A Tale of 2 Heroes (3 really)

[hortysir]

Stolen Colt .45 Returned To American Hero > North American Hunting Club

Avid shooter, gun collector and retired U.S. Navy Warrant Officer George Berry said he’d always wanted to own a classic Colt 1911 A1 .45 cal. pistol like those issued to generations of American soldiers, and he found one to his liking on an online auction website in July.

“Colt 1911 A1 semi-automatic pistol. Cal. 45. 5" bbl. SN 0103889. Re-blued finish on all metal, plain walnut Colt grips, after-market rear sight, no magazine,” the description posted on the Alderfer Auction website read. “Faint ‘USMC’ stamped on right side of slide, partial ‘United States Property’ wording is visible,” it continued. “The name “John J. McGinty USMC’ stamped on left side of slide. Very good.”

Berry would later tell a reporter from his hometown newspaper, the “Medford (Oregon) Mail-Tribune” that he was at first hesitant because the gun had been re-blued, the grips were not originals and it had someone’s name engraved on it, but he felt he purchased it at a fair price, paying less the $1,000 for the gun made in 1914.

Upon receipt of the pistol he began some research online, where he quickly made an astounding discovery: Capt. John J. McGinty, the man whose name was engraved on the pistol, was a recipient of the coveted Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest and most prestigious military award.

It gets better.

Doing further online tracking, Berry found that the retired Marine, McGinty, 71, lived in Beaufort, South Carolina, so he gave him a call and asked him about the 1911 pistol.

“He said, ‘Do you mean 0103889?’” Berry told the Medford newspaper, noting that McGinty automatically recited the gun’s serial number from memory.

McGinty went on to tell Berry that the pistol had been stolen in 1978 while on public display. Further, it was the sidearm McGinty carried on a fateful 1966 July day in Vietnam, using it to kill five enemy troops at point-blank range as he saved the lives of his comrades during Operation Hastings.

President Lyndon Johnson presented John J. McGinty with the Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the White House on March 12, 1968, for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

As for the Colt with serial number 0103889, it has now been returned to a true American hero, John J. McGinty, USMC. It was sent to him, without charge, by another American hero, U.S. Navy Warrant Officer George Berry.

"I told him I didn't want any money, that I had just wanted a Model 1911," Berry said. "Concern yourself with what is right and you'll never second-guess that decision."

There were several comments following this story, on my hunting club's website.

Many of us suggested collecting the money to get WO Berry his own 1911 .45


Check out the rest of the story, though!!

Machete Monday, August 29, 2011 10:38 PM
Well I have some good news, not what I expected but here it is. I just got done reading an article (dated 29, Aug. 2011) on the "mailtribune.com" web site, the story is "Actions that make Heroes". Yes, it's about this same story, but there is allot more. In appreciation for George Berry returning his 1911, McGuinty sent him a different 1911 that belonged to another MOH recipient ; "John W. Finn" a friend of his that passed away just last year.

It would have been an honor to donate to this cause, like we had all wished to do, but I don't think we could top this in a million years.

Best Regards,
Your Fellow Hunter!!

 

[hortysir]

{{{bump}}}

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Great story, thanks.

It’s remarkable to watch my 15 y/o son shoot the S 70 Reissue – he’s extremely accurate and has a great time. He’s been shooting since the age of nine and has received no formal training, yet he handles the Colt like an expert.

I’ve asked him the ‘secret to his success’ and he says the 1911 ‘feel good to hold and shoot’ and is ‘easy to aim.’

The 1911 is the only mass-produced, sold to the general public machine I can think of that has hardly changed in 100 years and is as good as, or in come cases better than, its competition.

 

[hortysir]

That's how I've been, since day one, with the marlin .22 rifle my dad gave me back in the 70's.
Always been 'blessed' with a dead eye

 

[westwall]

Stolen Colt .45 Returned To American Hero > North American Hunting Club

Avid shooter, gun collector and retired U.S. Navy Warrant Officer George Berry said he’d always wanted to own a classic Colt 1911 A1 .45 cal. pistol like those issued to generations of American soldiers, and he found one to his liking on an online auction website in July.

“Colt 1911 A1 semi-automatic pistol. Cal. 45. 5" bbl. SN 0103889. Re-blued finish on all metal, plain walnut Colt grips, after-market rear sight, no magazine,” the description posted on the Alderfer Auction website read. “Faint ‘USMC’ stamped on right side of slide, partial ‘United States Property’ wording is visible,” it continued. “The name “John J. McGinty USMC’ stamped on left side of slide. Very good.”

Berry would later tell a reporter from his hometown newspaper, the “Medford (Oregon) Mail-Tribune” that he was at first hesitant because the gun had been re-blued, the grips were not originals and it had someone’s name engraved on it, but he felt he purchased it at a fair price, paying less the $1,000 for the gun made in 1914.

Upon receipt of the pistol he began some research online, where he quickly made an astounding discovery: Capt. John J. McGinty, the man whose name was engraved on the pistol, was a recipient of the coveted Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest and most prestigious military award.

It gets better.

Doing further online tracking, Berry found that the retired Marine, McGinty, 71, lived in Beaufort, South Carolina, so he gave him a call and asked him about the 1911 pistol.

“He said, ‘Do you mean 0103889?’” Berry told the Medford newspaper, noting that McGinty automatically recited the gun’s serial number from memory.

McGinty went on to tell Berry that the pistol had been stolen in 1978 while on public display. Further, it was the sidearm McGinty carried on a fateful 1966 July day in Vietnam, using it to kill five enemy troops at point-blank range as he saved the lives of his comrades during Operation Hastings.

President Lyndon Johnson presented John J. McGinty with the Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the White House on March 12, 1968, for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

As for the Colt with serial number 0103889, it has now been returned to a true American hero, John J. McGinty, USMC. It was sent to him, without charge, by another American hero, U.S. Navy Warrant Officer George Berry.

"I told him I didn't want any money, that I had just wanted a Model 1911," Berry said. "Concern yourself with what is right and you'll never second-guess that decision."

There were several comments following this story, on my hunting club's website.

Many of us suggested collecting the money to get WO Berry his own 1911 .45


Check out the rest of the story, though!!

Machete Monday, August 29, 2011 10:38 PM
Well I have some good news, not what I expected but here it is. I just got done reading an article (dated 29, Aug. 2011) on the "mailtribune.com" web site, the story is "Actions that make Heroes". Yes, it's about this same story, but there is allot more. In appreciation for George Berry returning his 1911, McGuinty sent him a different 1911 that belonged to another MOH recipient ; "John W. Finn" a friend of his that passed away just last year.

It would have been an honor to donate to this cause, like we had all wished to do, but I don't think we could top this in a million years.

Best Regards,
Your Fellow Hunter!!

I wondered where John's 1911 was. He was a good friend of mine. When he passed away he was the last surviving MOH recipient from Pearl Harbor (actually Kaneohe Bay) in the movie Tora Tora Tora there is a sequence where a sailor mans an exposed .50 cal machine gun and shoots down a Japanese plane. All the while you can see he is getting shot. That was John Finn. He was shot off the gun three times and they pulled 22 bullets out of him. He was a tough SOB! But one of the nicest men you could ever hope to meet.

 

[hortysir]

Are you shittin' me, WW?

You knew Mr Finn?

**handshake**
And condolences for your loss.

It's amazing that the 22 slugs didn't kill him