I recently had the opportunity to interview an M1 Garand rifle. The rifle rests comfortably in a museum, surrounded by other vintage firearms. Each firearm has an amazing story to tell during the day as men, women, and school children file through and peer through the display cases…but the M1 Garand rifle has the most amazing story of all. After the museum closed, I received special permission to bring my laptop and a tape recorder for a special interview with this historic weapon.
I’ve titled this article “Interview with a Murder Machine” on purpose. I want everyone who enjoys their freedom to be aware of the tools used in its defense.
Peter Hodges: I realize this is a bit odd, talking to a rifle and all, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to interview you.
M1 Garand: It’s really not a problem. I spend my days teaching people about the role of American patriots in Wars across the globe. I’m happy to spend my remaining days instructing the young.
PH: Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? You were the first semi-automatic rifle to be issued to the infantry of the United States.
M1G: Well, that’s not entirely correct. I was the first semi-automatic rifle to be issued to infantry in the world. I was just in time for the start of World War II. At the time, the Germans were using the bolt action Kar 98, while the Japanese were using the bolt action Type 38. Both suffered from a slow rate-of-fire, but the latter suffered particularly from a weak cartridge design.
PH: Would it be fair to say that you were the best rifle at the beginning of World War II?
M1G: That might be a stretch. There were several proponents of the earlier M1903 Springfield (a bolt action .30-06). Among them were Marines who were used to the reliability and accuracy of the weapon. We had to prove to our men that we were worthy of the additional upkeep and that we were durable enough to survive battlefield conditions.
PH: General Patton once said that you were “the greatest implement of battle ever devised.” That’s high praise.
M1G: Indeed. Patton was enamored of our superiority to opposing rifles. Suddenly, our boys could put more lead on target in a shorter amount of time. The invasion of Europe was a huge success due in no small part to our contributions on the battlefield.
PH: Let’s talk about this specifically for a moment. Were you carried by multiple soldiers, or just one?
M1G: Two soldiers. I was carried first by a young man in the US 36th Division during the invasion of Italy. I was at Monte Cassino, fighting the Reich as they guarded Italy’s territory. The men joked that the Italians were too feeble to fight for their own land, so Germans must spend the blood of the Fatherland to keep their southern borders secure.
PH: History records this as a brutal series of four battles with over 54,000 allied casualties.
M1G: All I know is that the 36th had over 2,000 casualties in 48 hours. Dead, wounded, missing. They advanced into the teeth of the German guns with no armor support. Brave boys…
PH: And did your soldier make it?
M1G: It’s funny, the fortunes of war, you know? My soldier was in the 141st Regiment, which had ceased to exist by the end of that period. Forty men survived, one of them being the boy who carried me. He was a farmboy from the cornfields of Iowa, with the rasp of a Midwestern accent. I remember his corporal teasing him about not having to shave in the field. He made it back to the lines, but his corporal didn’t.
PH: What happened to the 141st?
M1G: For all practical purposes it ceased to exist. The survivors were absorbed into other units, but it was okay. They had seen the elephant. They were all combat veterans, so mostly they were welcomed as brothers. It wasn’t like they came in as a boot.
PH: And your soldier?
M1G: He’d seen such terrible things, but I remember him sitting around a fire with a couple of his new squad mates. It could get pretty cold in Italy in the winter, despite the fact that they brag the climate is like California. Anyway, he was sitting there, huddled into his field jacket, and he says to his mates: “We’re making the world a better place, boys.” They all looked at him strangely. Here’s this hayseed, one short step up from a boy, telling his fellow soldiers about how the world is going to be better. All they’re concerned about is staying warm and having a hot meal. ”How do you figure?” I remember one replying. My soldier just smiled and shook his head. “If you don’t see it now, nothing I say will make you.” It was in that moment that I realized I was proud of this boy; he had become a man sometime over the past few, weary days of battle.
PH: Where else did you serve?
