First Luger I Ever Shot - 1918 DWM #333

rivieraranch · 11-19-2011, 10:11 PM

The first Luger I ever shot belonged to Harry, a family friend He was a jeweler who had a shop in a low income area of Miami. This was around 1970, when I was in my teens. A friend of his, a fellow World War II veteran, Wallace Robert “Bob” Cheves, gave him a bring back Luger to protect his shop.

In doing research for this post I discovered that Cheves served as a Colonel in the 274th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division. He wrote some books about his experiences in the war, “Snow Ridges and and Pillboxes;” “The Battle of Wingen- sur-Moder – Operation Norwind” and “History of the 70th Infantry Division - the Trailblazers.”

The story was that at one point during the war Cheves, while having to repeatedly drive the same route, noted that he had to make a turn where a dead German officer lay. On one occasion, Cheves stopped and took possession of the officer's Luger.

The Luger was a 1918 DWM with the serial number 333. It was housed in a brown P-08 military holster with a loading tool in the top flap. The magazines that accompanied the pistol were numbered to the gun. I recall that one magazine had a wood bottom; the other, aluminum. I recall that the condition of this weapon was “minty.” I do not know whether Bob gave Harry the bring back papers associated with the weapon. However, what Harry did with his new acquisition scarred it forever.

Evidently when Harry first shot the Luger he was concerned with some trigger slack or some other malfunction. Being a jeweler, Harry knew how to tinker with things but probably knew little about working on guns. He drilled a hole in the front of the trigger strap and threaded in a small brass screw to press slightly against the front of the trigger. This did not work so he backed the screw out a little and ground down the head.

The Luger was fun as hell to shoot. I recall the first time I popped off a few rounds with it, I knew I had to have one. I got my own Luger for my 16th birthday. It was a 1912 Erfurt that I owned for 5 or 6 years, shot a great deal and had a lot of fun with.

Time went on and we lost track of Harry. In later years I wondered what happened to the 1918 DWM Luger that I first shot. I doubt if Harry is still living. If by chance the present owner of this pistol reads this, then he will know “the rest of the story.”

11-19-2011, 10:11 PM	#1
rivieraranch User Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: South Florida Posts: 101 Thanks: 4 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	First Luger I Ever Shot - 1918 DWM #333 The first Luger I ever shot belonged to Harry, a family friend He was a jeweler who had a shop in a low income area of Miami. This was around 1970, when I was in my teens. A friend of his, a fellow World War II veteran, Wallace Robert “Bob” Cheves, gave him a bring back Luger to protect his shop. In doing research for this post I discovered that Cheves served as a Colonel in the 274th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division. He wrote some books about his experiences in the war, “Snow Ridges and and Pillboxes;” “The Battle of Wingen- sur-Moder – Operation Norwind” and “History of the 70th Infantry Division - the Trailblazers.” The story was that at one point during the war Cheves, while having to repeatedly drive the same route, noted that he had to make a turn where a dead German officer lay. On one occasion, Cheves stopped and took possession of the officer's Luger. The Luger was a 1918 DWM with the serial number 333. It was housed in a brown P-08 military holster with a loading tool in the top flap. The magazines that accompanied the pistol were numbered to the gun. I recall that one magazine had a wood bottom; the other, aluminum. I recall that the condition of this weapon was “minty.” I do not know whether Bob gave Harry the bring back papers associated with the weapon. However, what Harry did with his new acquisition scarred it forever. Evidently when Harry first shot the Luger he was concerned with some trigger slack or some other malfunction. Being a jeweler, Harry knew how to tinker with things but probably knew little about working on guns. He drilled a hole in the front of the trigger strap and threaded in a small brass screw to press slightly against the front of the trigger. This did not work so he backed the screw out a little and ground down the head. The Luger was fun as hell to shoot. I recall the first time I popped off a few rounds with it, I knew I had to have one. I got my own Luger for my 16th birthday. It was a 1912 Erfurt that I owned for 5 or 6 years, shot a great deal and had a lot of fun with. Time went on and we lost track of Harry. In later years I wondered what happened to the 1918 DWM Luger that I first shot. I doubt if Harry is still living. If by chance the present owner of this pistol reads this, then he will know “the rest of the story.”