Those damned 1911A1s were a nuisance.

I was in a headquarters battery. I had seven of the damned things in my arms room. Had I been in a firing battery I would have had one and that would be the battery commander's and that would have ended it.

Out of my seven, one was for the BnCO, another was for the battery commander, four were for the medics and one was for the Redeye gunner.

Everyone wanted one. Read the James Jones novelette 'The Pistol' and you'll understand. Of course, we had no sword swinging Japanese officers to worry about but the principle was the same. Everyone wanted them so they didn't have to lug around a rifle on field problems.

It got to be a royal pain in the a$$.

One day I suggested to the S-2, a captain, that he score one in a pawn shop and grab a holster at the local surplus store. He asked me to keep my eyes open for one and about a week later told him I had found two at a pawn shop. I also seriously suggested he did NOT buy one marked 'United States property'.

While there were any number of legitimate pistols on the streets marked this way because after WW2 the government wrote a large number of them off, I realized that being near an army base it was entirely possible that a stolen pistol could easily appear.

The last thing anyone needed was to have to answer a bunch of questions over a stolen pistol. The CID took that pretty seriously.

Anyway, in passing I met an NCO in the maintenance battalion that was in small arms repair and he told me about putting together 1911A1s with Essex Frames. He even offered to show me how to do it. I forgot what I gave him in return but probably a big can of coffee.

Anyway, when he staked the plunger tube in place I realized what the previously unknown tool in my armorer's toolbox was for. The plunger tube is the only hard part of assembling a .45. You need the tool.

I had purchased the frame off post and I do not remember filling out a 4473 for it although I very well might have. 

The S-2 scored the pawn shop pistol and thanked me. He also mentioned this to another officer and I told him to check the local surplus place for a parts kit and told him where to buy a frame. If he got the parts I'd assemble it for him. 

It started a minor deluge and over the next few months I assembled about a dozen from Essex frames and USGI parts that either came from the local surplus store or from Shotgun News ads. This included three or four for NCOs which promised never to bring them on post. 

Shortly after I built a couple two of the armorer's from the firing batteries swing by and asked me how to build the pistols. Apparently the officed in Headquarters couldn't keep quiet about what I was doing. I showed them.

I had been smart enough to build all of mine in my apartment off post and receive the parts off post and deliver them to my 'customers' off post. I had also told them to keep their receipts for the frames and part kits.

Unknown to my 'customers' I kept a log of who I had built what for by serial number. When I was discharged I mailed it along with a bunch of other paperwork to my parents for safekeeping as I was heading into the woods to live in a tipi for a while. I never had to use it and when I dug into it a few years later I pitched it and chuckled.

My battery commander was aware of what I was doing and I had explained to him that I was doing everything off post and no government parts were being used. He was good with it so long as everything was on the up and up.

The other armorers were charging money and building them in their arms room on duty. I was doing it at home off post for free. I just wanted to make life a little easier for myself. 

Shortly after we had a field problem and I only issued a few rifles to officers. My battery commander took his pistol and 2 platoon leaders took their rifles as did a couple of others in battalion. There was no complaining as all who wanted pistols had them.

Toward the end of the field problem my battery commander summoned me and quietly told me to stop building pistols. He took me aside and told me the BnCO had noticed what appeared to be too many pistols being worn and asked some of the officers where they came from. He was simply told they were privately purchased.

He ordered that no privately owned weapons were authorized and that ended that.

I never heard a word about it other than what my BC had said when he ordered me to stop building pistols. A few days later he quietly told me what had happened and to lay low.

One of the armorers in one of the firing batteries kept it up and got greedy. He used government parts, got caught and got off DAMNED lightly with a serious Article 15 and lost his clearance and was relieved from the arms room. Back to humping projectiles for him.

The next field problem every single officer quietly fell in and took his assigned weapon with a poker face.

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Aftermath.

About fifteen years ago I saw a familiar (but odd) name on line and Googled around a bit and determined that he was one of the officers I served with. When I saw his name online it struck a chord. It was an unusual name and I figured he was probably the same guy. 

He was the Bn commo officer and I recall he was one of the very down to earth officers I had the privilege to serve with. I dug up his phone number and called him out of the blue. He remembered me and I found out he had made captain, gone into the reserves and retired as a lieutenant colonel. He remembered me and told me he still had the pistol I had built for him. 

He said he has never fired it.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY