This looks great. Love world war history. I collect military surplus guns, my favorites are those from both world wars. Enfields, Mosins, Garlands, M1 carbines, 1911s, etc.
Had two uncles that fought in WW2, one was involved in D-Day and part of the 1st wave, the other was a bomber tail gunner who was shot down and ended up in a German POW camp. I was far too young to have meaningful conversations with them while they were alive, but have heard the accounts from family members.
Had a neighbor while I was living in Tulsa during medical school that was a WW2 vet. Great guy, and he used to come out and talk with me when I was doing yard work. He was in the Ardennes during WW2, had a great story about stopping a German supply train in the forest. It was cold, horribly cold. Him and his men were hungry, tired, and weary of further fighting when they got the train. The German soldiers on the train didn’t put up much of a fight, and they ended up sitting near a fire together eating the rations and drinking some of the liquor that was in the supplies. It was like both sides came to a “truce” there with the Germans surrendering to them quietly, and him and his men getting to eat and drink, and sleep after that mission.
Stories like that and the one about the “soccer game” that broke out between English and German soldiers during WW1 at Christmas time are fascinating. When two armies were supposed to be tearing each other apart, a few guys find a way to make some peace and take a “break” in the middle of hell....
