Buying a M1903

[ElWoodman]

The 1903 Rifle won the first offensive engagement in the Pacific Theater of WWII: Guadalcanal. It was the ONLY time in WWII that US forces went up against an enemy on equal terms (5 shot turnbolt-vs- 5 shot turnbolt). We all know that firepower advantage enjoyed by our people toting the M1 Garand....And yes, "Tell it to the Marines"....

[ElWoodman]

Another possible factor is if it is a Marine Rifle. Our (Marine Corps) rifles are high and holy things to us, on occasion causing us to pay more than we'd rather admit.......but we do...It's a Marine thang.

[clintonhater]

The 1903 Rifle won the first offensive engagement in the Pacific Theater of WWII: Guadalcanal. It was the ONLY time in WWII that US forces went up against an enemy on equal terms (5 shot turnbolt-vs- 5 shot turnbolt)...

Don't forget the "Alamo of the Pacific," as the History Channel foolishly calls Wake Island. (The difference: the defenders of the Alamo, did NOT surrender.)

[Merc]

The 1903 Rifle won the first offensive engagement in the Pacific Theater of WWII: Guadalcanal. It was the ONLY time in WWII that US forces went up against an enemy on equal terms (5 shot turnbolt-vs- 5 shot turnbolt). We all know that firepower advantage enjoyed by our people toting the M1 Garand....And yes, "Tell it to the Marines"....

Just curious. Since the M1 Garand entered service in the mid-1930s, why were the Marines still using the M1903 at Guadalcanal?

[clintonhater]

Just curious. Since the M1 Garand entered service in the mid-1930s, why were the Marines still using the M1903 at Guadalcanal?

Army had top priority for M1s; Marines were supplied on the "trickle-down" principle.

[cplnorton]

Just curious. Since the M1 Garand entered service in the mid-1930s, why were the Marines still using the M1903 at Guadalcanal?

There is a really good article on this in the latest Garand Collector's Journal if you get that.

But the Marines actually had a lot of Garands even before Pearl Harbor, and even adopted the M1 as the main battle rifle before the Canal. But they just didn't have the faith that it would be reliable in combat until all the revisions on it were done. The Marines had a lot of problems with the Gas Traps they had tested, so they were waiting for all the revisions on them before they were issued widespread to the infantry. But Marines were issued Garands for the Canal. It was mostly just to Marines who were in Support roles, and some of the replacments were issued some as well.

[firstflabn]

The 1903 Rifle won the first offensive engagement in the Pacific Theater of WWII: Guadalcanal.

A pretty bold assertion. Can you tell us a bit about how you arrived at that?

[blackhawknj]

I read an account of the Ardennes, told the story of a cook in an artillery battalion, when he was handed an M-1 he said he' d never seen one, he joined the Army in 1941, qualified on the M1903-and probably hadn't fired since.

[PhillipM]

Army had top priority for M1s; Marines were supplied on the "trickle-down" principle.

In 1940 the USMC turned down the M1. Your story is a myth. In fact, had the USMC got on board with the M1 in 1940 and shared the tooling up costs, the USMC would have had M1's out the ears.

[Art]

Don't forget the "Alamo of the Pacific," as the History Channel foolishly calls Wake Island. (The difference: the defenders of the Alamo, did NOT surrender.)

"Alamo of the Pacific" was a term coined by the press at the time, in fact while the fighting was still going on. Word of that got to the defenders and it was emphatically not good for morale.

The Alamo almost surely did have six to 10 men surrender to Gen. Manuel Castrillon who offered them, in good faith, safe conduct and who were subsequently executed on orders of Santa Ana. Another group made a run for it when the situation was untenable and were cut down by Mexican cavalry stationed outside the walls for just that purpose. Interestingly there is a record of one fellow who received a Republic of Texas land bounty warrant as a veteran of the Alamo. In addition several people including Bowie and Travis' slaves who apparently actually did fight and later surrendered were let go as did a Mexican army deserter Brigido Guerrero who had joined the Texans and then convinced the Mexican authorities that he was in fact a P.O.W. so it wasn't just women and children who were released. Juan Seguin was sent out of the Alamo shortly before it fell to seek help, got to Houston who forbade him to return. None of this in any way diminishes the courage of the men there but there are a lot of myths and fables that grew up around the battle, one was that "Thermopylae had its messenger of defeat and the Alamo had none."