coordinates?😆
Family friend of mine had a sword captured from the Japanese. They actually had its engravings translated, and contacted the family of the original owner, travelled to Japan and returned the sword. I believe this family is still in contact with the Japanese family.
I don’t remember the specifics, but it’s a touching story.
I wouldn't have given the sword back. It's a trophy of war, and therefore no deal whatsoever.
@Cary West I think they were just being kind. That sword probably meant alot more to that Japanese family than it did the vets family that took it.
@Cary West well Cary nobody asked what your thoughts were.
There is still honor showing a defeated enemy, or his family, some empathy
@@markr394 well said. My grandfather brought back a sword from Korea as well and after his death as a family we decided to try to research it's history and possibly return it. It ended up being manufactured around the war and not a centuries old heirloom. We did return a dog tag from another Marine grandpa served with to his family. None of us know the story but I do know it wasn't a happy ending.
@@carywest9256The main word here is "story". Having spent years in modern Japan I'm sure the family had it sold before the finders were back in the states.
My grandfather brought a Beretta M1935 home from N. Africa, which he sold to another GI who had never left the states for $65, upon returning. My neighbor has quite a few souvenirs that his grandfather bought back from the Pacific. An NCO sword, two Arisaka`s and bayonets. There are probably more Lugers in America than Germany at this point.
That's definitely a fact, same with Japanese swords. Once upon a time, especially when their economy was booming, there were a few movements from Japan buying back the legal, traditionally made swords (nihonto) from veterans, their relatives, shops, etc. to bring back their heritage back to the homeland.
There are still a few (of the few) pre-war designated national treasures that are missing to this day, known to have been surrendered during the occupation, but no details of who the Allied servicemember was who picked it up for a trophy. A few were found and returned/bought back, but hope is that they're's still in someone's collection, or the vet's/family's possession and will be made known by a knowing eye.
If I remember correctly, since they've been lost and also the grading system changed post-war, they would have to be reevaluated for their status (assuming they are still in the same parameters that led to their designation). Harder yet is even though accurate written documentation were made of the blades, few etchings or photos exist of them.
Yes my dad also😮
I grew up seeing SS souvenirs along with arms collected by my father during WW2. He told me he had 2 duffel bags stuffed with rifles, and pistols, but he also had a MP40 in a black leather satchel along with SS knives and daggers. I saw these on rare occasions growing up along with the stories for some of them. When I came home from the service on leave 1978, I went into the garage and opened the black leather bag and took out the MP40. I was not supposed to be snooping but I could not help myself. It was intact with a full mag and the bolt was back. I had training on the grease gun being a tanker in the Army and knew this weapon was ready to go. Needless to say my dad came in the door and caught me and asked for me to put it back.
His story was one that I remember as he had reported after the war to the FBI that he had the weapon and had attempted to demil it by working over the firing pin but was not able to. The ATF was not an agency yet and he never heard back from the FBI. He was a doctor in good standing and an upstanding citizen and nothing came of it. He sold most of the trophies to a museum after I had discovered the MP40 and that was the last I saw of those Hitler youth and SS knives along with an officers sword. He was in the 103rd division, 409th Regiment, 1st Battalion, Company D from June 44 to July 45, Dr. Loy L. Hudson and they had captured many SS, he said, "If I did not take these items the next guy would have".
The Luger pistol he found in France under a seat of a wagon and I still have it. Unfired since 1945 and with original ammunition still in the magazines. All matching serial numbers and spotless condition. Thank you Dr. Felton for the memory kick in the pants. All of this came rushing back from decades ago..
super cool finds shame he sold so many of them i would have wanted them. There was an amnesty in the 60's he could have registered the mp40 then possibly.
just saw an MP40 at a show for sale. Full auto $55K
Thats so fckn sad to give that to museum
@@Keiser-h4zhe did say Sold it not given it lol
@@samrodian919 thats the same, you give something thats gonna stay behind a glass and never used. ah weapons is meant to be fired, or its just a piece of steel.
It still goes on to this day. One Vietnam vet I worked with in the USA, got an M16 back from Saigon, broken down and smuggled thru in HI FI stero components and mailed back to the US. The Gulf War,there was stuff coming back in the 1990s too. Give people an incentive,enough time to figure out how to game the system and fancy their chances ,and they will bring stuff home.Long may it continue!!!
Friend of mine served in Kuwait during Desert Shield/Storm and him and some buddies buried a huge crate full of gun/treasures they collected with the intention to one day return and retrieve them. I don't think any of them ever went back for it.
I know a gentleman who was a sniper in Vietnam and brought his issued rifle back.
Very true. I knew a guy who had a full auto M14 that got here somehow from Vietnam. How that soldier managed to smuggle that gigantic thing back we’ll never know
That’s what I’m talking about!! Hoorah!!!
I've heard similar stories of using PX bought stereos being used to import NFA items.
I knew a student in high school whose dad brought back a Thompson SMG and an MP40 as well as P08 Luger pistols. In Vietnam they brought back M14s, M16s grenades, AK47s, and Tokarev pistols from what I saw here in California. Thank you Dr. Felton for another very informative presentation.
I wonder if any World War II veteran officers brought their Luger pistols with them to Korea a few years later (I have to imagine some did, either as a good luck thing or simply because they preferred the gun's feel).
@@thunderbird1921 As silly as this sounds, (mm parabellum was not that common in the US after the war. There were even some Lugers converted to 8mm Nambu as that ammo was more plentiful in the US.
I have a friend who served during the Falklands war. He and his buddy collected a number of Argentinian Colt 45 1911 pistols as souvenirs. As they were heading towards the Isle of Wight, an officer informed them all of a last minute inspection of contraband. In a panic my friend threw his souvenirs overboard. To his fury the inspection never went ahead. He did spend a number of years inquiring about obtaining some diving equipment but never followed through.
OUCH!!!
Probably was a good thing he tossed them as he would have potentially put other people in his household in danger having modern firearms as souvenirs. Word gets out he has them and criminals break in to steal them, or kids find them and show them off to their friends who then tell their parents who tell the police who raid the house. Not worth it.
Utter bloody disgrace that the British soldier is considered untrustworthy to own in civilian life a keepsake of his combat.But perfectly capable of using deadly weapons for King and Country. I know of two high ranking officers who resigned their commissions in protest at the pistol ban post Hungerford. Figured if they couldn't be trusted with a pistol in civilian life, by their govt they would not be in charge or command an armoured brigade for the same govt.
@@geigertec5921 my God your country is full of pansies now. I've had guns in full display since childhood and no one was ever hurt. Lol
@@jamesjanson6129 sad very sad. I own multiple rifles and pistols. There are plenty in America who want us to go the way of England. I don't think it'll be so easy here. I'm a veteran as well and if they tried to confiscate I'd fight the government that I fought for before.
