M1 carbine

Aaron · 07-20-2012, 07:55 PM

Back around 1960 I was a medical officer stationed at the Norfolk Naval Base. As an eye doctor, it was in my power to provide personnel with prescription sunglasses mounted in nice gold aviator frames. These were normally reserved for aviation personnel, but I often stretched the rules and issued them to non-flying types. In appreciation, I often found very nice gifts on my desk, such as nice goatskin leather flight jackets, 1911A1 pistols, an occasional Luger or Nambu, etc. It so happens that nearby was a facility run by a Chief petty officer which did nothing but destroy M1 carbines by cutting them up with torches. I took good care of this Chief, his crew, and his family, and like clockwork every few days he left a couple of mint carbines, many in the original cosmoline, in my office. He also gave me many 600 round sealed cans of ammo. All these carbines were not considered worth much, maybe twenty bucks apiece, so they were often traded for other things we needed in our clinic, such as twenty pound tins of coffee, cigarettes, and once I even got my jeep overhauled. Who would have thought???

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07-20-2012, 07:55 PM	#17
Aaron Banned Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vista, CA Posts: 1,008 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts	Back around 1960 I was a medical officer stationed at the Norfolk Naval Base. As an eye doctor, it was in my power to provide personnel with prescription sunglasses mounted in nice gold aviator frames. These were normally reserved for aviation personnel, but I often stretched the rules and issued them to non-flying types. In appreciation, I often found very nice gifts on my desk, such as nice goatskin leather flight jackets, 1911A1 pistols, an occasional Luger or Nambu, etc. It so happens that nearby was a facility run by a Chief petty officer which did nothing but destroy M1 carbines by cutting them up with torches. I took good care of this Chief, his crew, and his family, and like clockwork every few days he left a couple of mint carbines, many in the original cosmoline, in my office. He also gave me many 600 round sealed cans of ammo. All these carbines were not considered worth much, maybe twenty bucks apiece, so they were often traded for other things we needed in our clinic, such as twenty pound tins of coffee, cigarettes, and once I even got my jeep overhauled. Who would have thought???