M1G: My soldier was rotated to Britain for the great push across the Channel. He was in the second wave of men to hit dirt at Omaha Beach. It was there that he lost his life under the fire of an MG-42 on the cliffs above. After he was hit, he dropped me, but I could hear him over the roar of gunfire and the crash of the waves. He prayed through his last gasping breath that he had done enough, and that he hadn’t let his mates down.
PH: What happened to you?
M1G: I lay on the beach for a couple of days, the sand and sea water damaging the wood of my stock and the metal in my barrel.I figured I was done at that point. My soldier had cleaned me every night, no matter how tired he was. He had this habit of wetting his front sight before he went into battle. I don’t think it made any difference; it was just an affectation, like a quarterback licking his hands before taking a snap. When he could find oil, he would take a cloth and buff the wood of my stock until I shone.
PH: Someone must have picked you up.
M1G: An ordinance sergeant named Caparelli finally found me and gave me a thorough cleaning. I was packed away at some HQ before being shipped to the front lines and given to a soldier in a unit you might have heard of: the 101st Airborne. I arrived just in time to participate in the Battle of Carentan.
PH: Part of the Battle of the Bulge?
M1G: No, that came a little later. This was when the 101st used a causeway to push a poorly supplied German army back on its heels. They counter-attacked a little later, but the 101st was rescued by elements of the 2nd Armored Division. You have no idea how close those young men were to breaking. They had literally given everything that they had to defend that little French town. Just when they couldn’t give anymore, the cavalry came. It was like a movie. Never have I seen the hand of Providence more clearly than in that moment.
PH: So what do you say to the men, women, boys, and girls who come to the museum to see you?
M1G: I tell them the story of a boy from Iowa who believed so much in his country that he went to Europe…to die for his beliefs. I tell them of an outnumbered company of men, holding fast to rubble and cobblestones against the might of the entire Reich just so the men behind them would have a chance to establish a beach head. I tell them of the cheers of French citizens as we marched across the countryside. I tell them of the weeping of the Jewish people as they were freed from terrible death camps. I tell them of the bravery of boys who barely needed to shave and how they did the impossible time and again. I tell them of an insane dictator cast down by the volunteer armies of free men. I tell them that our freedom is not free. It was bought with toil, sweat, and blood of our grandfathers. I beg them to remember this, so that no other generation must do what that one did.
As I dry my eyes, I can barely get out a few words with this one:
Wow.
Extremely moving.
Probably your best writing, ever. There is raw emotion in this piece.
Great piece Pete! I think that my grandfather would have been proud to carry that rifle!
You DO understand.. Blitz
War is such a terrible way to solve problems. The winners write the histories so I have no doubt that we have painted the Germans to be much worse than they were. Most of their citizens, including their soldiers, had to have been normal everyday people just like us and yet we went over and inflicted thousands of deaths on them. It was their responsibility to rise up against their own government. Ghandi and M.L. King proved that peaceful demonstrations can work in achieving social change, and it was up to the people in Germany to do something about it. Our intervention only cost more lives and ultimately ended up making a lot of people in our country rich off of war profiteering.
The “greatest generation” was duped into an unnecessary war. The same ends could have been achieved with social activism and diplomacy, but our male-dominated culture insisted on a war of glory to line their pockets and make their mark in the histories. The whole thing makes me sick.
1. if not for these boys of the greatest generation we would all be speaking German. if you can’t understand that, crawl back under your rock. Hitler intended to rule the world. the Allies stopped him.
2. anyone that has a problem with the middle east issue, drag your butt over there and make the attempt at reason. you cannot reason with animals that would kill you and your family in their sleep if given the opportunity.
Nina, I fought for your right to be stupid if you so desire. Doesn’t mean I have to understand how you could be so confused though… Blitz
Nina eich ein berliner.
Nina muss ein Gehirn erhalten.
Nina, wenn Sie das nicht lesen können, sich bei einem Soldaten bedanken, dann schießen sich
Nina,
Be thankful you live in a land were ideas of such naivety are thought possible. Having said that, here’s my opinion on your statements.