My dad who fought in the Pacific didn't have a single souvenir, he wanted to forget the war and rarely even talked about it. Probably the most interesting WW2 piece in my collection was purchased directly from the Gettysburg Museum in Pennsylvania, it's a sterling silver "AH" monogrammed oyster fork that has solid provenance as having been liberated from the basement under Hitler's bombed out residence in Munich by a US medical Corps Captain. It was part of a personalized cutlery set that was given to the Fuhrer for his 50th birthday in 1939 by Albert Speer.
Yep…my father in law, a Lt.Col. in Patton’s 3rd Army, brought back pistols, swords, daggers and two rifles. One of the rifles was taken off a 14 year old Hitler Youth who had put a bullet through the windshield of his jeep during the last week of the war. His soldiers wanted to shoot the kid but he would not allow it. Instead after disarming him, they gave him a spanking and turned him loose.
I love that I can learn stories like your father in laws' and others in the comments. Thx for sharing
"Naughty naughty little Nazi!" *spanks the child* If there ever was a scene that personified the war best, this would be it.
Now that's humane.
There's probably kids in West Baltimore that are Nastier than that Hitler Youth brainwashed Nazi kid was.
That's what I would have done if I were in his position. Dissarm him and let him go.
There was a case a few years ago here in australia when someone handed in a German WW1 artillery Luger with all the kit to go with it in mint condition, when the public found out that it would be destroyed with all other amnesty guns there was a mild uproar and thankfully it was put into a museum
Thanks Mark. This brings back memories. My dad returned from the European theatre with a Walther P38 I think, and a Beretta M1934. Unfortunately for me, both of these were, I believe, stolen by my eldest brother shortly before our father died from cancer. Being an MP who had occasion to work undercover in the post war period. He had a shoulder holster for the Beretta, which I assume helped him pull off his guise of being a well dressed hoodlum. As he infiltrated counterfeiting gangs lurking around Frankfurt between 1955-1958. I saw him pull out that pistole two times and only when he was ready for action. Sadly he passed away before I grew old enough to hold mature conversations with him about his work as an MP. I recommend that everybody question their parents, and grandparents, and gather as much first hand accounting of their lives as you can before their gone.
All the best to you!
My paternal grandfather was an engineer who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He never spoke of the war, ever. But late in his life, I approached him sitting alone at a family reunion, and discussed the World War II history class I was taking in college at the time. He started talking in detail about his experience that day. I was kicking myself for not having a tape recorder or notebook with me. Unfortunately, my loudmouth brother came over and interrupted us. I wanted to visit him later at home with a recorder, but he was in poor health, and it never happened. He died soon afterward. His experience was far from unique, but I think it would have been a treasure for my family, especially the many who followed him into military service.
@@texaswunderkind Yeah... I had a friend, a German regular, surrendered at the Battle of the Bulge. Why did I never get his story? What about my friends dad who was a POW on the Death Railway? Another friend who accidently befriended a convicted war criminal. My own dad who dropped and picked up agents from Burmese jungle strips..... it goes on... every adult I knew as a kid would have their stories and I let it all slide away.
None of my great uncles, or my grandfather, ever mentioned the wars [first or second] and dad never said much about his service overseas either. I think they preferred to forget and while there were obviously bad memories/experiences that lasted literally until they died they largely kept them to themselves.
You're right: many people in our lives are genuine witnesses to - and even participants in - history. They provide invaluable opportunities to learn directly from people who were there without the filters imposed by historians, editors, etc.
@@texaswunderkind And yet you are a witness to and participate in history. It will do future generations good to read about the events in your life, and how they affected you, how you dealt with them. Our mundane lives, however prozaic they may be, are yet full of detail and meaning that future generations will only be able to dream about. Actually those in this column are living in interesting times if they could only see it.
All the best.
My shooting partner's take home gun from WWII was a Holland and Holland shotgun his grandfather found in a manner house turned nazi HQ.
It was a take down model and he stuffed the stock in his coat and the barrel down a pant leg and tried to walk as normally as possible out.
He was a prolific trap shooter and bird hunter and immediately knew what it was when he picked it up. It's a gorgeous piece.
That thing is probably worth more than any smuggled home mp44, even at today's prices.
As a kid here in the U.S. one of our neighbors let us kids wear German uniforms /w helmets and deactivated MP40’s. He did this so we could play properly (he was a collector) as the WW2 U.S. gear was readily available from the “army surplus” store. Us kids ran around the neighborhood dressed as U.S. and German army. It was great fun.
you lucky buggers.
As kids we annoyed a former paratrooper across the way until he went inside and brought back an actual MP40 instantly recognizable from so many episodes of "COMBAT" and hoisted into the air! Then the wife intervened and brought him and the weapon inside the house.
And I'll bet nobody complained about you kids wearing German uniforms either. Nowadays some people who never even lived through the WW2 era would have meltdowns over your doing so.
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 In 1965 My father worked at a Mexican place called "El Pancho Villa" in North Hollywood, Ca. To tell you the truth back then we still had Drive-ins. On Saturdays they hosted Hugh swap meets where you could buy Nazi Helmets, authentic SS daggers, Holsters for Lugers etc. If you could dream it was likely on sale!
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 No, no complaints about the uniforms or guns…however one funny story about the dummy U.S. pineapple genades we threw all over. We kids got yelled at for leaving one in a guys yard. He ran it over with his lawnmower and he was very mad. When confronted..we wise cracked that we were glad he found the gerande and could he help us find the land mine. Our sense of humor may have saved us from punishment.
Mark's videos is one of the things that got me into collecting ww1 and 2 firearms, now I have almost 2 dozen lugers, and nearly everything else now. I even have a lufwaffe m30 survival drilling rifle!!!😁😁 if only they could talk. I'm a younger guy and I really wish more of my generation would appreciate history and videos like these.
When clearing out my Grandfather's garage following his death, we found a Walther P38 in a biscuit tin with spare magazine and 20 rounds of 9x19.He was a Royal Marine and served in Africa, Italy and the Netherlands during WW2. My uncle remembered seeing it when he was a boy and asking my Grandad how he got it.
My Grandad gave him a long look and said
"You don't ask a man a question like that."
Sad he couldn't talk about it
I hope you didn't give the pistol up to the fascist ninnies who run the UK
OK dude relax. can you make your granddad sound any more bad ass? jeez
@@Sahhe1892 ok dude, relax. Can you make yourself look more like a horse's ass. jeez
I hope you still have them and didn't turn them in or any crazy stuff like that.
