Captain Gustav Schmidt’s Luger

Eugen · 04-19-2016, 03:18 PM

I just thought I’d share my excitement over a little bit of history on my numbers matching military Luger. Some initial research of my newly acquired 1939 Luger revealed that it was owned by Army Captain Gustave Schmidt.

Don’t assume this German was some Nazi, since coincidently there was a famous WWII German General by the same name. Gustav Schmidt was a local and respected celebrity in my community. He’s definitely of German decent, but was an all American guy. He was a physician and practiced medicine with his brother Walter here for decades. Dr. “Gus” as many knew him practiced medicine until he died around 2004. I knew about him because he and his brother helped start the local community hospital back in 1961; the hospital where I’m the CEO. When I first came to town in 2005, I was part of the dedication ceremony of a memorial to him for his years of community service.

I just learned that he was a Captain and physician in the Army during WWII and brought the gun back with him. I heard about his ownership of the Luger from the guy (the subsequent owner) that placed the gun for consignment sale at the little gun shop in town. Serendipitously, I walked into the shop minutes after the gun was placed on consignment and bought it.

Gus’s house and his adjacent clinic is now a part of the town’s historical museum and are on the same block as the gun shop. How weird is that connection?! Regretfully, Gus out lived his two sons so I can’t contact them about where Gus was stationed and any stories about how he acquired the gun or if the “brought back” papers might still exist in the attic somewhere. But, I do know his nephew who is an old dentist in town. I plan to ask him if he can add to the gun’s story. Perhaps, I will learn more.

04-19-2016, 03:18 PM	#1
Eugen User Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Newburgh,IN Posts: 790 Thanks: 393 Thanked 631 Times in 334 Posts	Captain Gustav Schmidt’s Luger I just thought I’d share my excitement over a little bit of history on my numbers matching military Luger. Some initial research of my newly acquired 1939 Luger revealed that it was owned by Army Captain Gustave Schmidt. Don’t assume this German was some Nazi, since coincidently there was a famous WWII German General by the same name. Gustav Schmidt was a local and respected celebrity in my community. He’s definitely of German decent, but was an all American guy. He was a physician and practiced medicine with his brother Walter here for decades. Dr. “Gus” as many knew him practiced medicine until he died around 2004. I knew about him because he and his brother helped start the local community hospital back in 1961; the hospital where I’m the CEO. When I first came to town in 2005, I was part of the dedication ceremony of a memorial to him for his years of community service. I just learned that he was a Captain and physician in the Army during WWII and brought the gun back with him. I heard about his ownership of the Luger from the guy (the subsequent owner) that placed the gun for consignment sale at the little gun shop in town. Serendipitously, I walked into the shop minutes after the gun was placed on consignment and bought it. Gus’s house and his adjacent clinic is now a part of the town’s historical museum and are on the same block as the gun shop. How weird is that connection?! Regretfully, Gus out lived his two sons so I can’t contact them about where Gus was stationed and any stories about how he acquired the gun or if the “brought back” papers might still exist in the attic somewhere. But, I do know his nephew who is an old dentist in town. I plan to ask him if he can add to the gun’s story. Perhaps, I will learn more.