Louis Badolato
Lieutenant General
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2005
- Messages
- 17,354
A gentleman who had heard about my honoring Flying Tiger Lenny Glick came by my house yesterday with a gift for the museum.
My kind benefactor, a person in the business of carting away unwanted junk from people's homes, had been asked by the widow of a Pacific Theater Sergeant to get rid of his souveniers, which were still wrapped up from the time of WWII, and another customer had given him an old WWI era military rifle, and he kindly donated them to the museum.
The Rifle appears to be a 1903 Springfield, but has a Russian Eagle and the year 1917 stamped on it. Any ideas on what it could be?
The WWII Sergeant's souveniers, however, I could identify. I first unwrapped the three smaller packages, which contained 3 slightly different Japanese Bayonets, the blades of which were in absolutely pristine condition, having been oiled immediately prior to being wrapped up in 1945!
The larger package had my mouth watering - as I could tell from the shape exactly what it was - a Katana! Sadly, its blade had some red rust on it, but it is not pitted, so I hope I can have it restored. Attached to the scabbard by wire is a tag with the Sergeants name, identifying him as a member of the headquaters company of a specific unit (I am not at liberty to provide this identification on the forum, as I do not know and have not received permission from his widow).
All of these wonderful items will of course be displayed in the museum. I can only wonder how the headquarters company sergeant came by these items, and why after so carefully preserving and wrapping them he never once opened them from 1945 until his death . . . there must be some story behind the answers to these questions.
My kind benefactor, a person in the business of carting away unwanted junk from people's homes, had been asked by the widow of a Pacific Theater Sergeant to get rid of his souveniers, which were still wrapped up from the time of WWII, and another customer had given him an old WWI era military rifle, and he kindly donated them to the museum.
The Rifle appears to be a 1903 Springfield, but has a Russian Eagle and the year 1917 stamped on it. Any ideas on what it could be?
The WWII Sergeant's souveniers, however, I could identify. I first unwrapped the three smaller packages, which contained 3 slightly different Japanese Bayonets, the blades of which were in absolutely pristine condition, having been oiled immediately prior to being wrapped up in 1945!
The larger package had my mouth watering - as I could tell from the shape exactly what it was - a Katana! Sadly, its blade had some red rust on it, but it is not pitted, so I hope I can have it restored. Attached to the scabbard by wire is a tag with the Sergeants name, identifying him as a member of the headquaters company of a specific unit (I am not at liberty to provide this identification on the forum, as I do not know and have not received permission from his widow).
All of these wonderful items will of course be displayed in the museum. I can only wonder how the headquarters company sergeant came by these items, and why after so carefully preserving and wrapping them he never once opened them from 1945 until his death . . . there must be some story behind the answers to these questions.
