Sir, I'd bet many (most?) of today's soldiers and Marines will remember the '16 fondly. Locally, I see lots of young vets buying ARs. To them, a Garandmight as well be a flintlock musket--an interesting relic of bygone days, but not something they'd chose to fight with.
JMHO, FWIW.
Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.
Ron H.