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Phineas Bluster
10-05-2016, 08:57 PM
Deleted
Der Gebirgsjager
10-05-2016, 09:03 PM
Great story. Thanks for posting it.
WILCO
10-06-2016, 12:35 PM
Yes. Thank you.
Bad Water Bill
10-08-2016, 02:17 PM
What a great story.

Thanks for sharing it.
NavyVet1959
10-08-2016, 03:10 PM
I'm curious what sort of paperwork was necessary to get the rifle back to the US.

And from a legal standpoint, the rifle was not owned by the uncle, but rather by the Army, so there is no legal precedent for it to be returned to the family. As such, someone must have purchased the firearm from the French farmer and then arranged to have it go through the paperwork to get it back to the US.

But that brings up another question. At what point does the government relinquish ownership of its property if that property was captured / lost in battle? I seem to remember that the US considers all sunken Navy ships as still its property and as such the removal of "souvenirs" illegal. If you are found to have taken something from one of these ships, you can expect the government to come knocking at your door and asking for it back. Why do they not do the same thing with firearms? Not that I think they *should* -- I believe in the time honored tradition of a victor in battle being able to take possession of his enemy's equipment. Many of us have "war souvenirs" that either we, our fathers, or relatives brought back from whatever conflict they served in. From what I've heard though, the military is not as friendly to "war souvenirs" these days as it was in the past.

Hopefully, the French farmer *voluntarily* sold/gave the rifle to the French colonel and it wasn't taken from him unwillingly.
Ken in Iowa
10-11-2016, 07:48 PM
From the linked story-

​According to Farrell, the rifle will be donated to the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum in Fort Bragg or The Pentagon.
NavyVet1959
10-11-2016, 07:53 PM
From the linked story-

​According to Farrell, the rifle will be donated to the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum in Fort Bragg or The Pentagon.

I read the linked story. But, *who* is doing the donating?

How did this French farmer come to be in possession of the rifle? Did he or maybe his father kill the German who took it off the American that the German killed? Was it surrendered when the Germans surrendered? What story does it have to tell in its journey from the dead American to the French farmer?