The Marines (AFAIK) didn't have any 03s fail at Guadalcanal, that's true enough. The MD that wrote this study, though, says 2-3 should have failed in a population of 100% LN 03s.
http://m1903.com/03rcvrfail/
Shooting an LN 03 is a gamble, at best. And, sure enough, people go to Vegas and beat the odds. Apparently the Marines on Guadalcanal did just that, not that they had a choice. They were at war. We're not.
Here's this, though. In Vegas, if you lose you're just broke. If (when) the odds catch up with you, at minimum you're looking at a wrecked gun at least. And maybe more.
The question is, is the risk of permanent injury and total loss of the rifle worth playing the odds, ESPECIALLY when there are so many 03s around that are significantly safer to shoot?