Who has carried an M1911A1 in uniform? Part III
I found a closed thread on this topic, and thought I would revive it since it seems a good subject.
I qualified on the M1911A1 at the US Naval Academy in the summer of 1985. I shot "Expert" and had the high score in my company, which got me a free ammo box as a prize. Later when I was the Gunnery Officer on my ship, we had M1911A1s, M14s, shotguns and M60s and M79 grenade launchers in our weapons lockers for our boarding parties and security alert teams. They were like old staplers. They rattled and looked all scratched up and well worn, but usually gave good service. During weapons qualifications one time at sea, we set up targets on one side of the flight deck, and lined up our shooters on the other side - 5 at a time since it was a small ship. The ship was rolling pretty good that day, but most of the sailors managed to qualify. We had one OS however, who actually bounced a few rounds off the deck! He got a lot of ribbing for that. Months later, during a security drill, he actually pulled the pistol out of his holster, pointed it at a crew member from the opposing force, and pulled the trigger! Fortunately the round did not go off. Miraculously, he had a failure to feed. He was locked up at attention for the next 15 minutes while the Chief and others chewed him up and down. He was relieved of his weapon and qualifications. He never carried a weapon again on that ship. I have other stories too. I also carried one on occasion when I stood OOD watches in port, to relieve the Petty Officer of the Watch (POOW) when he needed a bathroom break. I have always liked these old warhorses.
NRA Life Member
US Navy Veteran
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