Those were the days
 

Page from a 1972 Triple-K catalog.

In those days we were young and beautiful - now we are just beautiful
Piet

Lol, in 1972 my main challenge was potty training. Another 30 years and it will be my main challenge again :D

I was 12 in 1972, vlim, didn't know you were such a youngster ;>)


I grew up seeing the early 1960's ads of lugers for these crazy prices, makes ya wish! :D




Ed

OMG...I'm in some weird kind of firearms kindergarten class... :D

I had just been released from active duty in 1972...I went out and bought a brand-new Honda 500-4 motorcycle...Metallic brown, 4 cylinders, and somewhat traditional English styling (unusual in a Japanese cycle)...

I had a war surplus P-38 that I had bought in Oceanside CA in '70, plus an Enfield Jungle Carbine...The P-38 kept firing the chambered round when applying the safety/hammer drop...The Enfield was a beautiful shooter; very accurate... :p

Them, my youth and innocence, and any common sense I had are long gone... :(

In 1972, I had been on active duty (U.S. Army) for 6 years, and was serving my country as a shift supervisor in a communications relay located in on a plateau in the city of Asmara, in what was then the northern most province of Ethiopia...ruled by Emperor Haile Sallassie... Today that province is properly the nation of Eritrea. They fought a long and bloody civil war to win their independence. I was a witness to some of the insurgency, but they didn't bother the U.S. base (Kagnew Station), because the American presence brought millions of dollars of revenue into the local area... Seems like a hundred years ago now.

BTW, Kagnew Station was the ONLY U.S. Army military installation on the African Continent. It was built right after WW2 and the last American military forces left there in the 1974-1975 time frame. Civilian contractors operated the base until 1977, when the American presence was ended.

End of the history lesson for today... :)

In 1959, with my Army re-enlistment bonus in my pocket, I walked downtown in Little Rock, AR looking for a Luger pistol. First pawn shop I entered had 5 or 6 nice Luger for $50.00 each. Picked out a nice one, paid, and with no other paper work walked out.
Man, those were the days.

1972 Potchefstroom. Military training. 80 pounders (5.5") R1 rifle (FN 7,62mm) number 216498. .50 Brownings, LMG, Magirus Deutz 6x6 gun tractors. 1.5 miles - run it over and over till you drop. What a good time we had! No communications without at least 3 "f' words in a sentence.
And the songs - I'ts a long long way to Pacedena (whereaver that is), You, and many others.
Piet

I wasn't even born in 1972...

You didn't miss anything... :D

Piet, Pasadena, Ca. a suburb of LA. You must have learned that song from the US GIs, as I alway heard it was "a long way to Tipperarry" in the 1940s. So far I guess that I'm the only one born before we were in WW2, but only by 6 months or so. TH

"God I Wish I was Born In 72"

Me to! I remember the 30's. I was 6 when WW2 started and 9 when it ended. Collecting would have been great right after the War. However even $50 was a lot then. I was working in the late 40's for $1 per hour. Bill