Luger was ultimate war trophy

Matt · 04-02-2001, 07:40 PM

Andy Rooney, writing in his new book "My War," says the Luger was the "ultimate war trophy. Rooney, famed "60 minutes" commentator was an Army reporter for "Stars and Stripes" during the War.

He wrote:

"When a GI captured a German officer it was even better than getting an enlisted man because the officer often carried something better than either a good watch or Carl Zeiss binoculars. He had a Luger, the finest pistol made. The Luger was an unusual design with an appearance unlike any other handgun because it had a sort of futuristic Buck Rogers look to it. A Luger was the ultimate war trophy for an American GI."

Rooney went on to write about a GI who took a Luger from a Wehrmacht captain. The GI, fearing his war trophy would be confiscated, disassembled it and mailed it in separate packages to his wife back home. His wife took the parts to a gunsmith who reassembled the Luger. The GI's wife then sent the Luger back to him in Germany!

It didn't say if the GI was finally able to bring home his war trophy. I guess he wasn't familiar with "capture papers."

BILL · 04-02-2001, 08:33 PM

I have talked to veterans who say that their commanding officers regularly collected Lugers that were captured by their subordinates. It was a common practice for the officer to make their enlisted men lay out all their 'trophies' on their bunks before they were shipped back and the officer would pick the best of the lot.

Aaron · 04-02-2001, 10:09 PM

I am reminded of an amusing story told to me by a dear departed friend who was an infantry lieutenant in the WWII ETO. He said that whenever a group of German soldiers were outfought, they would surrender by rising to their feet and throwing up their hands. At this point, one could clearly hear the ringing cry from the American troops, "Get the Lugers!"

Bob Egan · 04-03-2001, 01:16 AM

According to the famed historian Ambrose,a paratrooper in Normandy braved intense enemy fire at great risk to get to a fallen German soldier to retrieve his Luger which turned out to be an artillery sight in a similar holster.Now here was a determined Luger collector.Also a vet told me that on the way home on a troopship the PA announced that all duffel bags would be searched and that anyone with contraband would not be allowed ashore until after charges were preferred.He threw his seven Lugers over the rail, and the bags were never searched.He was still crying about it thirty years later!

Ted · 04-03-2001, 01:31 AM

My dad picked up 16 Lugers from their previous owners and got rid of them at the boat for the same reason, I sure hope he didnt throw them overboard! Ted

Matt · 04-03-2001, 01:43 AM

I've heard numerous stories about war trophies being ditched for fear of getting in trouble but I've also seen "capture papers" where the trophy was brought back legally. Does anyone know what the regulations were during WW II for bringing back war trophies?

Marvin · 04-03-2001, 07:43 AM

Bob,

My dad was returning from Germany and he had 3 P.38s which he had "procured" after the war. On the troopship, an officer declared that any weapons would be confiscated and the soldier would be punished, but if they were turned in, no charges would be filed. Dad turned in the 3 P.38s, but he kept the Russian nagent and Tokarev that his German girlfriend had given him. The 2 Russian pistols were her brothers war trophys from the Eastern Front when he was on leave in Bremershaven. Dad, or his girlfriends family, never knew if the German soldier was alive or dead by mid 1946. Dad always said the officer probably kept the pistols for himself.

marvin

Bob Egan · 04-03-2001, 01:22 PM

Another sad story, which I seem to be full of lately. My cousin Harold was combat infantry and a busy souvinier collector besides.I was old enough toward the end of the war to be interested in what he sent home,my aunt had a steamer trunk full of stuff.I mainly remember a signal light which was red and green like a traffic light, and a platnium watch which he removed from a German Colonel after killing him,and a bunch of Lugers and P38's> I know he ;mailed the stuff home, when we saw my aunt the first question was,what did Harold send since we saw you?Well he stayed in the Army long enough to see action in Korea and Viet Nam and I did not see him again until about 1970 and when asked what became of his WW2 stuff he told me that his sister married a drunk and everything was traded at the local bar for booze, all he found was a pull thru cleaner for a Mauser rifle! So even front line soldiers could, apparently, mail stuff home, but I have no idea how he did it.

John Sabato · 04-03-2001, 02:47 PM

I have two great stories, but only have time to type one at the moment, so the other will have to wait until another time.