My father served as a PT Boat skipper in the Philippines towards the end of WWII. In fact, he was the last skipper of his boat. Because almost all of the PT boats were scuttled and/or burned after VJ day, including his, my dad allowed the crew to take any souvenirs from the boat. As the last skipper of the boat, he appropriated the wheel, its national ensign (flag) and a Bureau of Ships US Navy comparing watch made by the Hamilton watch company. He boxed those items and sent them to our hometown in Missouri. All arrived at our family's home at the time. They were eventually passed on to me, his oldest son and the only one of his eight children who served in the US military (Marine Corps). He also procured a Type 38 Japanese bolt-action rifle. Like most of those captured rifles, the Japanese POW who had surrendered it defaced the chrysanthemum (flower) in an effort to save face. The chrysanthemum was the symbol of the Japanese emperor and it was stamped on all Japanese weapons to show that the weapon was was manufactured for the Imperial Japanese Army and therefore belonged to the emperor. He wrapped the rifle in brown paper and wrote an address on it. It, too, arrived safely at its destination in Missouri about three weeks later. I still have the rifle as well.
In Yugoslavia, my grandad was a partisan fighter and later a JNA officer. He used his personal, captured Radom Vis 35 as his personal sidearm until retirement in the early 1980s. He was issued a carry permit by the army for it. His dad, did however, return a captured MP40, at some point.
My dad had a story about a guy in his unit who claimed he was going to get rich selling the souvenirs he sent home. My dad and the others talked him out of mailing a hand grenade that no one knew how to disarm. The guy died when he went out into a minefield in search of more stuff.
He wanted to find more stiel hand granate.
My Uncle openly admitted to picking all his weapons from those piled in town centers by German citizens. They were told they had to "surrender them, or else you will regret it." He mailed three foot lockers back. Only one wasn't stolen in transit. In that footlocker were at least a K98k, Kar 98, a Luger, a P38, and a Browning Trombone .22 rifle.
are they still around?
@@grayparatrooper - The FN Trombone was given to my father and stolen by one of his friends. All the others remain within the family.
I'm enjoying all the comments as much as the video! My grandfather was in the 8th Air Force and had a duffle bag with pistols and other souvenirs that was unfortunately stolen during his train ride stateside. He also told me how you could buy lots of old German weapons at local hardware stores in the 50's and 60's for a few dollars. It's hard to believe now, but for many decades after the war, they didn't hold much value and weren't even seen as collectible. Hence why so many were sporterized or refinished.
My moms cousin brought home a Luger, an SS uniform, several flags, a set of silverware from an SS officers training school, and a suit of medieval armor! He must of had his own troop transport home. 😅
Was he an officer or soldier? If he was a soldier then that is an absurd haul!
the key is to wear the suit of armour under your uniform so no one notices.
Probably SS Junkerschule at Bad Tölz. The building still exists.
I was there in 1990, they have hallways in black, it was called the black autobahn.
The building is in hiatus or unused only for storage, it was home for decades to the US Army 7th ATC NCO school.
My late uncle Griff served in the 2nd AIF in New Guinea during WW2. He brought back a samurai sword. The one thing he, along with his brothers, one of which was my late father, & ALL soldiers brought back was the one souvenir they definitely didn’t want… PTSD. 😢 Lest We Forget….
While living in Rhodesia in 1978 I got my hands on a remarkable WW2 trophy, a 1928 A1 Thompson sub machine gun. It was fully functional and had two 20 round stick magazines. It was hand painted green and brown in a jury-rigged camouflage style. It did not have the forward pistol grip but had conventional furniture. Apparently this weapon had been used in Burma, so the story went and brought back to Rhodesia. I had the gun beautifully re-blued and restored.
A friendly gun dealer in Salisbury gave me a hand written note confirming that the weapon was ‘deactivated.’ I took the note to the Firearms registry office and got it registered.
Later I acquired a 50 round drum for it from America. When I left Rhodesia I sold it to a friend and it is still in his collection.
Rhodesians never die!
Rhodesia? Never heard of it.
@@chiefslinginbeef3641 The young ones wish they would.
@@On_The_Piss Zimbabwea
Your description of British troops coming home to be searched for weapons is spot on Mark. My father, and RAF Flight Sergeant came to the port of embarkation back to the UK and being in possession of a Luger was told of the trouble he would be in if caught with it back in Blighty promptly handed it in. Too honest by far was my dad!
A vet I knew was stationed in Seattle where his team passed mine detectors over barracks bags shipped home by GIs. A beep resulted in the lock being clipped and hundreds of weapons were retrieved. These were dumped in the bay (after the the CO took a pistol he liked).
A vet from Europe told of shipping home some nice weapons. Only one made it past pilfering and Customs; a boar rifle "liberated" from Herman Goering's hunting lodge, not a military weapon.
My wife's family has a NCO samurai sword brought back by their Marine dad.
Of course the officer would take a weapon and screw the rest
"Lock Being clipped, and hundreds of weapons were STOLEN..."
@@hint0122 lol many men dumped tons of stuff. But yeah officers 😅
Fascinating video as usual, Dr. Felton. A few years ago, my father and I were talking with the man who ran the storage center we rented a unit at. He told us about how one day, he happened to be present when a guy who also had a unit rented came in with an large open box to put in it. Inside was a HUGE Nazi flag carefully folded. Rather unsettled by this, he asked the fellow why on earth he would possess such a thing, and he was told that this flag was in fact one that had flown over the Reichstag in the last days of World War II, and had been brought back to the United States as a war trophy. It is unclear however if American GIs found it themselves or if they bought it from Soviet soldiers who had taken Berlin first. Quite a piece of history to own, even if it is a nasty symbol.
That'll give you a chill to read that...
A couple years back, my cousin and I were helping his in-laws move into a condo. On the last haul, we were emptying the SUV one last time and wrapped up in the footwell was an Arisaka rifle.
Those boys are long. We played with one when I was growing up; that baby was longer that I was tall at the time. It was heavy too
Hey Mark, just a small thing. At 3:02, that is not a Kar98k, that is a G24(t), a substitute standard weapon often used by second line troops or early on by the SS, before they got more ready access to regular German weapons. Incidentally, my grandfather served in the Pacific but came back with a German Naval Dagger, his story being that he took the surrender of a German naval officer since he was the highest ranking officer present when the man arrived (1st Lt). We still have it.
My grandfather was a US Army officer stationed stateside during the Second World War. One of his duties was to process German POWs after they arrived to the states. My grandfather noticed one prisoner acting suspiciously so he called for assistance. Thankfully he did because the prisoner he was processing had smuggled in a Luger. My grandfather and his backup tackled and forcefully disarmed the prisoner. My grandfather kept the gun and it is still with the family.
