The "Mistake" That Made The M1 Garand The Most Feared Rifle In The Pacific

Comments · 320

• KE

  @kennethcaine3402 · 2 months ago

  My Father William Earl Caine was in the 1st Marine Division he enlisted 1942 Marine Corp day. He enlisted in Mobile Alabama and went to San Diego for boot camp. He fired the Springfield and was issued  an M1 Garand which he Qualified expert with both as well as the Thompson submachine gun and the 1911 auto. He carried the M1 Garand in Combat in the Pacific, 1st on Cape Goulester New Britain, Pelielu and Okinawa and some smaller engagements. On Okinawa  he caught 3 30 caliber machine gun rounds in the stock of his Garand they didn't penatrate completely  so he took his bayonet and trimmed them off flush and it worked fine. He never said anything about the ping it made when the clip ejected. He had to go to China after the war was over with the 1st Marine Division so when he got back to California there were no parades, no one to meet them. The 1st Marine Division went to Pendleton 5000 Marines had to sleep in their own tents waiting for discharge. While they were waiting they had a shooting contest with the 5000 Marines with the prize being a Date with a movie star. You were given one round to adjust for windage then 8 rounds at 500 yds 6 inch bullseye he and another Marine tied with 8 in the bullseye, Daddy was a Corprel the other Marine was a Sergeant so you know who won. And this was done with a Garand that went through the Monsoon rain on Cape Goulester with mud it rained every day sometimes all day and night, and the extreme heat of Pelielu and Okinawa, and 3 machine gun rounds in the stock, it never failed him. He passed away March 18th 2018 at 95 years old, he had a full Honors Funeral with the Marines, I still miss him every day I'm 74 years old, SEMPER FI MARINE.

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• WE

  @weseld1 · 2 months ago (edited)

  In 1968 I went through Basic Training carrying an M-14, and was shown the new M-16.  When I reached my first ROTC assignment after graduation, I was issued an M-1 rifle, which surprised me, but many reserve units were still waiting for M-14s I was even more surprised when I learned the serial number of my rifle: 9836!   Easy to learn and remember, when a typical M-1 serial number was around 2 million.  That led to a lot of laughs when I was asked "What's your rifle number, mister?" and I could only say "9836, SIR!"  That led me to look very closely at my rifle, and discover that it had many minor manufacturing details that were different from the other M-1s in our arms room: The sight adjustment knobs were checkered, rather than knurled, and the actuating lever slot was fully milled out, rather than being formed of two holes with a slot cut between them.  The kind of fiddly detail work that a peacetime armory could have done when in no hurry.  I have always assumed that my M-1 had been shipped to my ROTC unit in around 1941 to show the soldiers there what the new rifle that would replace their M-1903 Springfields would look like,  just as I had been shown a new M-16 about 30 years later.  I regret not even trying to talk the Army into letting me buy my M-1, when they were replaced by M-14s.

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• ZE

  @ZeroHourHistory-g2i · 1 month ago

  The M1 Garand wasn't feared because of one sound—it was feared because it gave American infantry a huge firepower advantage. Really interesting perspective on the history.

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• AM

  @AmericanDeclassified-us · 1 month ago

  History proves battlefield success often comes from adapting flaws rather than chasing perfect designs.

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• IS

  @isrisentoday · 2 months ago

  The first mass usage of the M1 (early variety) was by the horse mounted 26th Cavalry Philippine Scouts in December of 1941 in the battles against the Japanese Imperial Army leading to Bataan. Later in the fighting in Bataan itself, the Japanese thought that they were fighting troops with incredible number of machineguns. These were the riflemen of the 45th and 57th Infantry of the Philippine Scouts and the US 31st Infantry who were equipped with the M1.

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• DA

  @davidrubaloff8652 · 2 months ago

  I remember The Garand from the early 60’s. I had joined the California Army National Guard and carried, trained and qualified with. It was the first rifle I ever fired. Shortly thereafter the M14 and then the M16 in Vietnam.

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• MR

  @mrjag69 · 1 month ago

  My father was in the 2nd Marine Division that landed at Tulagi the same day as the landings at Guadalcanal. &nbsp;Tulagi was<br>just a short distance from Guadalcanal and after 2 months his unit joined the 1st Marine Div. to defend the airfield. &nbsp;I asked my<br>father what weapon he had at the time and he said the &apos;03 Springfield. &nbsp;I said, &quot;What did you think about the M-1 when it came out<br>and he said: &quot;Well, I was trained on the &apos;03 and was very comfortable with it.....took a while to get used to the M-1.&quot; &nbsp;Next came Tarawa,<br>Saipan, and then Tinian for him. Got wouded on Tarawa, and Tinian....two purple hearts and after 2 1/2 yrs in the Pacific, he was sent<br>to Camp Pendleton to become a rifle instructor.

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• RI

  @richard8031 · 1 month ago

  Marines in my era were very familiar with the M1 thumb and the clip ejection &quot;ping&quot;.!!!! &nbsp; GREAT video... THANKS

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• DA

  @DaleBriggs-k3u · 2 months ago

  1968: I carried an M-14, saw the new M-16, then received a rare M-1 with serial number 9836. Its unique details hinted it was an early display rifle—a piece of history I regret not keeping.

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• FO

  @For_What_It-s_Worth · 2 months ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RscgsEte2A8&amp;t=1440">24:00</a> <br>“…which in 1952 produced a technical memorandum interviewing American soldiers about whether the sound had ever cost them their lives.”

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• MI

  @michaelgrimes1131 · 1 month ago

  Great video!!! My dad joined the Marines in June 1946 at 17 years old and just out of high school. His DI&apos;s were WW2 veterans. He trained on the Garand. &nbsp;He used it in Korea. It was the best built rifle &nbsp;that America produced. When I was a boy he brought home an M14. He had spent the day at the rifle range at Quantico. Every Marine a rifleman! He was in the Area Auditors office. &nbsp;An accountant for the Marine Corp and a Staff Sargent at the time. He trained on the M14 as well. An M1 Garand on steroids! I watched him clean it on the kitchen table in Manassas, Virginia. I was about 6 years old. My daddy was a Marine! Semper Fi daddy! I&apos;m 70 years old now.

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• GE

  @GeorgeKuney-k4n · 1 month ago

  Always fabulous, thank you once again.