=============

While fighting somewhere in Europe, during a lull in the fighting, my father's unit (E Co, 39th Inf, 9th Infantry Division), got word that they would be able to mail home any war trophies in their possession provided they were inspected by ordnance to insure there was no ammunition or explosives included. My father picked up the first two Kar 98k rifles (he didn't have his Luger yet!) and after checking to make sure they were unloaded he went into a fabric shop that had been shelled and found a bolt of maroon velvet. He rolled the rifles carefully in the velvet until he had used up the bolt of material and then securely wrapped it and addressed it to home so he could give them to his brothers upon his return. (My Uncles were fighting in the south Pacific and Burma so they would not have seen German weapons). When they all returned home from the war, one evening the thought of my Dad's trophies came to his mind and he realized that much of his parents house was decorated in maroon velvet! He asked where the rifles were that he had sent home inside the velvet and to his surprise, my grandmother could have cared less about the rifles, she was thrilled to get the fine velvet with which to make things! She finally remembered that when she unwrapped the rifles, she had decided that she didn't want them in the house (they were tools of course) so she went out to the barn and hung both of them by the sling on the nearest nail.

They were still there (having received no care in the interim period) after more than a year! Once cleaned he presented them to my uncles. They served many a hunting season since that time. One is still in it's original configuration, and the other was sporterized and scoped by my cousins in Ohio. I am sure they will continue to serve many generation to come...

John Sabato · 04-03-2001, 06:19 PM

A friend of mine who served in Vietnam once told me of discovering a crate containing two brand new .45 cal. 1911A1 Colt government model pistols after overunning a Viet Cong position that was abandoned in a hurry. He and his compatriot appropriated themselves one each war trophy pistol.

Desiring to send it home (in spite of its property markings) he hatched a successful plan to do so. He and the other guy went down to the local artillery unit and picked up an expended brass casing (105mm or 155mm I am not sure which) and then took them to the EOD unit to have them drilled through the base and marked as safe for mailing. The empty shells were then taken to a local vietnamese machine shop where the brass artillery casing was converted into a fine looking brass lamp complete with shade.

Once back at the unit, they took apart their captured .45's and placed the pieces in the bottom of the lamp after greasing them liberally. The lamp base was then filled with molten lead until the pieces were covered and allowed to cool. When they returned from their tour of duty they each found the lamps being used in their respective houses. One saturday afternoon, they got together at one house (while the wives were out of course) and proceeded to heat the lamp bases over a gas stove flame until the lead was again molten. Carefully the lamp bases carried to the garage where they were turned over onto the cold cement garage floor. The pistol parts were recovered, cleaned and assembled back into their original configurations.

The lamps were then reassembled without the lead, cleaned and put back where there had been in use after being polished.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE INGENUITY OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIER WITH A MISSION!

I defy any of you to come up with a successful war trophy story that tops this one (that isn't a fabrication). By the way, This story was told to me over 20 years ago by the one of the guys involved. I have seen both his .45 and the lamp that carried it home for him.

He eventually had the Colt .45 refinished to duplicate the commercial Colt blue and it was a fine looking Pistol (even if it wasn't a Luger)

I lost track of him about 15 years ago... I have often wondered where he and that pistol are today????

Who is next?

-John

Ted · 04-03-2001, 06:29 PM

WOW John, what a GREAT STORY! Thanks! Ted

Mark · 04-05-2001, 07:00 PM

A friend (now deceased) who I used to work with and was a WW2 vet, told me they were allowed to bring home one pistol if declared and issued capture papers. He had captured 2 pistols, a 1937 S/42 with holster, tool and 2 (unmatched) mags and a real late PPK. He declared the Luger and brought it home with him and hired a buddy to declare the PPK which he retreived once they hit the US shore. He captured the Luger somewhere in Belgium, under a mattress in a hotel, which the Germans had just fled from. He was in an artillery unit in the 4rd Armored Division, Patton's Third Army. I don't remember the story on the PPK. He also had a fine German Drilling which he kept behind the seat of the truck he drove in Europe, but someone found it and broke the stock on it so he threw it away. More likely the stock broke from banging around in the truck, but he was convinced someone did that.

He did give me a story where a captured P-38 played a part. Right near the wars end, his unit had come upon a Concentration Camp, location unknown but I believe in the southeast part of Germany in or near Chechoslovakia, and got to see the horror close up and it no doubt strongly affected the members of his unit. Shortly thereafter his unit came upon an SS soldier who surrendered or was captured by them. The emotions were running quite high and while the SS man had his hands up a number of American troops began firing at the ground at the German's feet. Naturally, he took off running whereupon the whole unit in attendance opened up on him. While laying dead on the ground, a soldier walked up to the SS man, drew a P-38, and administered a coup de gras in his head, exploding it like a watermelon (his words).

This vet also told me he had collected a huge bag of German ammo during his travels. He said they were told they could not bring ammo home so he had to dispose of it. He said he found an outhouse, and after staring into the hole for a looooooooooong time, he finally dropped the cherished bag down into the **** where it disappeared.