My grandfather used to own a Walther P38 that a friend’s father had picked off of a dead soldier. I still remember him showing it to me at a young age as I stared at it in complete awe.
Some of my most prized possessions are trophies that family members brought back from the war. A T99 Arisaka captured during the Aleutian Campaign, three Japanese battle flags brought back from the pacific, a Mauser M1914 pistol liberated from an elderly Volksturmm member, and a Nazi flag signed by the squad of American tankers that captured it.
I believe the knowing the circumstances behind how the items made their way back to the US is just as important as the item itself. The stories and history give these inanimate objects life.
Dear Mark, my grandfather, a colonel in the Soviet army was fighting with the Japanese in 1945. He brought the Luger from that war. However, around 1960s weapon ownership laws were getting worse so we disposed of a gun in the nearest lake. Later on, there were several campaigns to collect unlegal guns in exchange for immunity in USSR. However, a lot of wartime trophies were still in the possession of veteran families. Thank you for your amazing stories.
Back in the 80's a classmate showed me a nice MP-40 in his duffel bag in our geology class that his grandfather had brought back from Europe. His family was dirt poor and he would use it to poach deer so his family could eat. He'd sneak up on a herd in the forest across from school at first light, pick a deer, give it a quick burst and note where it fell. Using the payphones by the cafeteria he'd call one of his brothers who'd come get it later in the day.
I never felt unsafe with this student having that in school. Those times were just different.
Great times!
Because that kid was concerned with how to feed his family rather than some narcissistic notion that the society owed him something and he had to settle his grudge with everyone by voting from the rooftop...
Sadly social media and violent video games have ruined youth today. I say this as someone who is somewhat younger and plays such games.
One of my classmates brought in his father's pistol to school back in the late 70s. He flashed it at me and I thought, how cool. Definitely different times.
I remember back in the 70s when people would drop there kid's off at school and in the back of their pick-up truck they would have a M1 or a shot gun on a rack , you never had any problems back than because the MSM didn't make celebrities out of lunatics or & they didn't get there face plastered on the cover of the Rolling Stone Magazine ( the Boston Bomber) that had a pressure cooker not a firearm to kill innocent people.
When you showed the two soldiers holding up a rifle in front of a Panther tank I was half-expecting a story of how the Panther was brought back! Thanks for another interesting and informative video.
Its thanks to these troops thst alot of historical items still exist. I bought an iron cross liberated from the Reichs Chancellery by a British soldier in July 1945. This was the earliest that most of the Western Allies were able to access central Berlin after the end of hostilities.
Contemporary photos show thousands of crosses littering the steps of the Chancellery.
@@Dave-jd9qn yes, and they were mostly destroyed in giant bonfires on purpose during de-nazification.
@@geigertec5921correct! and you didn’t have to come off like a smart ass either! 😀
Why do you even want an iron cross?? Also want some empty gas canisters? Jew teeth? Gypsy tears?
I'm an Iraqi freedom vet, USMC..
I'm jealous because we couldn't bring any firearms home. I'm sure higher ranking guys were able to, but most of us couldn't. I remember finding things like AK 47s/ AKMs, RPDs, a TT33, a Sterling SMG, RPG 47s, things like that. The TT33 would have been cool.
Today sucks because you listen to stories like this and you think of all the history these men brought home and then you realize we've been denied such an opportunity. Personally, I think they earned the right to bring back souvenirs such as firearms. My hope is , as that generation passes on, my generation will try to pick up as many of these items as we can as to preserve history and the stories behind these items. ( I'm a 100% 2A guy, btw ) Beyond the 2A, its the history as well, the individual stories that need to live on and be shared with generations to come.
I’ve got a buddy whose grandfather passed away a few years back and was in the European theater during the war. They were going through his house and they found a crate a WWII grenades, I kid you not I saw it with my own eyes.
There's probably a lot more out there to be found as WW2 veterans pass away. Some guys brought things back they shouldn't have.
It wouldn't be a bad idea for local police to put out PSA's concerning the same covering what grenades and other explosive devices look like and what to do when or if you find them.
@@ps5801 Grenades can be extremely dangerous especially if you die without telling your family that they are sitting on top of a crate of them, especially where there may be young children around the place. "Well cared for" means that every adult in the place must know about them and know how to manage them.
My grandfather brought back a Type 99 Arisaka Paratroopers variant from the Pacific. It shoots real nice too it's a family heirloom. We also have the bayonet too.
There was a military store and gun shop I would regularly visit in Toronto in the late 80s and they would regularly get bring back pistols . Usually brought in by the widows of vets who wanted the guns out of the house . Lots of rare and unusual firearms.
One of my great uncles served in Europe in the US Army 97th Infantry Division (allegedly responsible for firing the last shot in the ETO). The division was sent to the pacific in preparation for the invasion of Japan. While on their way the war ended. When he landed in Japan on occupation duty he was part of a group responsible for defacing and destroying Japanese firearms. According to him, every one of his group grabbed an Arisaka Type 99 and brought it back. I still have the Arisaka.
Never thought I’d see humble ole Hartford, CT mentioned in a Mark Felton video 😮 I can only hope that some of these historic and oftentimes rare firearms are sent to museums and not simply destroyed.
I think they let the lady find a licensed buyer for the STG 44.
Agreed; it really caught my attention the moment I heard him mention Hartford. I had the misfortune of living in West Hartford for ~12 years
Something about that place - as you've suggested - really *does* make it seem profoundly peculiar and unexpected to hear it mentioned in a Mark Felton video
I'm not sure what that 'thing' is, but it is very real, and your comment is 100% warranted
@@Alexsmith-fh3xh humble hartford? you guys are silly. only the center of the american arms manufacturing and to this day a blood bath in the summer
@Taylor Cuts Trees Hartford contains a mere two ingredients: insurance and aggressively unpleasant people. If you've made any observation outside of those two things, you're simply mistaken
Ive been a bomb tech in a major American city for decades and have come across war souvenirs weekly during that time. Generally these items are found by family members when the vet passes. Grenades are the main item found but we have a museum full of bring backs collected including Japanese knee” mortars, vietnamese rpg launcher and mines. Crazy discoveries included a ww1 gas round and an ammo can filled with c4 and det cord. I would love to hear the stories of how they made it into a garage…
I bought a japanese t89 "knee mortar" from a guy who had bought it and demilled it the week prior, found at a garage sale, iv been offered non demilled stuff befor as well but dont want that headach no matter how rare the items were. One time was a ww2 willy peat unopened, and even if the nfa was not a thing i kinda dont want somthing that can burn my house down if a bit of air got into it due to 80 years of rust or how probably unstable it is lol. Have herd storys of jap grenades going off because the explosives were unstable just by dropping them... i do disasemble everything i own to make sure its demilled, have not come across any supprizes thankfully.