1. Your opinion that the Greatest Generation was ‘duped into an unnecessary war’ proves that you either know little of history or choose to ignore it. Roosevelt did everything possible to avoid being in ‘Europe’s problem’ and had a national policy of isolationism (The Monroe Doctrine). He stated multiple times he didn’t want direct involvement in the war and would not send our soldiers into a war that should be fought by ‘European boys’. Our army was woefully unprepared for any conflict and was still feeling the effects of the Great Depression. Only after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor did the country realize it could no longer ignore a war that was already two years old. Germany and Japan both realized that the United States was a serious threat and the war would eventually come to our shores. German u-boats were already sinking merchant ships off the coast of New York two months after Pearl Harbor. Every option was taken to avoid the fighting in the early years of World War II, but sometimes you have to put the pen down and pick up the rifle.
2. Hitler was basically given eastern Europe by politicians in the hopes of preventing further aggression. He used diplomacy to buy time to prepare for war. He never intended to honor any agreements, just read the events leading up to the invasions of Poland, France, and Russia. What did all the diplomacy achieve?
3. German civilians rising up against the Nazis. Considering Hitler made private gun ownership illegal and his military had the best weapons on the planet, civil disobedience was suicidal. The concentration camps weren’t just for the Jews, it also had German civilians and anyone else the Gestapo considered a threat. Read the events about the Warsaw Uprising…or just watch The Pianist, that’ll give you a good idea.
4. I don’t believe for a minute that U.S. involvement in World War II cost more lives. Should we have done nothing and let the Axis powers take over? Even if it cost less lives, what kind of life would it be living under Imperialist Japan or Nazi Germany?
I agree with your statement that war is a terrible way to solve problems. Unfortunately, there are people in this world who cannot be negotiated with no matter how peaceful the intentions. If you know of a way to negotiate with a radical Islamist you can be a wealthy person in the consulting industry.
Wow Nina, up until now I saw you as someone that had a very different view on issues than I do, BUT I thought that surely you were basing your opinions on some kind of fact and or research. Your above comment is the most ignorant turd to burst forth from you as of yet. If we did not enter the WWII and bring the battle to the Germans, there would be three things different about your comment. First, of course it would be written in German as without US involvement in the invasion of France, the other allied countries would not have the resources to stop the Germans alone. Second, there would not be a Jewish person alive on this planet to read your fantasy land dribble as Hitler would have completely wiped them out. Third, having posted such anti Riech thoughts openly, you would be put to death.
WWII was the least of the “unnecessary wars” as you so obtusely put it. I do agree with you that war is a terrible way to solve problems, and yes everything should be worked out with peaceful demonstrations, but we as in the human race, are not there yet. Sometimes when dealing with madmen swift action must be taken.
What scares me the most is a person like you in a position of leadership at crunch time. “it was up to the people in Germany to do something about it. Our intervention only cost more lives and ultimately ended up making a lot of people in our country rich off of war profiteering.” You would have just left the Germans to “work it out for themselves” while they murdered millions. There was no working it out for themselves and it took the rest of the world to stop them.
You don’t have to believe the history books, if you have even ever read one about this war, you should talk to someone who lived through the horrors at the Auschwitz or Buchenwald death camps and tell them that you think that liberating them was not a good enough reason for us to enter the war. Lets not forget that were forced into war when we were attacked at Pearl Harbor. You go and tell the families of those brave men who died in the steely coffin of the Arizona. They aren’t worth it.
No one was “duped” into this war and the bombs fell on US ships as we attempted further peace talks. I think that if you are so disgusted by all the things written about on this site, maybe you would be better suited somewhere else on the internet. It is a pretty big place you know, I’m sure that you can find a nice foo foo everything is great Greenpeace site somewhere. I for one am sickened by usually any and all you have to say here.
It is easy to be offended by people that passionately oppose your world view. I was taught that I gain nothing from being offended. Rather, I should use that opportunity to understand why someone would utter something that offends me.
