ok gents... here it is, a vet bring back
 

I'm new to Lugers and will start to look up proof marks, etc. The gun is dated 1940, stamped "42" on toggle. All parts including grips match and it has the stock lug. Overall 85% condition, some light pitting on barrel and sideplate from original holster that it was kept in...

http://www.semiautosten.com/luger.jpg

Please click on image to enlarge: <a href="http://www.semiautosten.com/certificate.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://www.semiautosten.com/certificate.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a>

OUTSTANDING!!!!! <img border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" title="" src="graemlins/bigok.gif" />

Doesn't it feel kind of special to know you are holding a piece of history in your hands??? The bring-back papers, IMHO - look absolutely great!!!!

Nice find!!!

sorry the pic was so large!

Yeah, it's pretty cool!!!!

Awww - that's easy.... I'll fix your pic, OK?

It looks GREAT!!!!

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by John D.:
<strong>Awww - that's easy.... I'll fix your pic, OK?

It looks GREAT!!!!</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">:)

An excellent nice post, with the certificate identifying the name of an American serviceman who left his family in World War II to become part of our nation's efforts to defeat the Axis powers in that war, bringing to an end deeds against nations and their citizens that bring only feelings of revulsion when contemplated even today.

That certificate really, really adds greatly to the meaning of this pistol. I wish I had such a combination.

Being a newbie, please be very careful taking off the LH grip panel. Most of these have the little pointed tip at the back broken off from improper handling. Your grips are irreplacable (as are all the original numbered parts) and add significant value to the gun. The procedure I use is to remove magazine, remove RH grip panel, then carefully poke the LH panel loose from the RH side, through the frame, trying to keep it even as it moves away from the frame.

more pics... it came with the holster which had the takedown tool (?) in a little pouch in the holster flap :)
http://www.semiautosten.com/luger1.jpg
http://www.semiautosten.com/luger2.jpg
http://www.semiautosten.com/luger3.jpg

Vic, if your interested, I'm willing to try the National Personnell Records Center to see if a copy of Clyde H. Fox's service record is available.

Don't know what I migth received, but there might be enough to make a nice addition to this pistol.

Please let me know. I have a little experience with this.

I hope his record is still available... so many WW2 servicemember files were destroyed by a major fire. What a terrible loss of historical facts. Good Luck on your search.

A number of those records, supposedly destroyed in that fire, John, were discovered in the 1990's and I may be recalling the decade of the discovery wrong.

I have been recently working on the award of a Bronze Star Medal to a World War II veteran, a recipient of two Purple Hearts and the Combat Infantryman Badge, truly a member of Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation." The Combat Infantryman Badge made this soldier eligible for a Bronze Star that had never been awared. His records were available at the Personnel Center and we are waiting the outcome of that effort.

I'll need to see if Vic would like this to proceed and it may come to no end if we do and his record is lost. If we proceed, I'll report the outcome fully here, if that is acceptable.

I may be judging it wrong but it seems as if a service record would be a nice compliment to this pistol and its capture certificate. It might tell where the service member served and may offer a small guess as to where the pistol was obtained.

At this point, the certificate tells us that Private First Class Fox was a member of Company K, 238th Infantry Regiment. That regiment was part of the 26th Infantry Division, also called the "Yankee Division." It was part of Patton's 3rd Army and was involved in the relief of Bastogne.

But, it's easy to prattle along on material not directly related to the luger pistol, I find. :-))

I would love to know more about PFC Fox!!!! I searched the name on the net and came up with one hit, an obituary for someone 100 years old... probably not the same gentleman but who knows. If the man is still alive I would love to meet him!

Let me see what I can do, Vic, concerning his military service. No promises, but I can give it a try. And, it will take a while to get a read back, maybe as long as two months.

Note that I am not trying to locate him if he is alive.

I'll keep you posted.

Vic, let's confirm by you reading your paper copy of your capture document, what I am seeing on this forum. Verify for me, please:

Clyde H. Fox
34269185

and tell me if I have this correct.

Thanks!

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by tudorbug:
<strong>Vic, let's confirm by you reading your paper copy of your capture document, what I am seeing on this forum. Verify for me, please:

Clyde H. Fox
34269185

and tell me if I have this correct.

Thanks!</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">perfect.

Roger, thanks Vic. A request will go out in tomorrow's mail. It may take two months to obtain a reply.

Will keep you posted. It will be interesting to see if anything useful is returned.

Can't wait to see this.....
Will be very interesting if he still lives. Truely a piece of history.

Tudorbug,
Are these records availible to the general public? I would like to obtain a copy of my great uncle's service record, he was killed in the south pacific, during the battle for Leyte Gulf...

Best Regards, Brandon

Brandon:

Yes. But a member of the public will receive less information than the service member himself or the service member's family or next of kin would.

I going to work through this effort on behalf of Vic and will report fully on the nature and extent of the result, if there even is any. Note the fire that John Sabato mentions above. Other's may wish to do the same.

I would be glad to work on your great uncle's record on your behalf, if you have his serial number and wish me to do so. Alternately, I can tell you easily how to obtain the needed form and the address to send it to.

If desired, I can post that information here for all to see.

At the risk of being strung up by you guys I'll tell you that I was thinking of selling this Luger but it didn't take me long to have a change of heart... Now I'm positive this one will stay with me for some time to come...

