"War Bring Backs"

kjohn said:
It seems that everybody's grandpa was a sniper as well. I own a Luger that was "donated" to a Canadian POW. The man was my neighbour when I farmed. He gave it to his brother and the brother used to bring it to the range and let us shoot it. He gave it to his son, and when he lost interest in shooting, I bought it. It came with a belt and holster. The POW spoke German and was one of the liaisons at the camp. When it became obvious that liberation was imminent, the fellow told an officer he wanted his pistol. When the Allied people showed up, the German officer took off the belt and handed it to the POW.

I have no reason to doubt the story, and the experts need not tag me as a moron.
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if the pistol is matching and doesnt show any post war markings, there is no reason to doubt the story, especially if the original vet told it.
 
Just beware that Capture Papers are Faked too for Vet Bring Backs. If that's the case, used toilet paper would have more value than your fake Capture Papers.
If fact, you can buy blank Fake U.S. Capture Papers on vintage period paper and type in whatever you want.

This is your Wake Up Call. I'm writing a book called "Vet Bring Backs for Dummies and Morons"

Buy the Rifle, Not the Story, or the Fake Capture Paper!

It's all for Profit and Fakery when it comes to collecting.
 
i was told from a vets son that the father told him when he was coming back Canadians were not permitted to bring anything home and if caught they were threatened to be left behind. said people were throwing all kinds of stuff off the boat (Luger was specifically said) because of searches. he did manage to sneak home a k98 cleaning kit and a trench made knife. said after 5 years carrying that Enfield he threw it as soon as he was able to as he was sick of looking at it and carrying it. although my Great grandfather brang a Luger home after ww1 although someone inherited it and it is lost to time now, my dad saw it years ago but i never had the privilege.
 
ajagcapt said:
If that is the case, then I readily admit to being a moron.

In two cases I have bought Japanese rifles from vets who have claimed to have brought them back from specific battles.

It is these battles I have an interest in, the guns are merely artifacts thereof.

In each case I tried to conduct my due diligence prior to purchase, including executed, sworn affidavits. One was purchased from a retired law enforcement officer who was awarded a bronze star. The other was purchased from a gentleman moving into an assisted living facility, one which did not allow firearms. Both are in their 90's.

Could either rifle be something other than represented. Absolutely. Without actually being present to see that what is being claimed is true, anything is possible.

I would like to think that I have done all I can to minimize the possibility.

This is a great hobby that allows both shooters and collectors many different avenues to pursue their interests.

I think that characterizing one segment of the hobby who may conclude that a "story" adds value to a particular item as a "moron" is both presumptuous and arrogant.
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When the occupation forces were in Japan, and the orders came down to deface the crests on the receiver there were warehouses full of weapons. Many were still new in the crates and were being held in reserve in case Japan was invaded. Then of course the two nuclear devices that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought everything to a quick surrender. I have been regaled by many stories from different Allied troopies that were involved in the immediate occupation forces in Japan about what happened to many of those firearms. Mostly, the US had first crack at the armaments. When they first started opening the warehouses to inspect them the weapons in them were taken by the truckload to the US fleet in Tokyo Bay. They were distributed as souvenirs amongst the occupation troops as well as the Navy and Air Force personnel. One story mentions the empty crates floating all over the bay. From the appearance of some "vet bringbacks" this rings very true. I would expect something similar happened in Europe.

For instance, thousands of Type I Carcano rifles were built for the Japanese. You don't see very many of them and when they appear, buy it, especially if it is shootable. They had issues with bolts breaking off and as they were destined to be issued to the Japanese Navy as we all know, there wasn't much of a Navy left to issue them to. Many had unfinished stocks and I have seen a couple of those in the US. They were claimed to be vet bring backs and likely they did come home with a vet but they came out of a warehouse and many were pristine. The example I have came without a bolt and there is some obvious wear to the bore. Not pitted just worn. Another thing they never had the crests rolled onto the receivers. It seems that when Japan picked these rifles up in the latter half of the war they contracted with Italy to send most of them unfinished to Japan which was desperate for rifles. I did fit a bolt to my Type I but I had to take it from another Carcano that had been Bubbaed. Luckily they didn't alter the straight bolt handle.

Vet bring backs in Canada can be rifles. The thing is, the troopie had to apply for a permit to bring it back into Canada. Not sure how all of that worked but I have seen one with a piece of paper issued by a military/government department with a half dozen stamps and names on it to OK the troopie to bring it home. Great big black maple leaf in the upper left corner is what stands out in my mind the most.
 
My great uncle mailed home a beautiful 1937 Luger he took off a captured officer in autumn 1944. My great aunt received the parcel at home no problem. It is a prized family heirloom. Those days are long gone. CBSA opened up everyone of the packages I sent home during my own overseas deployments. Ah the good old days!
 
Robbs said:
My great uncle mailed home a beautiful 1937 Luger he took off a captured officer in autumn 1944. My great aunt received the parcel at home no problem. It is a prized family heirloom. Those days are long gone. CBSA opened up everyone of the packages I sent home during my own overseas deployments. Ah the good old days!
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once new a guy who had an old pistol mailed to him in homemade soap. he had relatives in the USSR (it was the 60s) and they would mail parcels full of home made bars of soap all the time. after the first couple packages he would write back saying they didnt need anymore soap here in canada, but it kept coming.
after they used up a few bars, they came across an odd metal part, so they broke down the rest and realized what they were getting.
 
