This Old Gun
(If this is the wrong "room" for this, please let me know, and move it to the correct area.)
This whole episode has been incredibly impactful.
Since I was a boy, I've been a WWII history buff, especially the air war. And, believe it or not, I can actually remember tracing the cutaway view of a 1911 from a library book when I was in elementary school. Weird.
Imagine my surprise when my ex-wife's (oh-ho! more to the story!!!) dad passed away in the VA, and we eventually got around to digging through everything. (The ex and I remained friends, still are. She gave me title to the guns (1911, HS Model B, Winchester Model 71/.348) several years after we'd parted. She knew I would appreciate these more than anyone she knew. She also knows that the impact of all of the material, with provenance, is considerable.) I have some nice friends ...
So:
The pistol
Original magazines
Shoulder holster (non-standard, with sleeves for two spare mags)
All of the flight calculators
Canvas helmets
Headset
Orignal Ray-Bans, in case
Survival compass
Silk survival map
"Blood chits"
Field manuals
Log books
Field orders
De-classified incident report
Stacks of Photographs
Piles of insignia, buttons, etc.
I turned the gun in to the locals, figuring a license was the best way to handle the disposition of the guns personally. And awaaaaaaaaaaay we go on The Story.
I figured, great, I'll wind up with a .45 and a .22, nice guns, too, what more could I possibly want or need?
And, obviously, got snake-bit. Need a bigger gun safe.
(I'm sure no one else here knows what
that's like ...
)
It took me nearly a year-and-a-half to get the two pistols back from the local PD. Ultimately, I was forced to provide every piece of provenance, probate, and paper of all types before they were finally turned over to me. Largely, I have one particular Licensing Officer (T.H., if you see this, thanks mightily!!!!) for help in getting this resolved. In retrospect, I suppose there might have been a couple of folks who wouldn't have been too upset if this Colt had to be "re-dispositioned." The Properties Officer even commented, "Man, you've really gone to a LOT of trouble to get these back, didn't you?"
And I did.
MY L.O. told me, "Watch what happens, this gun will become your favorite." He was right. It doesn't get shot anymore, but the places it's been, the action it's seen, the fact that it made it through and back, along with Lt. Adamow --- well, that's something that way too few kids of the current generation can really get a handle on.
Even though Joe Adamow was quite incapacitated (non-war-related) when first I met him, we did have a couple of conversations. For one thing, I have a Private Pilot Rating. I learned to fly because I was so fascinated with things like P-51s, P-47s, P-38s, B-17s, B-24s, B-25s, B26s, and the like. I had to see what it was like to fly
something. That's the only thing Joe and I were able to talk about, a little. After that, he was unable to communicate.
But he still does, in his way.
You know what I mean.
:banghead: 
)
