think he was commenting on the statement that you said you carried a garand as a service rifle, but when you could you would grab up a rifle that would not be introduced until 15 years after the garand was long gone.
to be honest every veteran who fought in an actual war with them loved them. just all the ones ive heard talk about them in person, in books, and on tv.
(really just my grandfather, my uncles that lived through ww2. one in the south pacific, and one in europe. my uncle sam was killed on luzon so i couldnt say about him or what he carried.) my uncle leslie (purple heart) and my uncle dub have both passed on, but were in total love with the garand.
lol, my uncle leslie said "everytime i got in a gunfight with my m1, i won"
(makes sense since he was alive to tell me)
i loved him and just lost him last fall.