One Man's View about the M1 Garand

[Bob Womack]

In my opinion, this, my friends, is a classic example of the progressive philosophy at work. I say this a-politically. Let me explain.

The primary premise of the progressive philosophy, as an outlook in general, is, "Things and people are getting better." That is the fundamental thought underpinning the outlook. It is sacred and central. History is a hill that we are pushing mankind up. We must take the steps to see to it that the future is better than the past. The present is, and must be, better than the past. The problem is, when carried to its extreme, this thought process simply doesn't conform to reality. There is good and bad in most ages of man. So, what do you do when confronted with things or people in the past who aren't worse than, and perhaps are better than, those of the present, and thus don't conform to your foundational idea that everything today is better than it was in the past? Unless you are really honest, you begin trying to find ways to tear down those things of the past so that they can be worse than what we have today and prove your philosophy.

And this is what you see repeatedly in progressive historians: a philosophically-driven need to do whatever is necessary to drive history forward and up, even if it means shoving the past down.

Bob

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[Seaspriter]

what do you do when confronted with things or people in the past who aren't worse than, and perhaps are better than, those of the present, and thus don't conform to your foundational idea that everything today is better than it was in the past? Unless you are really honest, you begin trying to find ways to tear down those things of the past so that they can be worse than what we have today and prove your philosophy.

Truly well put Bob. 50% of the current Millennial generation (according to a recent Harvard study) actually believes that the future will not be better than the past, and thus they have has no commitment to improving our fate. This is a serious problem, and one that we, as an older generation must confront. (I'm actually starting a Leadership Institute to address this issue, but that's out of the league of this post. BTW, Bob, I'd like to quote your full statement -- with attribution -- in a blog on leadership, with your permission.)

To stay on track, here are the facts, from a US Army analysis of Weapons and Equipment usage during the Korean War, conducted by Johns Hopkins University, surveying 636 Infantry soldiers in groups of 4-6 to gauge what actually happened in the field of battle:

CONCLUSIONS

The Infantryman's Load
1. Some of the clothing and equipment issued infantrymen in Korea proved non-essential and was either turned in or discarded by the soldier to increase his mobility and fighting power. This resulted in an average reduction in weight of individual clothing and equipment from 75 to 41 lb.
2. The average weight of clothing and equipment, plus weapons and ammunition actually carried by infantrymen in various jobs, was between 62 and 95 lb.

The M-1 Rifle
3. The M-1 rifle was most often fired at ranges less than 300 yds, both in the offensive and in the defensive. It was also fired most often in daytime offensive fighting at unseen targets without using sights and, in daytime defensive fighting at seen targets using sights. At night very few targets were seen and sights were practically never used. In combat the sling was never used, and elevation and windage adjustments were very rarely made, "Kentucky" windage being relief on almost exclusively.
4. M-1 rifle sights proved deficient in that the peep sights were difficult to keep clean and use in the rain and, on some
rifles, the rear sight had a tendency to loosen;(while the front sight would sometimes break off entirely.
5. Zeroing or test firing the M-1 in the combat area was not generally done.
6. The automatic loading feature or the M-1 tended to mal* function, probably because of the rifleman's failure to maintain his weapon properly.
7. A total of 1,354 M-1 rifles were used by 334 men (of those interviewed) during their combat service in Korea.
8 A sturdy cleaning rod attached to the rifle was considered necessary.
9- The noise caused by releasing the safety on the M-I was loud enough to alert the enemy in some situations
10. The noise caused by ejection of the empty clip from the M-1, despite the fact that at close range it could be heard by the enemy, was considered valuable by the r1fleman as a signal to reload.
11. In cold weather the M-l was difficult to reload when the issue mitten was worn. If the mitten was removed to facilitate reloading, the hand quickly became numb.

Ammunition
12 The rifleman in Korea normally carried 144•196 rounds for his weapon
13" Little use was made of tracer ammunition.
14 The web cartridge belt and the bandoleer used by the rifleman to carry ammunition had serious deficiencies. They were both uncomfortable. Ammunition in the cartridge belt got bent and wet and much ammunition dropped out of the bandoleer.

Grenades
15. The infantryman normally carried from three to four grenades.
16, White phosphorous grenades were carried less frequently than the fragmentation type either because men feared a WP wound from accidental detonation, or because they believed the WP grenades to be less effective.
17. The noise caused by pulling the pin on a grenade was considered undesirable as it might warn the enemy that a grenade was to be thrown.
18. The issue of mixed grenades having different fuzes and silent types, long and short burning times) caused confusion. One standard type of fuze was desired
19- Rifle grenades were rarely used

The Bayonet
20. The bayonet was used extensively.
21. Most of the men interviewed reported a lack of basic bayonet training

The Browning Automatic Rifle
22. Most BAR men discarded the bipod.
23 Most rifle squads increased their firepower by employing at least two BARs.
24. A twelve-man squad with two BARs was considered a better organization than the present one because of the increased firepower
25. The BAR was difficult to keep clean and had a high malfunction rate, particularly in winter and wet weather.
26. There was a high loss rate in BAR magazines.

The Light Machine Gun
27. There was a trend to increase the firepower of the rifle platoon by adding a second LMG.
28. The traversing mechanism on the A4 LMG was usually either left loose or removed altogether.
29. Men felt they should be trained in firing the A4 LMG from the hip when circumstances do not permit use of the tripod.

The 3.5 Rocket Launcher
30. Many units did not carry the 3.5 Rocket Launcher in the attack during the phase of the war when enemy armor was absent but substituted a BAR or an LMG.• Those units that did carry the rocket launcher seldom used it unless armor appeared.

Recoilless Rifles
31. The 57-mm Recoilless Rifle was habitually carried in the attack and was frequently used. Twelve to eighteen rounds per gun were carried.
32. The primary objection to the 57-mm RR was that it tended to draw enemy fire because of its back flash.


Notice, there is no reference to 'M1 Thumb". The bizarre writer should stick with the facts and leave his twisted opinions in his own head.

[Ex Crab]

The following quote from the link amuses me, I've read it elsewhere as well:
" and it has a safety that requires you to put your finger in the trigger guard to disengage."
Question. Why do you disengage the safety? Answer. Because you're about to fire.
Question. Where do you put your trigger finger when you want to fire? Answer. On the trigger which is in the trigger guard.
When disengaging the safety the finger is moved forwards away from the trigger and then rearwards onto the trigger to fire. No problems there.
I've owned my Garand 20 years with no dramas, apart from the occasional tendency to spit out a half full clip. In short it does what it says on the box.
Oh and contrary to what is said in the article about not being able to top off a part loaded clip in the weapon, yes you can.

[Bob Womack]

BTW, Bob, I'd like to quote your full statement -- with attribution -- in a blog on leadership, with your permission.)

You've got my permission, with my pleasure. Send me a link to your file once you write it, if you will please.

Bob