# A gift for Charlie



## rkunsaw (Oct 29, 2017)

My Uncle Gene ( mother's brother) Was in the Army during WW2. I think he spent most of the time in Holland. He never told me the details but in the later stages of the war the Germans were using any weapon they could find. Uncle Gene found a dead German who had been using a single shot 22 caliber military training rifle. He sent the rifle to us as I think he'd owed my dad some money. I was born in 1941 so was only 3 or 4 when we got the gun. I used that gun all my life growing up and when dad got older he gave it to me.  I loved that gun and kept it and used it until last spring.

 After Uncle Gene came home from the war In 1946 or 47 he had my cousin Charlie. In my will I specify that my guns will be given to my two grandsons. But I got to thinking that my grandsons never new Uncle Gene and Cousin Charlie would probably appreciate the gun more than anyone else would. He lives in Fort Smith about 60 miles from me so the next time I was in town I called him and asked him to meet me for lunch. During lunch I told him all I knew about the gun and when we  went out I surprised him by giving him the gun.

 During the years I had it I did some research and found it to be a DSM34. The one I had was made by Walther.


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## Pappy (Oct 29, 2017)

Good move rkunsaw. When my dad came home, from Iwo Jima, he brought with him a Japanese flag that was signed by many of the soldiers friends. I mentioned to dad that it might be worth some money to a WW2 collector, but his reply was, so many men died that day that he couldn’t bring himself to profit by it. Dad eventually gave it to the cities historical society.


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## Meanderer (Oct 29, 2017)

I second the emotion, good move!


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## oldman (Oct 29, 2017)

Good move for rkunsaw and Pappy's Dad. I can remember when I was in high school, my POD (Problems of Democracy) teacher told all of his classes through the years that he served on Tinian Island. He had a picture of himself surrounded by his fellow plane mechanics and leaning up against the Enola Gay. I often wondered whatever happened to that picture. 

Also, over the years I have spoken with many collectors of many different things. It stared me thinking after watching a few episodes of "American Pickers" just how many actual collectors there are out there that collect stuff. I have come to learn that today's youth is really not interested in collecting things anymore like a lot of us were back in the day. Even now, whenever I drive past an antique store, I see very few, if any cars out front. I live near Gettysburg where antique stores are plentiful. Even there, I see very few cars or people coming in and out of the many shops. And yet, I can remember back when I collected arrowheads that I would find, even if they resembled one, they went into my collection.


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## AZ Jim (Oct 29, 2017)

You did the right thing.  Those kind of souvenirs mean little without some kind of attachment.


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## Cap'nSacto (Oct 29, 2017)

Unlike most people my age, neither of my parents collected stuff. My father was in the navy and was involved in the Korean conflict, mostly on a supplies ship. They were engaged in exchanges of fire on sea, but he only collected memories (mostly bad ones) and a Korean wife. Her family were refugees who had lost everything, so she came to the US with nothing, and showed no interest in collecting anything.

My sister is now interested in collecting things connected to our mother's culture, but is finding it extremely difficult to find pre-WWII Korean folk art, glassware, decorative art, etc. So she is now studying the culture in general.

rkunsaw, I agree, it's good you gave the endowment a second thought. I don't doubt your cousin appreciated it.


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