A good discussion must include people from opposing view points. Without different views dialog is just self-congratulatory. There is no chance to learn. No chance for anyone to grow. I understand myself better when I defend my views and explain them to people that passionately oppose them.
I find Nina’s contributions as entertaining as Pete’s. I hope she doesn’t go anywhere.
Chris,
I’m not saying I want no one oppose my world view, and I understand the importance of a two sided debate. I think that our views on war are the same. We are all against war but my point is, if you choose to debate a certain subject, then show the respect it deserves by at least doing some research on what you are saying. Have some clue of what your talking about before spouting off about it.
I simply suggested Nina look elsewhere due to the fact that in almost every post of hers she refers to something or other that she read here sickening her. I was merely making a suggestion to help her with her problem.
Careful StatiC, someone may try to get you for practicing counseling without a licence or something like that…
Hang out your “The Doctor is in” sign like Lucy did in Peanuts and rake in the big bucks.. There is definitely a need… Blitz
Several arguments here:
The German government was under threat of a coup. Hitler was always in danger of losing his power. There would have eventually been someone reasonable with whom we could have dealt or it would have collapsed. History is full of dictators who overreach – Alexander the Great, Ghengis/Kubla Khan, Napoleon, and Hitler. Patience would see their empire collapse because of its ambitions.
We goaded Japan into the attack on Pearl Harbor. Had we dealt with them fairly in terms of raw materials and embargoes, tariffs, etc. they would have seen no need to attack us. The attack was OUR fault.
I am free because I choose to be free. It doesn’t matter whether I am free through force of arms or coercion of foreign governments or because you tell me that I am. Freedom is an attitude I embrace in spite of the militarism that has currently gripped the world. A gun in my hand doesn’t make me more or less free than anyone else, and to say so is just plain silly. I owe nothing to the armies of the past because I didn’t elect them to fight for me. As I’ve already said I find their actions distasteful and am not altogether sure that the outcome would have been terribly different had they not fought. To say that I would speaking German now is completely a fallacy with no backing.
The end result of World War II was the atomic bomb, which was used to slaughter thousands of innocent Japanese civilians. Had we had the bomb before Germany was defeated, we would have used it in the center of Europe. All of the elite who worked on the bomb expressed remorse over its creation, including Einstein. Note this: A Jewish man who regretted making something that could end the war that also threatened his people with extinction. This exemplifies moral character in a human being.
Why are all of you bringing Islam into this? Are you paranoid that you can’t find common ground with someone who jsut wants to protect their homes? Keep in mind, we occupy their soil, take their resources, and then treat them like barbarians. Who wouldn’t be angry at our attitude and our actions? Again NATO isn’t fighting for my freedom. They’re fighting for money grubbing corporations and power brokers. And that’s just sad. A war on terror is simply a war to line Dick Cheney’s pockets. Nothing more, nothing less.
Nina,
I guess I’m just surprised that you aren’t moved by the stories of young men and women who fought one of the most brutal wars in our history. How can you not feel for the thousands who died (we’re not just talking American soldiers here, either) in the name of freedom and safety on Omaha Beach? It really tells me what kind of a person you really are, that you’ll defend the likes of some of the worst leaders in history in the hopes that the problem will “just go away” and fizzle. Some of the greatest minds of our times would akin that to ‘magical thinking.’ Meanwhile people like Ghengis and Hilter and Alexander are free to rape and pillage and kill causing more deaths and misery than any of your so called ‘murder machines’. How about roasting in an oven? Or watching your sister/brother raped and killed, or burned on a cross? The only excuse to extinguish any life is when it is initially threatened by the likes of a political and powerful bully.