There were very few war trophies brought back to Canada. My father was a Flt/Lt in the RCAF. At the end of hostilities he flew an Avro Anson into Berlin with the Canadian Contingent of Brass for the Peace Meetings. He and his navigator were left to their own resources for ten days at Templehoff. Dad found a room filled with pistols and filled a burlap sack with prime guns.
On the ship home he sold almost all of them to rear echelon troops that never got close to the pointy end of the war.
At Pier 21 in Halifax he watched most of them get confiscated by customs.
As an officer, he was not subject to a customs search and walked off the ship with four fine pistols and a wad of money.
However he did not count on his Mother who was not pleased by his trophies.
Their first picnic on Toronto Island she pulled the sack out of the picnic basket and dropped them into Toronto Harbour halfway to the Island.
Even so, my father bought a good used car with the money he collected on the ship.
 
gareez said:
There were very few war trophies brought back to Canada. My father was a Flt/Lt in the RCAF. At the end of hostilities he flew an Avro Anson into Berlin with the Canadian Contingent of Brass for the Peace Meetings. He and his navigator were left to their own resources for ten days at Templehoff. Dad found a room filled with pistols and filled a burlap sack with prime guns.
On the ship home he sold almost all of them to rear echelon troops that never got close to the pointy end of the war.
At Pier 21 in Halifax he watched most of them get confiscated by customs.
As an officer, he was not subject to a customs search and walked off the ship with four fine pistols and a wad of money.
However he did not count on his Mother who was not pleased by his trophies.
Their first picnic on Toronto Island she pulled the sack out of the picnic basket and dropped them into Toronto Harbour halfway to the Island.
Even so, my father bought a good used car with the money he collected on the ship.
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did your father and grandmother remain on speaking terms?
 
I have a m91 carcano cavalry carbine that is beat the hell up. I like to think it is a.vet bring back and not Joe.dirt's truck.gun. wishful thinking is best.
 
$5 (Yes, Five Bucks) would buy you a P08 Luger right after WW2 from a returning Canadian vet according to one of my neighbors.
 
Aren't there military forms that were used in WW2, Korea and Vietnam when bringing back rifles? I see them included with the odd rifle on GunBroker.
 
I have no evidence to support this other than anecdotal but I knew several WW2 vets who were in the thick of it, three or four of them wounded who brought nothing back "but their hide" as one said. From what I can gather the biggest souvenir hunters were rear echelon troops, quartermaster, medical and officers who often had the means to get things back to Canada that the enlisted man didn't. I think these guys are the source of many a BS story about some German handgun or rifle. My friend's dad was wounded in August 1944 near Caen in Normandy. He said his gear was positively looted at the field hospital in France.
 
Most F echelon troops in Europe will tell you that their first thought when they saw a "dead jerry" was did he still have his wallet, watch, cigarettes?
pistols, binoculars, compass, field periscopes were smaller pieces of kit that were attractive and could be carried. Rifles ... not so much. Towards the end of the Canadian's war in Holland/NW Europe .. very large stocks of weapons (including pistols) were accumulated. It was well known that a P08 or P38 could bring cash .. particularly from rear echelon and other services members and they were liberated and sold accordingly. I think that the vast majority of bring backs came from these stores of weapons rather than acquired from a surrendering or dead german soldier. Just too much to carry and secure otherwise.
 
ajagcapt said:
If that is the case, then I readily admit to being a moron.

In two cases I have bought Japanese rifles from vets who have claimed to have brought them back from specific battles.

It is these battles I have an interest in, the guns are merely artifacts thereof.

In each case I tried to conduct my due diligence prior to purchase, including executed, sworn affidavits. One was purchased from a retired law enforcement officer who was awarded a bronze star. The other was purchased from a gentleman moving into an assisted living facility, one which did not allow firearms. Both are in their 90's.

Could either rifle be something other than represented. Absolutely. Without actually being present to see that what is being claimed is true, anything is possible.

I would like to think that I have done all I can to minimize the possibility.

This is a great hobby that allows both shooters and collectors many different avenues to pursue their interests.

I think that characterizing one segment of the hobby who may conclude that a "story" adds value to a particular item as a "moron" is both presumptuous and arrogant.
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Coyote just meant that the story is just that, a story. Could be true probably false. No way to prove it either way so it doesn't add any value to war trophies.
 
I take that as a compliment.

If it saves you or anyone getting ripped off buying a Fairy Tale story and a bad gun for Top Dollar from your lack of knowledge you'll be on your hands and knees thanking me in both official Languages of French and English.

Don't let your Panties get in a Knot. You're a smart boy, but you do realize the Fakery and Profit that is going on out there with all Rifles, Collectables
and "Turd Reich" (Third Reich)?
With others, the elevator just doesn't quite go to the top and they find out the hard way.

Yes, its' hard to accept. The Harsh Wake Up Call of Collecting.......stay tuned for Season 2.



fredqc said:
Dont worry, coyote think everybody is a moron anyway...
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^^^ Fred you MORON, crawl out of my Brain right now before you tell all of my thoughts ONLINE! LOL

fredqc said:
good luck selling a book to readers you call morons... THat's wise marketing...
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^^^ Fred, there is no book.
 
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