Known vs. Found Lugers

[John Sabato]

One more approach that I doubt many of you have tried. Make yourself some flyers or business cards on your computer and keep them in your car.

Put good graphics of the type of guns you are considering on the flyer to grab attention (Lugers/Walthers/Browning etc.) with a title on the flyer that says "VETERANS--Did you bring home a War Trophy? Where is it now?"

Many old vets don't even think about the stuff they brought back decades ago, and really don't have plans for where it will go when they die, especially if their children have no interest in firearms... or their wife wouldn't want it in the house when their gone. The flyer will give them cause to think about it.

Post the flyers on local bulletin boards, AMVETS, ELKS lodge, MOOSE lodge, American Legion halls, and if you know of any military unit conventions in your area, put a stack on their registration table (with permission of course). You can also leave them in every gun store you ever visit.

Your narrative on the flyer should be something like:

"Local military antique collector looking for war trophies like yours to add to a personal collection. Your souvenier could be worth hundreds of dollars or more to you if it is just sitting in your attic, in a drawer or on a closet shelf.

If you have a war trophy (rifles, pistols, bayonets, etc.) and would like to place it in the hands of someone who will be proud to add it to his personal collection, and put some money in your wallet at the same time , please contact me by email or phone:"

...and add your FIRST NAME ONLY at the bottom... I would recommend only a phone number/email address... not where you live.

I know of a member of my later father's WW2 unit, who responded to my flyer like this, but only to tell me that if he had known I had an interest he would have asked me first, but he had already sold his war trophy KRIEGHOFF Luger to his dentist (who he had happened to mention it to while discussing personal history), so he would have enough money to travel to Normandy for the 50th anniversary of his landing at on the beach.

How many more stories do you think there are like that one? I would tell you what the dentist gave him for it, but I don't want to make you cry.

We lose between 1200 to 1800 World War 2 veterans A DAY.

All are at least in their late 80's and early to mid-90's, and we won't have them with us much longer... a decade at most.

If you "FIND" a gun or war souvenier this way, then do the right thing and give the Vet a fair market price. He earned it preserving our freedom.

Good Luck and let us know if this approach works for you!