Veterans "oral" histories

Gunny Hathcock was a fine man and I was fortunate to have met him many times. When I was collecting I was fortunate to also have collected some historically significant items. Way too many to list, but I concertrated on items from D-Day and the Bulge. It is hard to compare holding a historically significant firearm, say a M1A1 carbine from a paratrooper who saw action at St. Mere-Eglise, to a car. In my mind the cars are cool, but they don't compare to items that were used to kick the Nazi's out of France. As a student of history, things really get put into perspective when you hold a weapon or personal item of a solider and see the pitting from blood and know that someone died far from home protecting or defending an ideal.

Semper Fi