04-02-2001, 07:40 PM	#1
Matt User Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 196 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Luger was ultimate war trophy Andy Rooney, writing in his new book "My War," says the Luger was the "ultimate war trophy. Rooney, famed "60 minutes" commentator was an Army reporter for "Stars and Stripes" during the War. He wrote: "When a GI captured a German officer it was even better than getting an enlisted man because the officer often carried something better than either a good watch or Carl Zeiss binoculars. He had a Luger, the finest pistol made. The Luger was an unusual design with an appearance unlike any other handgun because it had a sort of futuristic Buck Rogers look to it. A Luger was the ultimate war trophy for an American GI." Rooney went on to write about a GI who took a Luger from a Wehrmacht captain. The GI, fearing his war trophy would be confiscated, disassembled it and mailed it in separate packages to his wife back home. His wife took the parts to a gunsmith who reassembled the Luger. The GI's wife then sent the Luger back to him in Germany! It didn't say if the GI was finally able to bring home his war trophy. I guess he wasn't familiar with "capture papers."

04-02-2001, 08:33 PM	#2
BILL User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Western Washington Posts: 826 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Luger was ultimate war trophy I have talked to veterans who say that their commanding officers regularly collected Lugers that were captured by their subordinates. It was a common practice for the officer to make their enlisted men lay out all their 'trophies' on their bunks before they were shipped back and the officer would pick the best of the lot.

04-02-2001, 10:09 PM	#3
Aaron Banned Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vista, CA Posts: 1,008 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Luger was ultimate war trophy I am reminded of an amusing story told to me by a dear departed friend who was an infantry lieutenant in the WWII ETO. He said that whenever a group of German soldiers were outfought, they would surrender by rising to their feet and throwing up their hands. At this point, one could clearly hear the ringing cry from the American troops, "Get the Lugers!"

04-03-2001, 01:16 AM	#4
Bob Egan User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 34 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Luger was ultimate war trophy According to the famed historian Ambrose,a paratrooper in Normandy braved intense enemy fire at great risk to get to a fallen German soldier to retrieve his Luger which turned out to be an artillery sight in a similar holster.Now here was a determined Luger collector.Also a vet told me that on the way home on a troopship the PA announced that all duffel bags would be searched and that anyone with contraband would not be allowed ashore until after charges were preferred.He threw his seven Lugers over the rail, and the bags were never searched.He was still crying about it thirty years later!

04-03-2001, 01:31 AM	#5
Ted User Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: SC Posts: 726 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Luger was ultimate war trophy My dad picked up 16 Lugers from their previous owners and got rid of them at the boat for the same reason, I sure hope he didnt throw them overboard! Ted

04-03-2001, 01:43 AM	#6
Matt User Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 196 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	What were the war trophy regulations? I've heard numerous stories about war trophies being ditched for fear of getting in trouble but I've also seen "capture papers" where the trophy was brought back legally. Does anyone know what the regulations were during WW II for bringing back war trophies?

04-03-2001, 07:43 AM	#7
Marvin User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Upstate S.C. Posts: 1,132 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Luger was ultimate war trophy Bob, My dad was returning from Germany and he had 3 P.38s which he had "procured" after the war. On the troopship, an officer declared that any weapons would be confiscated and the soldier would be punished, but if they were turned in, no charges would be filed. Dad turned in the 3 P.38s, but he kept the Russian nagent and Tokarev that his German girlfriend had given him. The 2 Russian pistols were her brothers war trophys from the Eastern Front when he was on leave in Bremershaven. Dad, or his girlfriends family, never knew if the German soldier was alive or dead by mid 1946. Dad always said the officer probably kept the pistols for himself. marvin

04-03-2001, 01:22 PM	#8
Bob Egan User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 34 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Luger was ultimate war trophy Another sad story, which I seem to be full of lately. My cousin Harold was combat infantry and a busy souvinier collector besides.I was old enough toward the end of the war to be interested in what he sent home,my aunt had a steamer trunk full of stuff.I mainly remember a signal light which was red and green like a traffic light, and a platnium watch which he removed from a German Colonel after killing him,and a bunch of Lugers and P38's> I know he ;mailed the stuff home, when we saw my aunt the first question was,what did Harold send since we saw you?Well he stayed in the Army long enough to see action in Korea and Viet Nam and I did not see him again until about 1970 and when asked what became of his WW2 stuff he told me that his sister married a drunk and everything was traded at the local bar for booze, all he found was a pull thru cleaner for a Mauser rifle! So even front line soldiers could, apparently, mail stuff home, but I have no idea how he did it.

