Drill platoon’s rifle has colorful combat history

[thedrifter]

September 05, 2005
The Lore of the Corps
Drill platoon’s rifle has colorful combat history
By Charles A. Jones
Special to the Times

During World War II, Marine riflemen often carried M1 rifles, the first general-issue semiautomatic rifle distributed in great numbers.

Called the Garand after its inventor, John Garand, the M1 was a logical step in combat rifle evolution.

Adopted in 1936, the rugged, reliable Garand fired a .30-06-caliber cartridge that was much more powerful and far-reaching than the .30-caliber round used with carbine rifles.

Garand ammunition was carried in a web belt with five pockets on each side, each pocket holding one clip with eight cartridges. Users often augmented this basic 80-round load with additional clips in bandoleers.

Like all weapons, the Garand had drawbacks. The weapon was heavy, weighing roughly 9 pounds, but its major flaw was the ammunition feeding system.

To load the Garand, the user had to pull the operating rod handle back until the bolt locked in its rearmost position, allowing the user to insert a magazine with one hand while holding back the operating rod with the other. The operator then had to release the operating handle to send the bolt forward and chamber a round.

Careless or inexperienced users got “Garand thumb” by moving too slowly after inserting the clip and releasing the operating rod. The strong, lightning-quick forward movement of the released bolt painfully smashed many thumbs between the bolt and the breech.

Removing a partially fired clip so that a full clip could be inserted was a cumbersome process unsuitable for combat conditions. The user had to retract the bolt to remove the chambered cartridge, press the clip release and remove the magazine, causing the remaining cartridges to fall about loosely.

In his book “Shots Fired in Anger,” Army Lt. Col. John George described this process as “fumbling” a “nervous ten seconds or more” during which the weapon could not fire.

Despite these disadvantages, Marines and soldiers used Garands extensively during World War II, including sniping versions. Garands also were used during the Korean War but were eventually replaced by M14s, an evolution of the Garand design.

George summarized the Garand’s combat legacy by writing that, despite its faults, “the Garand remains a splendid weapon.”

He noted that on one patrol, a Marine was asked why he followed a soldier so closely. His answer: Figuring that the soldier would be hit first, he planned to discard his Springfield rifle and grab the soldier’s Garand before he hit the ground.

Today, most military-owned Garands are ceremonial rifles, most notably used by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon.

The writer is a lawyer and Marine Corps Reserve colonel in Norfolk, Va.

Ellie

[Joseph P Carey]

The Garand was a fine weapon. In 1964, I used it at Camp Geiger for ITR, after using the M14 at PI. I was impressed with it. It was one rugged weapon, and added to that, it had one very useful bayonet. Unlike the bayonet we had on the M14, it had length to it, and it could be used for cutting brush and small bushes to clear a position for a field of fire. Of course, it was better to have a machete for that kind of work, but compared to an M14 bayonet, it was one heck of a tool.

My Dad told me a story once, and I never got a chance to verify it, because I never read it in any books that I have read of WWII. But, he said, when he first went into combat, they had the Springfield `03, and the `03 had a load of 5 rounds, all bolt fed. He said the Japanese did not like that rifle because they were so flaming accurate, but he said, the Japanese had quickly developed a tactic when fighting the Marines. They would start an attack and hit the deck, and wait until the estimated time it would take a Marine to fire the five rounds, and while the Marines were reloading they would stand up and attack again.

He said, one day, a truck pulled up to the position, and this was the first time they had seen the M1 Garand, as the rifle was issued in the place of the `03 they had. He said, the CO and the SNCOs came around to each man, they told them how to use the new weapon, and they told the Marines the new rifle had eight rounds instead of the five they were used to, and they had hoped to chop up the Japanese unit that was attacking them during the night. The orders were to fire five rounds in the same time it would take to fire five `03 rounds, and then hold fire, and wait for the Japs to continue the attack.

As it happened, he said, the barrage of fire the Japanese received from the Marines when they continued the attack surprised the them, and the Marines caught them cold. He said, the tactic worked two or three times more, but after that, the Japanese adapted to the tactic, but they lost a lot of troops in the mean time.

Are there any WWII vets out there that can verify this for me?

[Ed Fleming]

I was a snot nosed kid in 1955, when I was handed a Springfield Garand I carried the weapon through Parris Island and on to Camp Geiger and had to turn that one in when I went to Jacksonville. I picked up another M-1 at Cherry Point and Qualified with it once before going to K-Bay. Was issued another one and had it until I came back stateside and on to Brooklyn Navy Yard. Loved the weapon and never had a problem loading or firing it Always qualified without any problen. The method of loading the weapon,as described above is wrong. There was no need to hold the bolt back, as it locked when pulled back or a clip was ejected. Wonderful weapon and General Patton claimed that it won WW ii