Quote Originally Posted by mdoerner View Post
So when these items were surplused, why wasn't the "Property of U.S. Government" defaced or obliterated? Like all jap rifles that had their Chrysanthemums removed, Germanicon rifles with their Nazi Eagles removed (i.e russian refurbs), etc.

Seems kinda silly to have that stamp on something that has been surplused, especially when that item is still in government inventory.

Mike Doerner
It's my understanding that the jap mum was ordered defaced as per the ceasefire agreement between Japanicon and Allied forces (something the japs insisted upon.) Many U.S. commanding officers failed to enforce the mandate, thus many battlefield pickups returned stateside with the mum intact. Surplused Jap weapons sold commercially after the war usually had the mums defaced.
As far as I know there was no such terms written into the German surrender agreement. Nations such as Isreal and the U.S.icon defaced the Nazi markings for their own reasons.