It's interesting to hear how common grenades are. My own late grandfather- who was a mechanical engineer in the army during the war- worked at Aberdeen proving grounds in Maryland in the early '40s. He told me a story (which I only vaguely remember because he told it to me when I was very young) about how some of his colleagues were developing and testing a new type of hand grenade. One day he went out to the testing range and found a small pile of this new "baseball grenade" just sitting on the ground, and he was told they were all going to be destroyed because it was a bad design and the project was being scrapped. He told me that apparenlty a few GIs had blown themselves up with the grenade, because- due to it's baseball shape and size and the average GI's experience throwing a baseball- soldiers would unadvertently put a bit of spin on it when they threw it. This caused the fuze to activate prematurely and the grenade would detonate only a few yards ahead of the thrower. Anyway, my grandpa grabbed 3 of these "beano" grenades, had them rendered inert, and brought them home. Seventy years later I inherited one and my mother now owns the other 2. (But don't worry, mine is officially and clearly stamped with the word "INERT" and mounted on a plaque that bears a short writeup about its failed development.) Thanks for reading.
I'm 62,and in all the news reports of "grenade found in vet's belongings" stories, all but 1 turned out to be a practice grenade. If there is a 1" diameter hole in the bottom, it isn't dangerous. A year or so ago a "torpedo " was in the news, turned out not to be 20" dia. X14' long torpedo, but an air dropped seismic sensor, about 18" X30"
Thank you! Your contributions to sharing history is incredible!
My grandfather was in the Royal Engineers during WW2. His home had several souvenirs.
Above his fireplace he had a couple of spent British mortar shells, a oil painting in his dining room he took from a house in Germany and a massive brass Nazi eagle on top of a cabinet. That’s what was visible, he had stuff stashed all over his house.
He also snuck back a Beretta pistol he acquired whilst in North Africa.
Funny story to that is when he came home on leave he showed it to a friend who started fiddling with it. The friend accidentally discharged the pistol.
There was a large US army presence near by who heard the shot and mistook it for a spy. Apparently they started getting in a flap flying around in jeeps searching for a German spy.
Anyway he handed it in during a amnesty during the 1950’s.
In the1990s a schoolboy's father was 'persuaded' by the police to donate a Luger to the IWM after he brought it along on a school visit and hid it in the grounds outside when he realised bags were being checked. We were also conducting checks of the grounds and found it. It was a civilian model that was later stamped for military use, making it an interesting piece. Grandad had 'aquired' it during his war service.
My grandfather was an officer in the French Army, he brought back home a lot of german stuff... Medals, swords, 2 rifles, an MP40, bayonets, knives, some SS memorabilia as well, some helmets, flags, etc... He would keep them in his cellar and sometimes he would show us something.
When he died my dad inherited it all but he sold almost everything... I still got some items like plates, forks, knives taken from the Kommandatur of Beauvais, a beautiful Luftwaffe knife, a nice SS belt buckle and a coat hanger "found" in Pforzheim with a stamped swastika on the rear 😊
As an American I'd just like to say that yes, some souvenirs are worth fighting for.
And big money is being payed today for them
Like what souvenir is worth fighting for?
Absolutely. I would have brought back a couple of dozen FG42's and then,having sold them,spend the rest of my life sipping Pina Colada's on a beach somewhere. 😂
@@SASCAT1972 Everything that is German like weapons, and decorations, flags, you name it.
Today especially German militaria is worth a fortune
@@opoxious1592 doesn’t make them worth fighting for.
Anyone who has actually done some fighting would agree.
I’m not saying that souvenirs aren’t important and quite cool…just that no one really goes fighting for them.
Brilliant info again! Well done, Mark
I had a neighbour whose father had brought back a British and German bayonet from WWI. I couldn't believe the lengths of them. They looked like swords as a young boy, back then.
My uncle Cliff managed to bring home a real live German woman - 5' 2" blonde hair and blue eyes - in '46. She was pretty high caliber. And they had my cousin hidden inside her!
Hahaha that's a great story, thanks for telling us.
@mirrorblue100 - probably the very best type of "souvenir"! Great story - thank you for sharing it!
He could have said that she was his"field mattress " bring back😂
😂😂😂 best one yet 😂😂😂
That is the best one!...SUPER COOL!
Been putting off your vids for a few months. Nothing bad, just saving em up.
That luger at 4:38 was a beautiful firearm.
My father served with a man who collected several MP40s and crated them up to ship to his home in Pennsylvania. When they arrived his family found that the crate had been drilled through and through in many placed destroying the guns.
Think the government intercepted and destroyed them?
Well that stinks. Hope they demanded compensation for what happened.
In ex Yugoslavia in 1980s there were still MP40s schmeissers in army reserve depot's
@@davidnemoseck9007 The rest of the story: He was a known minor gangster in his Philly neighborhood, so that had a lot to do with it.
@@Rockinbiker1946 LOL! Well, that would put a stop to getting anything back them.
My dad who was an officer took a P-38 off of a dead German officer and I still have this gun to this day. A friend mine who's dad served in the Pacific had in his basemen a large Japanese machine gun of some type. I remember asking him how he got that because it was on a stand and very heavy. He told don't ask because you won't believed what I had to do to bring this back with me!
Prob not much, those jap mgs are junk. A vague copy of the Finnish. Rad relic though all the same.
I've also got a Walther P38 from my dad.👍
His "don't ask" reminds me a little of the tale told by Captain Koons in Pulp Fiction. 😂
@@robsonez I was 14 at the time and the diameter of the bore looked to be about the same size as my 30-40 Krag that my great uncle had given me for deer hunting since I was them just old enough to get a deer hunting tag.
A Jap MG on a stand? That was probably a Type 92 'heavy' MG, a real P.O.S if you ask me… (but works nicely as a display item.)
My Father bought with him a P38 pistol, a German dagger reading "Deutschland Über Alles", a German helmet and a variety of German Army Veterinary instruments made by Hauptner. He had been in the US Army Veterinary Corps, helping to buy, issue and care for pack mules by the thousand in Africa, Italy, France and Germany. He kicked himself for not bringing back some German hunting rifles or shotguns which were readily available instead of the veterinary instruments.
Fascinating! You always find the best topics to explore. My mom's dad, a tech sgt in the signal corps, didn't bring back any weapons. Instead, he brought back a huge flag flown from a building. It has the German cross on the upper left and the large symbol of the party of the Little Tramp in a white circle in the center. It even has a piece of rope attached, as well as manufacturere's tracking numbers on it. I still have it, in a box clearly labeled "Grandpa D's war trophy, brought back from Europe, 1946."
