Realizing a handgun is a "last ditch" weapon

[S.B.]

Are there any veteran accounts of a 1911 saving a veteran's life while in combat?
Steve

[joem]

Yes, I read a few accounts of soldiers surviving combat because of a handgun. And then there's the tunnel rats from vietnam among others.

[Len]

USMC Sgt. John McGinty's MOH citation reads , "When the enemy tried to out flank his position, he killed five of them at point-blank range with his pistol. " The pistol was a 1911 which was stolen and then returned to McGinty years later.

http://leatherneckm31.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/one-hell-of-a-great-story/

Actor Lee Marvin told the story of how , on Saipan, he killed an infiltrating Japanese soldier with the 1911 Colt Commercial pistol his Dad had carried in WWI.

[stan4]

I hope this fits your criteria---and Mr. Holbrook does not mind.

Best Regards,



" John E. Holbrook

In early July 1967 I was sent to South Vietnam to try to determine why many of the 500 lb. bombs being delivered by naval aircraft were not detonating. I had extensive experience with both conventional and nuclear weapons. The VC would dig up these duds, melt out the Amatol and use the explosive to manufacture crude but very effective anti-personnel booby traps. I was assigned an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team and we would be escorted by whatever Army or Marine units were available for protection. We would remove the fuses and detonate the bombs.

On July 13, 1967, while on one of these missions, we were attacked by a force of approximately 50 Viet Cong. As the attack developed my M16A1 jammed, which left me unarmed. I came across a wounded Marine officer, Captain Eldon M. Martin lying in a rice paddy. Captain Martin, although severely wounded was alert and indicated that he was lying on an M14, which was under water and that he had a fully loaded .45 pistol in his holster.

As I removed the Colt M1911A1 .45 automatic (serial # 23002XX) from the Captain, I observed three VC armed with AK-47s moving toward me in a crouched position through the thick grass which was about 2 meters high. I waited until they were within about 4 meters from me. I rose to a kneeling position using the grass as a shield. I put the front sight of the Colt on the man on the left and pulled the trigger. The man in the middle went down! I had jerked the trigger and was very lucky to have gotten a hit. I then moved back to the man on the left, held my breath and fired again. This round hit the man on the left in the chest and he went down. The last man realized what was happening and began firing his AK in my direction. I could see the bullets hitting the water in front of me as he brought the AK up. I fired my third round which hit the magazine of the AK, then glanced down striking him in the right leg. As he spun around from the impact of the 230 grain bullet, I fired two more rounds one of which hit him in the temple just above the left eye. The gunfight was over!

This action lasted not more that 4 seconds and I got four hits with five rounds of GI 230 grain hardball from a pistol that had mud and water in it. All of these hits were one shot stops against three men armed with automatic weapons. God bless the .45 ACP.

I must thank my father, who was the Sheriff of San Patricio County, Texas during World War II. He carried a Colt Government Model and I was shooting the big Colt when I was 10. I was a very good shot with both pistol and rifle very early in life and took my first deer when I was 11. I must also thank John Browning and Colt for inventing and producing the finest combat pistol ever made, bar none. I believe that if I had been armed with a 9MM, both our names would be on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.

Captain Martin, although badly wounded, survived the action. He insisted that I keep the Colt and I still have it. The greatest honor was when he named his first son after me in 1971. Unfortunately, Captain Martin died in 1991 of MLS. He was a good man, I miss him as I do all the fine young Americans who died in Vietnam.

After that action, I “lost” the M16 and acquired an M14, and I was in love.

John E. Holbrook
Chief Aviation Machinist Mate
U.S. Navy (Retired)
SN 361-43-78 "

[1563621]

Excellent!

[ignats]

John Basilone's Citation for his Congressional Medal of Honor
Which he earned at Guadalcanal
For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action against enemy Japanese forces, above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines in the Lunga Area, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 24 and 25 of October 1942. While the enemy was hammering at the Marines defensive positions, Sgt. Basilone, in charge of 2 sections of heavy machine guns, fought valiantly to check the savage and determined assault. In a fierce frontal attack with the Japanese blasting his guns with grenades and mortar fire, one of Sgt. Basilone’s sections, with its “gun crews”, was put out of action, leaving only 2 men able to carry on. Moving an extra gun into position, he placed it in action, then, under continual fire, repaired another and personally manned it, gallantly holding his line until replacements arrives. A little later, with ammunition critically low and the supply lines cut off, Sgt. Basilone, at great risk to his own life and in the face of continued enemy attack, battled his way through hostile lines with urgently needed shells for his gunners, thereby contributing in large measure to the virtual annihilation of a Japanese regiment. His great personal valor and courageous initiative were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

While not mentioned in the citation, Sgt Basilone was armed only with a M1911 or M1911 A1 pistol when he returned to the rear after the battle with badly burned hands from moving the machine guns without protective mitts. Here's what one of his men had to say:

"Basilone had a machine gun on the go for three days and nights without sleep, rest, or food. He was in a good emplacement, and causing the Japanese lots of trouble, not only firing his machine gun, but also using his pistol."

[simasuma]

Amazing story. Thanks for the post, stan4, and thank you Mr. Holbrook.

[jim c 351]

Alvin York

[Col. Colt]

I would say the honest number of occurances, with the M1911 in US Service, number in the many thousands over the last Century and all the fighting the US was involved in. For many personnel, prior to the M1 Carbine, the 1911 was their primary weapon, as they were servicing a crew served weapon.

In certain situations a heavy caliber handgun is Superior to a rifle - like tunnels and some urban fighting situations. And a solid hit with .45ACP Hardball seems to work between 80 and 100 percent of the time, assuming a centered hit. CC

[Chaz]

And let's not forget Maj. Dick Culver in Vietnam.

[LAH]

SGT Robert L. Howard captured an enemy/VC machine gun position single handedly with a 1911, killing 2 and when out of ammo and the slide locked back, the remaining
VC that hadn't been killed surrendered to him.

[Andouille]

Medal of Honor Citation for Thomas A Baker, Saipan. It would appear that a M1911 kept him alive for a while, at least.

http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/2623/baker-thomas-a.php

[Shooter5]

Related due to caliber: while reading the book the author mentions a number of MOH citations specifically involving the Thompson.

http://www.amazon.com/Tommy-Gun-General-Thompsons-Submachine-ebook/dp/B005HY5YKA/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422086257&sr=1-10&keywords=thompson+submachine+gun