04-03-2001, 02:47 PM	#9
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,154 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,306 Times in 1,097 Posts	Mailing war trophies home... I have two great stories, but only have time to type one at the moment, so the other will have to wait until another time. ============= While fighting somewhere in Europe, during a lull in the fighting, my father's unit (E Co, 39th Inf, 9th Infantry Division), got word that they would be able to mail home any war trophies in their possession provided they were inspected by ordnance to insure there was no ammunition or explosives included. My father picked up the first two Kar 98k rifles (he didn't have his Luger yet!) and after checking to make sure they were unloaded he went into a fabric shop that had been shelled and found a bolt of maroon velvet. He rolled the rifles carefully in the velvet until he had used up the bolt of material and then securely wrapped it and addressed it to home so he could give them to his brothers upon his return. (My Uncles were fighting in the south Pacific and Burma so they would not have seen German weapons). When they all returned home from the war, one evening the thought of my Dad's trophies came to his mind and he realized that much of his parents house was decorated in maroon velvet! He asked where the rifles were that he had sent home inside the velvet and to his surprise, my grandmother could have cared less about the rifles, she was thrilled to get the fine velvet with which to make things! She finally remembered that when she unwrapped the rifles, she had decided that she didn't want them in the house (they were tools of course) so she went out to the barn and hung both of them by the sling on the nearest nail. They were still there (having received no care in the interim period) after more than a year! Once cleaned he presented them to my uncles. They served many a hunting season since that time. One is still in it's original configuration, and the other was sporterized and scoped by my cousins in Ohio. I am sure they will continue to serve many generation to come...

04-03-2001, 06:19 PM	#10
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,154 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,306 Times in 1,097 Posts	Mailing war trophies home...#2 A friend of mine who served in Vietnam once told me of discovering a crate containing two brand new .45 cal. 1911A1 Colt government model pistols after overunning a Viet Cong position that was abandoned in a hurry. He and his compatriot appropriated themselves one each war trophy pistol. Desiring to send it home (in spite of its property markings) he hatched a successful plan to do so. He and the other guy went down to the local artillery unit and picked up an expended brass casing (105mm or 155mm I am not sure which) and then took them to the EOD unit to have them drilled through the base and marked as safe for mailing. The empty shells were then taken to a local vietnamese machine shop where the brass artillery casing was converted into a fine looking brass lamp complete with shade. Once back at the unit, they took apart their captured .45's and placed the pieces in the bottom of the lamp after greasing them liberally. The lamp base was then filled with molten lead until the pieces were covered and allowed to cool. When they returned from their tour of duty they each found the lamps being used in their respective houses. One saturday afternoon, they got together at one house (while the wives were out of course) and proceeded to heat the lamp bases over a gas stove flame until the lead was again molten. Carefully the lamp bases carried to the garage where they were turned over onto the cold cement garage floor. The pistol parts were recovered, cleaned and assembled back into their original configurations. The lamps were then reassembled without the lead, cleaned and put back where there had been in use after being polished. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE INGENUITY OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIER WITH A MISSION! I defy any of you to come up with a successful war trophy story that tops this one (that isn't a fabrication). By the way, This story was told to me over 20 years ago by the one of the guys involved. I have seen both his .45 and the lamp that carried it home for him. He eventually had the Colt .45 refinished to duplicate the commercial Colt blue and it was a fine looking Pistol (even if it wasn't a Luger) I lost track of him about 15 years ago... I have often wondered where he and that pistol are today???? Who is next? -John

04-03-2001, 06:29 PM	#11
Ted User Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: SC Posts: 726 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Mailing war trophies home...#2 WOW John, what a GREAT STORY! Thanks! Ted

04-05-2001, 07:00 PM	#12
Mark Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 48 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Mailing war trophies home...#2 A friend (now deceased) who I used to work with and was a WW2 vet, told me they were allowed to bring home one pistol if declared and issued capture papers. He had captured 2 pistols, a 1937 S/42 with holster, tool and 2 (unmatched) mags and a real late PPK. He declared the Luger and brought it home with him and hired a buddy to declare the PPK which he retreived once they hit the US shore. He captured the Luger somewhere in Belgium, under a mattress in a hotel, which the Germans had just fled from. He was in an artillery unit in the 4rd Armored Division, Patton's Third Army. I don't remember the story on the PPK. He also had a fine German Drilling which he kept behind the seat of the truck he drove in Europe, but someone found it and broke the stock on it so he threw it away. More likely the stock broke from banging around in the truck, but he was convinced someone did that. He did give me a story where a captured P-38 played a part. Right near the wars end, his unit had come upon a Concentration Camp, location unknown but I believe in the southeast part of Germany in or near Chechoslovakia, and got to see the horror close up and it no doubt strongly affected the members of his unit. Shortly thereafter his unit came upon an SS soldier who surrendered or was captured by them. The emotions were running quite high and while the SS man had his hands up a number of American troops began firing at the ground at the German's feet. Naturally, he took off running whereupon the whole unit in attendance opened up on him. While laying dead on the ground, a soldier walked up to the SS man, drew a P-38, and administered a coup de gras in his head, exploding it like a watermelon (his words). This vet also told me he had collected a huge bag of German ammo during his travels. He said they were told they could not bring ammo home so he had to dispose of it. He said he found an outhouse, and after staring into the hole for a looooooooooong time, he finally dropped the cherished bag down into the **** where it disappeared.