I did find a Luger in an abandoned home in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana while doing Katrina cleanup - no idea if it was authentic - but it was disposed of along with frag grenades (!!) we found elsewhere in the house.
shoulda kept the luger
My father brought back a Japanese Ariska rifle. Appeared to have been a late production model because it wasn't made all that well.
This video reminded me of Lester in "Mchale's Navy" with his very extensive war souvenirs. He had weapons, uniforms, flags.....even a plane's wing.
Growing up in the 50's and 60's most, if not all, of my friends fathers had rifle or pistol bring backs.
My father spoke of hunting with my grandfather using various WW2 bring backs. He served in the Burma theatre as a MP so I think he just brought his stuff home, probably took it back with him when he was called for Korea
In the 1950s I had a friend who had a room in their basement he called "The Museum". My friend's dad was a medic in Europe in WWII. He told us when a building housing a natural history museum needed to be turned into a hospital, all the exhibits were simply thrown out the window. He crated up a lot of stuffed animals, stuffed birds, and minerals samples most of which had German labels on them and sent them home. He also had a pretty extensive collection of military stuff such as gas masks, Nazi flags, helmets, etc. No guns that I ever saw, however.
My Great Grandpa was one of the officers in charge of the postdam conference and in charge of all military and civilian activities in the American sector of Berlin after WW2 ended, he brought home ID cards used to get in the conference, pictures of generals, and he even brought back a full German uniform (though sadly it got worn out over the years due to moth holes). Despite that I still have a good amount of his equipment and papers from the day.
Excellent video. My Father was a Sgt. in the US Armys 160th Combat Engineer Battalion and was at the battle of the bulge. He told me that he had an artillery model luger but some other GI stole it from him. He did bring back a silver panzer badge and a NSKK stickpin which I still have to this day.
My great grandfather brought back an SS officers dagger from the Battle Of The Bulge. Showed me the paperwork that allowed him to bring it back with him too.
If I may ask did he ever told your story's B
About the war?
Also I am verry thankfull for him for fighting the nazis
He must have been a great man a treu hero so to say.
If he is still alivr send him my greetings from the Netherlands and thanks fof his bravery
worth a mint keep it together
... Love this one. Big love to all my cousins from American/commonwealth countrys 💕🇬🇧🇺🇸
I brought back 16 or so weapons from Kosovo as unit trophies. The paperwork took the whole 6 months tour, our unit was in charge of the Secure Weapons Storage Site at KFOR Main. What was regularly destroyed would break your heart. Each Mess got a weapon, each sub unit got 2 weapons SKS and AK47 mainly. I also got a nice MP5 Jugoslavian copy for my Battery. A nice slab sided MP40 and a 1917 DWM PO8 Luger which are now in a local museum here in Germany.
I've been in a Junior Ranks mess in Canada which has a Mac-10 trophy someone brought back from Kosovo. A Mac-10! Strangest war trophy I've ever seen.
My Dad never brought anything back to the uk from North Africa or Italy, he did try to bring a pair of Pearl handled Colt .45 (1911’s) he had traded in Korea , but stories of regular checks and threats of jail meant he dumped them in the sea on the way back to Japan. A close by neighbor passed away in the 70’s and he had a box under his bed with several Mills hand grenades , and a Webley revolver and ammo, I’m sure he would have had a custodial sentence if found out.
My dad served in the U.S. Army between WW2 & the Korean conflict. One day as he was unpacking crates of war materials recently sent back from Europe to the U.S., he pried off the top of one crate of communications equipment (as a private he worked on telephone lines) and found laying on the very top of the equipment a small cache of war souvenirs including a German flag and a P08 Luger! Evidently some soldier who packed the crate in Europe had secreted the items there hoping to be lucky enough to be the one who unpacked that particular box upon arrival in the States. My dad turned all the items over to his commanding officer, but Dad said that officer probably ended up keeping the items for himself. In college during the 1980s, I had a friend who once showed me a Japanese Nambu pistol that a relative of his had as a bring-back from the Pacific. Both pistol types bring ridiculous prices at American gun shows today, especially the Lugers.
Mark... when I was 10 years old or so {around 1980} I was spending some time with my grandfather in Washington who had served in the Army during World War II. He was in Italy most of the time and had learned to speak Italian in the time he was there... he also knew quite a bit of French and German. I was always very impressed with him when we would go get donuts on Sunday mornings and he would speak Italian to the Italians down at the bakery....
One day I asked him about the Nazis and Germany. I was still a child then and did not have context or the understanding of the depth of War and what it brings... but he proceeded to tell me a bit about the concept of right and wrong good and evil and such...
He then goes and fetches an old canvas bag and proceeded to pull out an old luger pistol and leather holster. I believe it was a P8 model as I recall and it was a bit I don't know if it was normal but had some real swastika and eagle Bakelite grips. It was very clean and rather new looking and I was told by my grandfather that it was taken off a dead officer somewhere in Italy.
The item was later passed down to my cousin when my uncle and grandfather had passed that later found out from the family there was more to the story and more detail if you look inside the flap of the holster you will see the name of the officer inscribed on it along with what I believe is to be a serial number of some sort? Grandpa also took a few other things off of him... a flag lapel pin with the swastika, a pen and notepad with Nazi propaganda printed on it, and the gold wedding ring the man had been wearing...
The luger and the other items alli came together as a collection when it all finally passed to my cousin. The next time I cross paths with him I'll try to fix some pictures and such and send them your way it might be something you'd be interested in... take care and thanks for the good history!
Japanese bayonets are so common where I live because of all the WWII Pacific veterans than lived in my neighborhood. As a kid I would see them at garage sales all the time along side canteens and mess tins. Nobody was really interested in buying these things, they bought the Samurai swords but not so much the bayonets which could be had for just a few dollars. I bought once once and still have it, the old man who brought it back having served on Iwo Jima so it likely came from there.
I have a WW2 Japanese bayonet made by Toyoda (Toyota).
Cool! I didn't know they had a bayonet division!
For US watchers/residents of this video. Depending on what state you live in if you found a fully auto WW2 machine gun or sub machine gun from your grandpa’s ‘bring back trophy’ stash it is not illegal to possess (in most states) if you are not a felon or have been previously convicted of a gun related crime. Any fully auto weapon manufactured prior to 1986 is likely worth a bundle on the collections market. My advice bring the weapon to your local federally licensed gun dealer who may be able to help you obtain the necessary paperwork to keep or sell the gun. Given that these weapons are highly valued by collectors DO NOT surrender it to your local police department. You could be sitting on weapons worth tens of thousands of $’s depending on condition and who the weapon is resold to.