Vic, I would have been one of those interested in it.

For sure.

It looks to me as if this pistol that is the subject of this thread is now listed on Gunbroker, complete with its capture document for PFC Clyde Fox (unless he had more than one of this 40-42 lugers).

http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/Vie...?Item=17538106

I'd be interested but the bidding seems to me to start very high, however, I admit that I am not well versed in prices on luger pistols.

At least I won't have to be concerned that the National Personnel Records Center may not produce PFC Fox's service record. :-))

yup... got 2 more with capture papers from same seller, and they're in nicer shape, so I'm going to keep the cleanest one and sell other 2...

Vic, want to post pictures of the other two? :)

And maybe use John D's server, that way we can leave the pictures up for a while :D

Ed

Vic, is the pistol listed on Gunbroker the same one that we addressed and even looked at on this forum?

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Edward Tinker:
<strong>Vic, want to post pictures of the other two? :)

And maybe use John D's server, that way we can leave the pictures up for a while :D

Ed</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">I messed up and deleted the pics form my own server... I fogot I linked to them from here... I won't do that again. I've been playing around with my dock and boat the past few days but will get pics taken of the new ones... I wasn't going to buy them but was made a nice offer (I believe they came from an estate and HAD to be sold by the executor, who happened to be a trustee appointed by the state to handle the sale).

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by tudorbug:
<strong>Vic, is the pistol listed on Gunbroker the same one that we addressed and even looked at on this forum?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">yup... I think it may be sold... just got off the phone with someone that wants it and I should know later this afternoon for sure. Not over till the fat lady sings (and my Paypal account has the funds in it).

i cant see the pics

Welcome to the Lugerforum Nighthawk101... just where is Winchester KY?

The pics were accidently deleted by the poster...

Brandon,
I sent you a PM. Please let me know if this is ok and I will PM my email address. Thanks.
Sid.

Vic, I see that your GunBroker auction has ended. I assume a sale was successfully completed and I offer my congratulations.

nah... he was too cheap... I offered to absorb the paypal fee of $80. ship for free, and tossed in the DWM commercial I've got... After he said we had a deal, he wanted another $100 off so that ended the discussions. I relisted it with the DWM and I'm sure it'll sell.

Here is Vic's list on GunBroker and the cost has changed dramatically downward, I might add, with two luger pistols listed.

http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/Vie...?Item=17645302

For Vic, I'm sorry the earlier sale did not go through. I'm still interested and wondered if you have any pictures that can be posted by the luger forum server that might be more in number than what is allowed on GunBroker.

For the 1940, I understand that there is slight pitting on barrell and sideplate. Is the tool that you show marked in any way? Holster in top notch condition? Is the magazine numbered to the gun or mismatched? If mismatched, what is the number on it? Bore condition is...?

What is the condition of the DWM 1923 Commercial? Is there any pitting? Bore condition? etc. Anything that might help any of us be more informed would help.

In any case, I wish you good luck with your auction. I look at and drool periodically. :-))

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by John Sabato:
<strong>Welcome to the Lugerforum Nighthawk101... just where is Winchester KY?

The pics were accidently deleted by the poster...</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">In the middle part of the state.... about 15 mins from Lexington and about and hour and a half from Louisville

Well , it has been just under 12 months since I took on this task, but I have finally received a reply from the National Personnel Records Center concerning Clyde H. Fox, 34 269 185, whose name is on the capture paper for the luger that started this thread.

The National Personnel Records Center experienced a 1973 fire that destroyed about 17 million records pertaining to the veterans of our nation between 1912 and 1960. That's correct! This detailed history is largely gone for those who participated in WWI, WWII, and the Korean War.

But a record or partial record for Clyde H. Fox was availble. Here is the report:

- Branch of Service: Army
- Dates of Service: May 14, 1942 to December 1, 1945
- Duty Status: Discharged
- Rank/Grade: Private First Class
- Assignements: Company K, 328th Infantry (which was on this capture paper), 352 FA Bn (Field Artillery Battalion)
- Decorations and Awards: European African Easter Campaign Medal w/4 Bronze Service Stars
World War II Victory Medal
American Campaign Medal
Good Conduct Medal
Service Lapel Button, WWII
Sharpshooter Badge w/Rifle Bar
Expert Badge w/Automatic Rifle Bar (This is the BAR)
Combat Infantryman Badge
Bronze Star Medal
Place of Entry: Fort McPherson, Georgia
Place of Separation: Camp Gordon, Georgia
Place of Birth: Gainesville, Georgia
Date of Death: November 24, 1984

I could not find a record of death, however, in the Social Security Death Index.

This is an example of what can be learned, if a record is available, about a serviceman whose name appears on a capture paper.

Evidently, he benefitted from the 1947 Regualtion change that alllowed award of the Bronze Star Medal to all verterans of WWII who had received the Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medic Badge.

Finally, if anyone on the forum now owns the luger that started this thread just almost a year go, I'll be happy to mail to you the record this I have just received from the Center. This was a 40 42 luger, capture paper of Clyde H. Fox and the serial number was never available to the thread, as far as I can tell.

If anyone else wishes to request a similar record, please contact me and I'll tell you what to do. Because of the fire, be prepared for a disappointment.

David