Some info on M1 use in WW2

[Milwroad]

Back in 2002 I had the great honor of being a Board member and Treasurer for the WW2 Marine Raider Association. Being the son of a WW2 veteran and the nephew of a Raider who was KIA, I was always interested in WW2 and WW2 weapons. I asked a bunch of different WW2 Marine Raiders, via email, questions about their weapons. Specifically I asked the following.
1. Did you carry a Garand or a Carbine?
2. Did you take the rifle issued to you after or during boot camp with you overseas or were you issued a new weapon in theatre?
3. Do you remember the manufacturer or serial number of any weaposn you used?
4. If you used a Garand did you have a leather or cloth sling?
5. Were you issued plastic covers for your weapons to use during invasions like we see in D-Day pictures?
6. Did you ever use the cloth muzzle covers?
7. Did you carry a cleaning kit in the buttstock and if you did how often did you use it?
8. Did you affix your bayonet or actually use it in combat?
9. What happened to weapons after combat. Were you held responsible for your weapon after a battle was over?
10. Did you ever carry extra clips attached to your sling like in the movies?
11. Did you ever take parts off of other weapons to fix yours.
12. Any other observations about weapons?

I received a bunch of responses. I found them recently when I cleaned out my office and thought I would share them to show the different conditions in the Pacific and to shed light on a few M1 myths not to mention to show that there were no set rules. . Here they are just as I received them.

1. Jim, there were surprisingly few times that parts were really needed for either of the two weapons. Springs were the usual problem and in most cases the individual replaced their own. The big replacement problem as I recall was the firing pin spring. (Note: I think he meant hammer spring.) They didn’t fail often but when they did you had to disassemble the weapon to replace them. Which was a fairly big time consuming job. I usually carried a couple of extra bolts for replacement. The biggest problem (as with all weapons) was failure to properly take care of them.
2. Jim: Nope, never did see any Marine with a clip attached as you described. It could work for new slings but I cannot imagine hooking them up to a leather sling since the 8 rounds are so compact. Gilberts, Marshalls, and Marianas-28 months and I never saw one Marine with it attached.
3. Jim, the first time I went overseas during the second world war I carried a 1903 Springfield. The second time we were issued our weapons prior to departure and received the M1. I never carried the M1 in combat. On New Georgia and Emirau I carried the BAR. On Guam I carried the Johnson Light Machine gun. On Okinawa the M1 carbine. In Korea and Vietnam I carried the carbine. Nearly 60 years is a long time to remember a serial number. They did not issue rifle covers in those days. A condom worked well to cover the muzzle during all kinds of situations. I saw spare ammo carried on slings but only for photos. Never used a bayonet except to open C rations. In those days the leather sling was M1s and the web sling carbines. I don’t recall ever using the oiler and thongs to clean my carbines because it was much more practical to carry and use a jointed cleaning rod. I knew of people "deep sixing" carbines to get an M1 and the other way around. If you ended up with a weapon after an operation there wasn’t much said. In case of a malfunction with a weapon if you could repair it you did. I don’t recall anyone picking up a good weapon to strip it of parts to fix a bad one. Why not just use the good one? As a unit small arms mech I carried a few parts to fix weapons in the filed. The M1 was, and is, a good weapon but I would rather have the Johnson rifle or light machine gun. I never cared much for the M1 carbine and the M2 just wasted ammo.
4. Jim, received your email of 10 September 2002 with your 12 pertinent questions about the M1 rifle. I will reply as well as I can considering it has been 50 plus years since I’ve held one. I joined the USMC in 1943 and went to the Raiders after boot camp and was assigned to 1st Raiders, C Company. I received disability retirement after losing sight in my right eye in June 1951 in Korea. I carried an M1 Garand. I carried my original issue rifle for 4 years. I do not know the make or serial number. I had the M1907 leather sling. I put a condom over the muzzle prior to each invasion for protection. No cloth muzzle covers, they were not available during my overseas tour. Yes I used the cleaning kit after every fire fight when possible. Every 3 days when not on the line. If your weapon failed you could be dead. Never used the bayonet as it added weight to your rifle. We had knives, K-Bar, stiletto and Bowie that we used in jungle fighting.
5. Your M1 Garand was issued to each grunt for life unless it became a casualty of war, unable to be repaired in field or assigned to a duty where rifles were replaced with other weapons. The grunts always took up the higher fire powered weapons, the carbine for the M1 and the M1 for the BAR. When possible your less fire power weapon was exchanged with an evacuated wounded or dead Marine’s faster weapon. The bi-pods and flash hiders o the BAR were “deep sixed” prior to invasions they were identified as an automatic weapon by the Japs. I did not put extra clips on my M1 sling. I carried two exra bandoleers to keep the weigh off my weapon and keep my ammunition secure. Yes in the field you make every weapon operational if possible from what you have to work with. If a weapon could not be repaired you save what you can and threw the rest in the “bush”. The M1 was a great weapon in the humid, rainy and muddy South Pacific and sub zero Korea. It won many campaigns, killed many enemies and saved thousands of Marines lives. I wish I had my issued M1.
6. The only M1 Garand in the 1st Battalion on Tulagi was carried by Hank Adams our Intel officer. He was a distinguished rifleman as was Edson. The rest of us carried 03’s, Reising guns or 1911, 45 ACP.
7. Never issued any covers. Cleaned after it was fired and safe to do so. Never used bayonet. Some SOB changed bolts on my M-1 aboard ship. After trying to fire it during the first banzai attack on Guam I used grenades. When morning came I discovered why the rifle would not fire. Broken firing pin tang. Whoever exchanged bolts did not know thy could have gone to the ship’s armorer and gotten a new one. I tossed the M-1 and took a BAR off of a dead Marine. The next day I was wounded and evacuated. I don’t think anything would happen if you tossed one weapon in favor of another one. I carried an extra cloth bandoleer across my shoulder with eight or ten clips in it. Never would attach anything to my sling. I never did a field repair, left it to the armorers if available.
8. I carried the M1 and many other weapons in WW2. I took the original weapon issued in boot camp overseas in ’42. I do remember the serial number 884941…a number that will live with me forever (note , he didn’t say what type of weapon this was but since he was a 2nd Raider probably his M1!). We were issued the leather M1907 sling. No plastic covers were ever issued. M-1s and other weapons aboard Higgins boats were salt-water soaked. We were never issued green muzzle covers. Cleaning kit issued with rifle in boot camp….and we cleaned the rifle almost every day when we had time until we returned Stateside in ’45. Bayonets were never used by us after boot camp. Weapons ere turned in when we were relieved and returned to the States. Did not know anyone who did not have a weapon to turn in but it might not have been the original issue. Never added clips to M1 (sling) and never had to salvage spare parts…the armorer took care of that. The M-1 was the greatest weapon of WWII and Korea. They did a great thing when they changed out the 03 Springfield during the battle for Guadalcanal. I currently have an M-1 in pristine condition, looks like it just came off the assembly line. Made at Springfield serial 398738.I never had to salvage

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