My Grandpa (Mom's side of the family) was a veteran of the British 8th Army, he brought back a few Iron crosses and a Hitler Youth knife, which my Grandma turned in! My great uncle ( U.S. side of the family) fought in the Pacific, he brought back a machete used by tribesman in New Guinea (it's still sharp as hell) and an Arisaka rifle. The rifle (ammo being difficult at best to find) is now in the weapons collection of the Palm Springs Air Museum! Growing up in the 70's and 80's it was difficult NOT to come across some type of Axis trophies held by family, friends and neighbors!
I got a Luger from an old guy in 1996, he had about 30 of them he had bought up from old war buddies over the years. His favorite example was a mint condition, but non firing one. He speculated that it had been sabotaged at the factory where it was produced. I can't remember which one that was, but it sure was a beautiful pistol.
In Australia, Japanese swords were always the most prized weapon. Personally, had I been alive then, I’d have tried to bring home a tank or two. A Panzer IV or V would be a wonderful item of loot,
I think one of the more darker war trophies I've heard about were Japanese skulls sent home by US soldiers. I saw a post on reddit awhile ago from a guy who bought out a veterans estate, among the uniforms and other pieces was a human skull with the top sawn off and cigar resting notches filed into the skull walls, crazy to think he used that as an ash tray for all those years.
I was at a gun show a number of years ago, and on one person's table was a human skull with "Souvenir of Pelileiu " written on it. the next time I came around to that table, it was gone.
The biggest tragedy for surrended weapons was in Japan . Many swords were melted down including family heirlooms dating back hundreds of years . Blades that had been made by master sword smiths and were not only weapons but priceless works of art
I was going to post the same you beat me to it.😅
Shouldn’t have invaded China
@@lablackzed oops sorry 🤣
It was a cultural thing as the Japanese were used to obeying the government so gave over the swords where as Elsewhere they would of been hidden away.
@@brendanroberts1310 Certainly. The Japanese of the time (and maybe still) were raised from birth to respect power and authority. Post-war the Allied occupiers were the power and the authority and were to be obeyed.
My father was an infantry man in the 87th Division. They spent most of their time in Europe under Patton in the 3rd Army. He was wounded a day or so before the Battle of the Bulge started and spent Christmas 1944 in a hospital in Paris. On returning to his company, he still had trouble walking fast because of his leg wound so while he healed, he filled in as the company postal clerk. While doing this he helped guys send back hundreds of trophies. And he even sent back 4 or 5 German rifles and Lugar and a trunk full of other items. His uncle had a number of farms between Seneca Lake and Keuka Lake in upstate New York - near Dundee. His mom, not wanting the rifles in the house, sent them to her brother's farms and they were used for 'deer pest control' for years.
As always thank you for sharing this with us and you never disappoint with the truth of history today. Good day and God bless you Mr. Felton
Your history stories are always excellent and we enjoy them.
For Canadians, my great uncle told me in 1970s how during WWII he was in Germany guarding several piles of weapons, flags, stationary etc that were along a street. From them he grabbed a nazi flag and a very fancy wooden box that was made to hold a highly ornate Luger with 2 magazines. In 46' he returned to Canada on the Empress of Scotland and as they got in St. John's harbor the officers & senior NCO's sent word around there was to be a kit search on the docks. They won't see a thing if anyone was to toss souvenir guns/knives etc over the side before they docked. Minutes later the water rose by a foot he said laughing, everyone scrambled to toss those things out of their kit bags. But he didn't since he thought he'd get away because he was ordinance and would declare the boxed luger was for the regimental display. The ship docked, they formed up on the docks and after a bit were marched off without a search. So he sold that boxed luger in mid-1950s it was enough cash to buy one of the earliest colour TVs and he said it was a surprise when they did get a show in colour in those early years. But people in neighborhood would line up to watch a bit of TV and would even stand on front lawn and watch through the big living room window, some would even bring snacks often peanuts or popcorn. By the early 80s he said that made the experience of bringing it back and the sale well worth it.
gotta wonder who has it now and what it was.
That's a great story!
Worked with a man back in the 70s that was a WW2 vet. He told me he brought a small dog back he found in Italy. A terrior of some sort. I asked him how he got him over here. Said he just took him on the ship and nobody cared. Upon arrival in New York he put him in his duffel bag and just walked unchecked right on through. The guy said he was an excellent squirrel dog.
My grandfather brought back a stray miniature pinscher from Luxembourg that he tamed by feeding it C Rations. He brought it back on the ship and would take up above deck at night to "do its business" which he would then kick into the ocean. When he arrived in NY a bus driver tried to give him a hard time about bringing it back to GA on the bus but he acquiesced after a good cursing out.
For context on the Machine Gun restrictions for the US, in 1933 the NFA (National Firearms Act) was passed which was the first major Federal firearm law in the US. This act required the registration of machine guns in the US along with a $200 tax stamp which at the time was very expensive. Most other guns were unaffected by this act and as such there were practically zero federal regulations regarding these.
Thank you,
Very informative and educational.
First World War trophies we had around the house while I was growing up included a Frankenstein helmet that took a glancing blow from a bullet, a Pickelstaube helmet with interchangeable ball and point, and a gas mask in a metal canister that in retrospect was probably pretty toxic. Over there! Over there!
My grandfather an Army officer who fought on Guadalcanal and New Guinea returned with a Type 26 revolver (with an early serial number and production date around 1900-1910) and a Katana. He never told the story about how he got them but through research we figure they are more than likely from the same Japanese officer as the Katana has all the hallmarks of being a family sword and not military issue. Plus the Type 26 revolvers were rare as in service front line pistols at that time being that production stopped in 1926. It's amazing how high quality the Type 26 is even to this day.
Ooh! finally a video i have a personal story that relates to! My pop was in the army in the pacific and at the end of the war when they were beginning to occupy the mainland, he was put on a mission to go capture a munitions dump. There was no resistance, and they took it peacefully. the CO let everyone on the mission choose between a type 99 revolver, binoculars, and a katana. My pop chose the type 99, but told me in hindsight he wished he had chosen the sword. i think i agree with him. He also took home a japanese battleflag, but years later in the 70's, a Japanese foreign exchange student attended the local highschool. Pop had been making ammends with the japanese in his own mind areound this time and asked the principal if he could give her the flag to take it back home to her people. The principal insisted they have a school assembly for it, so that's what they did. I wasnt alive yet, but i have heard it was quite emotional.
He sounds like he was a good man
@@scottallpress3818 He was awesome! He went through hell and back, including being interned in a japanese prison camp, and somehow still managed to be a very mellow and loving grandfather.
Still have the revolver? Many swords by that time were mass produced military sword and not all that valuable.
