Luger Cache w/US GIs during WWII

Frank · 02-21-2007, 08:57 AM

Hi Mike, first, I am not a WWII Vet!! But I would venture a guess that the Luger would have been more well known in the US at the start of the war, so that was probably the first choice for a war souvenir.

I doubt that the average GI would have any idea about the variations, nor the numbering system at this stage of the game. A Luger is a Luger!!! Military Mauser Lugers weren't sold in the US prior the the end of WWII and Fred Datig's Book is the first real reference for these pistols written after WWII.

My father-in -law is an ETO WWII vet and he told me that many returning GIs dropped their wartime souvenirs in the "drink" in NYC when they were warned about the consequences of being caught with weapons that didn't have the proper authority (bring back papers).

I was talking to a 5th Army WWII Vet just last Monday. He was in the North Africa and Italian campagines and told me that he liberated a P.38 from a German Officer that was surrendering. He was stationed in Germany after the German surrender and sold his trophy to a Russian for something like $600!!

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02-21-2007, 08:57 AM	#2
Frank RIP Patron LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Hot & Dry PHX, AZ Posts: 2,078 Thanks: 24 Thanked 164 Times in 87 Posts	Hi Mike, first, I am not a WWII Vet!! But I would venture a guess that the Luger would have been more well known in the US at the start of the war, so that was probably the first choice for a war souvenir. I doubt that the average GI would have any idea about the variations, nor the numbering system at this stage of the game. A Luger is a Luger!!! Military Mauser Lugers weren't sold in the US prior the the end of WWII and Fred Datig's Book is the first real reference for these pistols written after WWII. My father-in -law is an ETO WWII vet and he told me that many returning GIs dropped their wartime souvenirs in the "drink" in NYC when they were warned about the consequences of being caught with weapons that didn't have the proper authority (bring back papers). I was talking to a 5th Army WWII Vet just last Monday. He was in the North Africa and Italian campagines and told me that he liberated a P.38 from a German Officer that was surrendering. He was stationed in Germany after the German surrender and sold his trophy to a Russian for something like $600!!