Third Party Press

BCD 41. All matching Value. might sale.

I've got 6 hours of video of his interview from Library of Congress / Veteran's Project. It was quite good, he's quite the character, a funny good natured man. He mentions the rifle and bayonet twice, describing how he captured it. You could tell he was eager to show it to the young guy doing the interview as he said "I've got the rifle and bayonet in that next room, right there" on two or three occasions, inviting the young interviewer to ask to see it. He did not :facepalm: That's the first thing I would have asked to see! I will trim the video up and post it at some point.
 
You must post a link when you can - or tell us the story how he captured it and where.
 
JCF said:
You must post a link when you can - or tell us the story how he captured it and where.
Click to expand...

I will post it when I can trim the video out and upload it. Basically they were told by a civilian that 13 German soldiers were holed up in a church. Sgt. Azar went there with a BAR and a squad of his guys, and he told them that he would walk up to the church and if the Germans started shooting he would drop on the ground and for them to "let them have it". He said the Germans all came out with their rifles with fixed bayonets (as this rifle came, with Azar's name scratched on the scabbard). The German in front was shaking, then held the rifle over his head in surrender, and tossed it on the ground. This is the rifle he said he got. The rest followed suit and tossed theirs on the ground.

I surmise the less dramatic story is that the civilian came and told them there were 13 German soldiers in a church who wanted to surrender. Sgt. Azar was tasked to take some guys in a White halftrack over there and let them surrender to them. Having the bayonets with scabbards on them on the rifles is one way to keep the weapons together for surrender.
 
Thank you for that appetizer - either way it makes that rifle the most valuable kind to me.
One with a direct link to the men and the events, and the only solid part that remains to call roll after the they are all gone.
 
Craig really neat to see you come up with more history of this rifle. You really are helping too keep that Veterans memory alive. The more people know about his life the longer his memory lives up. Be really interested too see what your final post looks like on this piece when all your research is completed.
 
I'm glad you was able to get the dvds sorry it wasn't shown in there tho. I was going by what his daughter told me. Very glad it's where it belongs an you can keep it. Can't wait to see the video my self. Was there anything on there about his Silver star?
 
Hey Brad, it's fine. The best info on the rifle is the video not loaded up. I'll upload it and link it here at some point. Hope all is well.
Cheers,
HB
 
Wow Ham, tell me that isn’t your favorite in the collection! Fascinating history and unrivaled provenance!
 
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