@@grayparatrooper Yep! His oldest son, my grandfather, has it
@calebfrondren6598 - Your pop was kind to return his captured Japanese battle flag by means of that exchange student, and it probably did his heart good to have some closure on that. Thank you for sharing your personal story with us!
In the UK., A 'Family Member' had 2 UK revolvers and a Pristine Luger in its original Holster with a full clip , the gun blue and the hand grip sharp, never held much. All from WW1
They were all handed in to the UK government in an Amnesty in the 80s. He showed me, What a great loss.
This 'Family Member also fought in Italy and Northern Europe in the REME. A tank transport driver. God Bless. Great post Felton !
Mark, I purchased an almost perfect condition C96 Stock/Holster circa 1930 from a seller in Mother Russia. It must have been a war trophy bring back item. The question is, did the same soldier have the matching pistol? No one will ever know.
One of my uncles was in the Seabees and participated in the invasion of Saipan. He brought home a Japanese “Lugar”, along with the battle sword that he took off of a dead Japanese officer. He was very proud of the artifacts that he risked his life for.
By japanese luger do you mean a actual luger or a Japanese nambu that looked like a luger and yes I know the Germans gave some of there things to the Japanese
@@stephanieclark3506 It would have been a Nambu Type-14
@@stephanieclark3506 I believe it was a Nambu.
GREAT VIDEO MARK!!
I love collecting Axis firearms , edged weapons and of course that lead to helmets, uniforms and equipment. The best is when you get it directly from a vets family. Preserving their memories through the trophies they brought back.
Not too long ago an American collector in Virginia had a rare Polish Wz38M confiscated from him on the ordered of the Polish gov. It’s an interesting and angering read if anyone wants to check it out.
what for? how come the poles had the right to take what effectively had become his property?
I had a friend in the infantry, late 70s. who mailed an M72 disposable rocket launcher to his parents place. Wanted to fire it for his friends when he next had leave.
His dad, Returned To Sender.
Thinking, my son doesn’t live here.
It sat in the mail room where it was finally discovered.
He did a few weeks in closed custody. Never kicked him out.
It just became another regimental legend.
My Dad's Uncle was a Marine Corps tanker and he brought home several Japanese flags, a pistol and a beautiful Katana. It was razor sharp and my cousins and I loved to take it down from the wall it was hanging on and run around with it, much to the annoyance of my Dad's Uncle.
Great subject!! I own an MAB Model D (French Pistol) that was made under occupation, used by the Germans, taken back by the French at war's end, found it's way to French Indochina, and finally was captured and brought back by a US Marine during the Vietnam War. We deduced this from the markings on the pistol and the capture papers from the Marine.
Those were not capture papers but an import license required by the Federal Firearms Act of 1938.After GCA68 form DD603A was required to bring back a firearm into the USA..
As Canadian EOD I deal with “bring backs” quite often. The most common item being the No.36 Millsbomb grenade.
Long retired US Army EOD. Local police contacted me about a lady who found a live Japanese grenade in her deceased husbands belongings.
@@QuantumMechanic_88 A case I heard recently was a woman who had on display in her buisness a 40mm anti-aircraft round which she always told customers was her father's de-activated bringback from WWII. One day she had it sent off to be officially inspected and turns out the round was still active. She had essentially lived with a stick of dynamite's worth of TNT her whole life.
Canadians were forbidden to bring back firearms. However I know for a fact that many did come back. I have an Arisaka type 99 in 7.7mm which I use for hunting. Excellent rifle.
"An Indiana man was killed and his two children injured after a hand grenade found in a grandfather's belongings exploded, say police.
"The blast happened on Saturday evening in Lake of the Four Seasons, a community about 140 miles (225km) north-west of Indianapolis.
"Police believe someone pulled the pin on the device.
"The father died and his 14-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter suffered shrapnel wounds.
"Both teenagers were taken to hospital. Their condition was unclear.
"In a statement posted to Facebook, the Lake County Sheriff's Department said that responding officers found the 47-year-old victim fatally wounded at his home. He was later declared dead and identified as Bryan Niedert.
"A bomb squad was called to the scene to check if any other explosives were at the house.
"Authorities have not released any more information on the grenade or why it was in the grandfather's belongings.
"While deaths from unexploded ordnance are extremely rare in the US, they are not unheard of.
"In 2020, a 12-year-old boy in Virginia was killed when a Second World War hand grenade bought at a local flea market exploded.
"According to experts, the vast majority of grenades and other ordnance found in private homes are inert and safe to handle.
"Last year the FBI warned: "Some families of aging US war veterans are finding unexpected, and highly dangerous, souvenirs among their loved ones' belongings - ticking time bombs."
@@QuantumMechanic_88
My first ever call was for a 25-pdr artillery projectile that a guy had on his fireplace mantle for many years, his friend finally convinced him to call it in. Turns out it was a live HE. 🤦♂️
In my family we had a M1 Carbine, a long barrelled Artillery Luger, a standard barrelled Luger and a Browning Hi Power all brought back from WW11 as trophy firearms. All were legitimately laundered and put on U.K. certificate but unfortunately fell to the 1989 and 1997 bans respectively apart from the M1 which ended up in the Isle of Man where, as far as I know, still is to this day held legitimately on certificate. Very interesting piece and thank you for posting.
My grandfather made many friends and collected a lot of favors while in the U.S. Navy, serving as a Corpsman in the Pacific. He managed to bring back his own cargo crate from Japan. Yes, his own create - he loaded it with machineguns, swords, bayonets, and grandfather clocks. He made decent money selling the grandfather clocks and used to for his semi-retirement.
Keep them coming. You can never talk enough about the anecdotal aspects hottest topics. Topic request is that you might cover wear uniforms of different countries came from. Who designed them and who generally manufactured them. Who was employed to make them by the millions like this, and how did whole Nations have the capacities to make outfits at the rates they needed them especially with new ones needed all the time? Boots belts pants shirts coats helmets at cetera? Thank you again for everything you do, doctor!
Also, the nation's signs, ex: the US's White star, the USSR's red star, etc.
I still believe the STG-44 to be the most attractive looking assault rifle ever ! They are so cool
My great-grandfather, who was a Commander in the Swedish Navy during the war, had a German Luger pistol in his apartment that he often let us kids gaze upon. He didn't live long enough for me as an adult to ask him the more serious question of how he acquired it, but my uncles have told me that he was a navy attaché in Warsaw in 1947-1950, so that explains some of it.
I volunteer at a small museum in the states. It is largely the private collection of one individual, and a number of items have been donated. Veteran bring-backs that are donated by family members are some of our favorite pieces.
Is it like dragon mans place??