A photo worth a thousand words!!

[John Holbrook]

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Rob Greer]

Very nice presentation (and piece!)!! Thank you for sharing.

[Joe P]

John, that is an absolutely lovely piece. How appropriate for Memorial Day. Thank you.

Semper Fi,
Joe P

[kikokat]

Beautiful pistol John. Your photos are generally worth about 1,500 words!

Regards,
John in OR.

[NyteOwl]

Very nice! How does one get the small certificate with all the information about the 1911?

[Duane Hansen]

John bought this Colt from the Marines Family and got all the information and Documentation at that time. John designs makes all his own display placards himself. John only wants a Pistol that tells a story in his collection. Most pistols do not have the information still available. John does a fantastic job displaying his Fine collection.

[NyteOwl]

Very well done indeed. How does one get the shipping and isssuance information?

[John Holbrook]

Here are some examples of documentation. The yellow tag came with Col Wilkers Colt. The chit from the USS MINNESOTA was folded and stuck down in the holster, and the Pearl Harbor document came with the pistol. I have been doing this for many years and this type of .45 finds me now. People know that this is what I do. They know that I want to preserve the history and bring them to me.

BTW, Ens Tom Anderson was the Officer of the Deck on the USS UTAH on 12/07/1941 when the first torpedo of the attack struck his ship. Cmdr Fuchida IJN, specifically instructed his pilots to avoid the UTAH as it was an obsolete battleship and had no military value! Having been in combat myself, I understand the excitment of the young Japanese pilots, and they attacked the first ship that they saw!

[John Holbrook]

Here is more information on Col. Wilker that I got off the Internet.

In May 1965, MAG-12 deployed to Chu-Lai, Vietnam, to support Marine infantry and other allied forces in their engagements against the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army units. The Group participated in many large operations, including the recapture of Hue City and the relief of besieged units at Khe Sanh. Two more Navy Unit Citations were received as a result of the Group's contribution to the Vietnam War effort. After almost 5 years of combat, MAG-12 was withdrawn from the Republic of Vietnam in February 1970, and reestablished at Iwakuni, Japan. MAG-12's stay in Japan, though, was short. Again, in May 1971, MAG-12 deployed to Vietnam and conducted combat operations from Bien Hoa air base until finally withdrawing from war in January 1973. MAG-12 then returned to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, where it remains today.

About 50 miles to the south of Da Nang, at Chu Lai, two Marine Aircraft Groups, MAGs-12 and -13, flew out of the airfield located there. MAG-12, under Colonel Dean Wilker, consisted of three Douglas A4E Skyhawk attacksquadrons,VMAs-121,-211,and-311, and one A-6A Intruder all-weather squadron, VMA (AW)-533. All told the group possessed 12 of the Intruders and nearly 60 of the Skyhawks. The maneuverable Skyhawk was a formidable close support aircraft. An extremely accurate bomber, the single-seat A-4 belied its relative small size and could carry a variety of ordnance and a payload of nearly 8,000 pounds. Three F-4B Phantom II squadrons, VMFAs -115, -314, and -323, with a total of 33 aircraft, constituted MAG-13. The versatile Phantom, capable of a speed nearly equal to the fastest interceptors, could also carry a payload of nearly 16,000 pounds, second only to the A-6A. Two C-117D transports, five Douglas TA-4Fs, and three Korean War- vintage Grumman two-seater, single-engine TF-9J fighter trainers rounded out the Marine aircraft inventory at Chu Lai.5*
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[John Holbrook]

Here is the entire display that contains the Wilker Colt. All the .45s in this display have a Navy or USMC connection...

My personal favorite M1911A1 Colt #2300270 is the lower middle one. It also has a Marine connection. It was given to me by a Marine captain under extreme duress and it saved his life and more importantly MINE!!!!

ENJOY!!!!!