*update* A couple great colts that belonged to great soldiers

Its always a big bonus to know the provenance of a military firearm because most are anonymous.

You can look at a 1942 dated Long Branch No4 lee-Enfield, for example, and speculate about whether it might have seen service in NW Europe or Korea and, if so, by who and in what unit. Was it actually used in combat in the Reichswald or perhaps tucked into the cab of a RCASC truck driver who shuttled rations from the beach to forward units. Or maybe it was only used to train recruits in Camp Dundurn, SK. Ditto for that 1943 made Springfield Garand. Did it go ashore at Salerno or Normandy? Was it used in the Battle of the Bulge or at Iwo Jima? Or maybe it was used by the gate guards at Ft Hood, Texas or carried by a coast artillery gunner at Ft Monroe, Virginia who whiled away the war years waiting for Nazi U Boats that never came.

Same for a byf 44 Model 98 Mauser that was re-barreled in 7x57 Mauser and rebuilt to issue configuration in West Germany with a mishmash of parts. Was it salvaged from a forgotten battlefield in Holland or Poland or maybe retrieved from a stack of weapons in a depot somewhere in occupied Italy?
 
Great point. I put a focus into to collecting named pieces and I've got a few that I will share when I can take proper pics. To me the provenance behind the gun if available is just as or more of historical importance as the piece it's self. I very much lucked out on the Jackson piece, but thorough researching paid off with a book and medals to group with it.
 
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