Turns out the M1 Garand I bought is an Ethiopian the folks at RTI (I know, I know, RTI) told me this Garand I ordered from them likely arrived in Ethiopia in the late 1950’s to late 1960’s.
These Garands were in a batch of other M1 Carbines, Thompsons, and other U.S. small arms sold/provided to Ethiopia. The Garand was imported by us (under I.O. Inc, our importer) in 2021.
If RTI has the right time frame this Garand would fall in the time frame when the Ethiopians were in Korea between April 1951 to 1956 in assignment with and to replace US Army’s 7th Infantry Division.
I'm really excited to get this one. Hopefully, it's in the condition RTI claims when I read about it and talked to them on the phone about it. Anytime you buy online, it's a roll of the dice. Serial number 3084640 puts this Garand between July and August of 1944.
The next step, after cleaning, inspecting, and firing, is to pair it up with a Bayonet.
I saw this Ethiopian M1 Garand with Bayonet in a video, I captured a still;
Attachment 136183
