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John Sabato · 04-03-2001, 02:47 PM

I have two great stories, but only have time to type one at the moment, so the other will have to wait until another time.

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While fighting somewhere in Europe, during a lull in the fighting, my father's unit (E Co, 39th Inf, 9th Infantry Division), got word that they would be able to mail home any war trophies in their possession provided they were inspected by ordnance to insure there was no ammunition or explosives included. My father picked up the first two Kar 98k rifles (he didn't have his Luger yet!) and after checking to make sure they were unloaded he went into a fabric shop that had been shelled and found a bolt of maroon velvet. He rolled the rifles carefully in the velvet until he had used up the bolt of material and then securely wrapped it and addressed it to home so he could give them to his brothers upon his return. (My Uncles were fighting in the south Pacific and Burma so they would not have seen German weapons). When they all returned home from the war, one evening the thought of my Dad's trophies came to his mind and he realized that much of his parents house was decorated in maroon velvet! He asked where the rifles were that he had sent home inside the velvet and to his surprise, my grandmother could have cared less about the rifles, she was thrilled to get the fine velvet with which to make things! She finally remembered that when she unwrapped the rifles, she had decided that she didn't want them in the house (they were tools of course) so she went out to the barn and hung both of them by the sling on the nearest nail.

They were still there (having received no care in the interim period) after more than a year! Once cleaned he presented them to my uncles. They served many a hunting season since that time. One is still in it's original configuration, and the other was sporterized and scoped by my cousins in Ohio. I am sure they will continue to serve many generation to come...

04-03-2001, 02:47 PM	#9
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,156 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,309 Times in 1,098 Posts	Mailing war trophies home... I have two great stories, but only have time to type one at the moment, so the other will have to wait until another time. ============= While fighting somewhere in Europe, during a lull in the fighting, my father's unit (E Co, 39th Inf, 9th Infantry Division), got word that they would be able to mail home any war trophies in their possession provided they were inspected by ordnance to insure there was no ammunition or explosives included. My father picked up the first two Kar 98k rifles (he didn't have his Luger yet!) and after checking to make sure they were unloaded he went into a fabric shop that had been shelled and found a bolt of maroon velvet. He rolled the rifles carefully in the velvet until he had used up the bolt of material and then securely wrapped it and addressed it to home so he could give them to his brothers upon his return. (My Uncles were fighting in the south Pacific and Burma so they would not have seen German weapons). When they all returned home from the war, one evening the thought of my Dad's trophies came to his mind and he realized that much of his parents house was decorated in maroon velvet! He asked where the rifles were that he had sent home inside the velvet and to his surprise, my grandmother could have cared less about the rifles, she was thrilled to get the fine velvet with which to make things! She finally remembered that when she unwrapped the rifles, she had decided that she didn't want them in the house (they were tools of course) so she went out to the barn and hung both of them by the sling on the nearest nail. They were still there (having received no care in the interim period) after more than a year! Once cleaned he presented them to my uncles. They served many a hunting season since that time. One is still in it's original configuration, and the other was sporterized and scoped by my cousins in Ohio. I am sure they will continue to serve many generation to come...