In the current issue of Handloader, Mike Venturino did a nice article on all of the pistol cartridges that have been US military issue since the evolution of cartridges, say about 140 years or so. It was well written and very informative, as are all of Duke's articles.
But I think he missed one. The .38 Special was also pressed into military service, wasn't it? It was my understanding that lots of aviators were issued .38 revolvers during WWII (S&W Victory Model,) and also various military law enforcement types were as well long after that. One of my most cherished old relics is my father's copy of the "Pistols and Revolvers" field manual he brought home from his Army service in the mid 50's, and there are chapters on the 1911/1911A1, the Model 1917 revolvers, and .38 Special revolvers. An early 70s era copy of the same manual I picked up at an Army Navy store dispensed with the 1917s but the .38s were in that one too.
Duke, was this an oversight or did you make a concious decision not to include this caliber? I'm not being critical, I still think you're one of the best writers out there. I'm just curious.