I'll post more later but this testimony deserves it's own thread. I forgotten about this until I ran across it just now...
"We hit the beach at Normandy on the second wave. The fighting was tough but the M1 proved it's worth. I carried that rifle all the way into St. Lienz (sp?) France. Just outside of the town, we hit the Jerrys hard. The fight was brutal. My rifle took a hit in the receiver that probably saved my life. The gun was useless after that. I had to use my Colt for the next few days until I could scrounge another M1. Luck was with me when I ran across a Sgt. that had been hit that morning. I couldn't find his Thompson but I did take all of his clips. I'd strip some bullets from the clips and reload my clips for the .45. This went on for three days until I was able to get another Garand. I must have shot a dozen Jerry's with that Colt. It never let me down."
"We hit the beach at Normandy on the second wave. The fighting was tough but the M1 proved it's worth. I carried that rifle all the way into St. Lienz (sp?) France. Just outside of the town, we hit the Jerrys hard. The fight was brutal. My rifle took a hit in the receiver that probably saved my life. The gun was useless after that. I had to use my Colt for the next few days until I could scrounge another M1. Luck was with me when I ran across a Sgt. that had been hit that morning. I couldn't find his Thompson but I did take all of his clips. I'd strip some bullets from the clips and reload my clips for the .45. This went on for three days until I was able to get another Garand. I must have shot a dozen Jerry's with that Colt. It never let me down."