It’s time to ditch the fairy wings and princess crown and start living in this reality. While humans should always strive for peace, it’s the worst kind of naivety to think that violence doesn’t exist or shouldn’t in the face of tyranny, oppression and genocide.
and a raped girl shouldn’t have tried to look attractive in the first place…
and even during the act, she can simply choose to continue embracing her “freedom attitude”…
she could choose to think about how disadvantaged the attacker must have been…
she could escape the whole episode by thinking dreamy thoughts of flowers, streams, sunshine, and butterflies…
the over-reaching attacker will eventually self-destruct…
no one should interfere with men who take what they want when they want… what a happy world… just wait for them over-reach…
So just let Hitler burn him self out and then just forget about it? Hitler didn’t even lose power when he was surrounded on all sides at the very end. Would Hitler’s empire collapse if he died of a ripe old age, maybe but that is your answer to WWII, to let him destroy himself EVENTUALLY. That is the stupidest thing that I have ever heard.
You are not free because you choose to be free. You are free because you live in a free country. A country where those that came before you fought and died for you to declare your freedom openly. Now I’m not saying that you would be any less free if you started you own country, but rest assured you would have to fight for it yourself.
If you lived in North Korea you may consider yourself free there as well, but you sure as hell wouldn’t scream it in the streets. You would be made an example of and they would serve you up your freedom with a side of bullets. Now is that a horrible thing, yes but that’s what those that came before you that “you owe nothing to” fought through so that you could call your self free.
I never said that having a gun in your hand makes you free. Your right you didn’t elect the soldiers to fight for you but they did anyway. I’m sure if they had to pick and choose who they were fighting for they sure as hell wouldn’t take a bullet for you.
I’m not saying that war is a good thing or that is always the answer. Humanity is riddled with flaws and the mistakes that we all have made. What I am saying is that right or wrong I think that the people that gave their lives for what they believed in in WWII to stop the madness deserve a little respect. Or at least just the acknowledgment (if you could even fathom that) that you have physical freedoms because of them. I’m not talking about having a “free attitude”. Everyone is free in their hearts, it’s having freedoms in the real world that is the right that is fought for.
As a patriot and a lover of my country I have said my piece and will no longer waste my time on you. I hope that you never have to pay the cost of freedom yourself, although it may change your views.
Nina–what about the hundreds of thousands (sound like an exagerated number? it is’nt.) of Jews who would die while your waiting for Hitler to go away? Have you ever even seen pictures of the holocaust?
Wow, what a barrage!
What bravado, standing against the hordes of the misguided is the mighty Nina.
Nina, I find your interpretations on how history played out rather ingenious. You could explain anything away. You should run for office…
WE were at fault for Japan attacking the U.S.? While they rampage and pillage across China and the Pacific Islands with the crosshairs on Australia, it was OUR fault? Wow! We must have wiped out a huge military target to cause the Japanese to…wait, no. We must have taken a pre-emptive strike on a civilian populace; wait, no, I don’t think we did… I’ll have to look into this and see what I can find on how we FORCED Japan to sail halfway across the Pacific ocean to attack a major U.S. military target… I’ll get back to you when I find it…
I never dreamt that the article would elicit this sort of response. It’s gratifying and humbling at the same time.
Nina: Revisionist history and wishful thinking can only take you so far. Where it should take you is a publisher…so you can sell it as an alternate history novel. Before you make off-the-cuff comments regarding historical fact, you should do yourself a favor and thoroughly research them, rather than repeating the conspiracy theories that are rooted in speculation. While it is true that we “provoked” Japan with trade embargoes and high tariffs, these embargoes were placed against Japan as a deterrent for further aggression in Manchuria and the Pacific.
Name Withheld presents an interesting picture of you exercising your freedom. There is no question that there are bad men in the world; without the threat of force to be used against them, you might have the misfortune to practice your freedom mantras in the face of a violent attack. Be thankful that most of the men I know personally would defend your virtue and your life without hesitation in the face of a violent aggressor. We wouldn’t even ask for thanks, because that is our duty as men. If we fail to protect those who cannot protect themselves, then we are less than worthless. You can rest easy at night knowing that there are those of us who will tirelessly defend your right to be a Peacenik with her head in the clouds.
Just don’t expect us to like you very much when you tarnish our honor, our traditions, or the accomplishments of those who came before us with pithy sayings and fairy dust.
wow, cannot comprehend someone that would acctually put those words in print. someone escaped from the loony bin.