Looking for a James Michener quote

[pmclaine]

Michener has a great quote comparing the 1903 to the Garand where he describes the sleek 03 to the pregnant Garand. Anyone have that quote handy?

Edit - I may be in error it could be a James Jones quote comparing the rifles.

[Rick the Librarian]

Might be James Jones, as James Michener was in the navy. Neverless, Michener had a great quote regarding Pacific War veterans which I think can apply to all WWII veterans:

“They will live a long time, these men of the South Pacific. They had an American quality. They, like their victories, will be remembered as long as our generation lives. After that, like the men of the Confederacy, they will become strangers. Longer and longer shadows will obscure them, until their Guadalcanal sounds distant on the ear like Shiloh and Valley Forge.”

--James Michener, in the forward to Tales of the South Pacific

[pmclaine]

Might be James Jones, as James Michener was in the navy. Neverless, Michener had a great quote regarding Pacific War veterans which I think can apply to all WWII veterans:

“They will live a long time, these men of the South Pacific. They had an American quality. They, like their victories, will be remembered as long as our generation lives. After that, like the men of the Confederacy, they will become strangers. Longer and longer shadows will obscure them, until their Guadalcanal sounds distant on the ear like Shiloh and Valley Forge.”

--James Michener, in the forward to Tales of the South Pacific

Sadly Rick we are reaching that time when the shadows have been stretched to such a length they are sure to break their connection with this earth.

I think I actually sent you the quote Im looking for and I believe it was a Jones quote as he would be way more familiar with both rifles.

It was a neat quote with a writers eye for beauty and detail in which he compliments the sleek balanced design of the 03 compared to the brutish pregnant Garand. Perhaps its somewhere in the pages of From Here to Eternity but I think it was a observation/comment that stood on its own.

Edit - regards the quote above....lets hope we never look upon the heros of the Pacific as our nations Newspeak propagandists have decided to look upon the soldiers of the Confederacy. If the Ministry of Information continues on its present path I fear those soldiers that guaranteed us 70 years of freedom will be thought of as an obstacle the delayed the coming of the socialist utopia by 70 years.

[Rick the Librarian]

Yes, as I was copy and pasting that quote, I ws thinking about Michener, who was relatively liberal, but could still talk about the Confederacy in words of respect. Times have changed and not for the better.

[The Wolf]

Rick,

That is an awesome quote! To sum it up in other words... it is the doom of Man at they forget.

Best Regards from Virginia,

Chris

[dave]

Doubt it from Here to Eternity, those guys had probably never see MI!

[Rick the Librarian]

Actually, if you read carefully in "From Here to Eternity", it mentions switching over to the M1. Regular Infantry troops in Hawaii and the Philippines had the M1 by the outbreak of war.

[dave]

Never heard or read that and frankly find it hard to believe.

[bonnie]

this James Jones quote? Posted by RTL here 3-18-2012. Escuse my poor computer skills trying to post it.

quote was posted by Rick the Librarian
03-18-2012 09:49 AM
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Author James Jones on the M1903:



...from his best-selling novel From Here to Eternity:

"...But they would never find anything to beat the old Springfield ...the long sleek streamline, very slim but with potent bulges, all in the just exactly right places to give it that pugnaciously forward-leaning, eager look that marked the Springfield. Beside it, the M1 looked like a fat old man puffing with a lack of training...the two most beautiful things made in America were the ax-handle and the clipper ship? ...they should have added one more thing: The Springfield '03 rifle..."

[Charlie Flick]

I have to agree that the James Jones' quote was a doozy. I read From Here to Eternity about an eternity ago but did not note then nor long remember that quotation. And he was right, to boot. It's not often that those of us interested in USGI weapons can glean something worthwhile from a work of fiction.

Seen below are Montgomery Clift and Frank Sinatra shouldering their M1903 rifles in a scene from the motion picture of the same name.

Regards,
Charlie

[Rick the Librarian]

Never heard or read that and frankly find it hard to believe.

I have an inventory sheet that states there were over 7400 M1 Garand rifles in the Philippines by December 1, 1941. I would assume if these reached the Philippines, they also reached Hawaii. About a half-million Garands had been manufactured and emphasis at this point was equipping men going abroad.

M1 rifles were issued to the infantry components of the 31st, 45th and 57th Infantry regiments and the 26th Cavalry, all but the first unit, members of the Philippine Scouts a part of the U.S. Army.

Below are several pictures of U.S. soldiers in the Philippines with M1s:

31stinfantryman.jpg59760f908a77e418_landing.jpg10155239_695987210439689_2639466962580780449_n.jpgCapture American weapons - Bataan.jpgPhilippines 1941 (2).jpg

[Rick the Librarian]

Here's a couple of more:

[Rick the Librarian]

We're probably getting a little off topic, but I remember another quote from Leon Uris' (a former Marine) novel Battle Cry:

“…[He] felt a tinge of excitement as his hands reached for the weapon…the guns came from cases which had held them silent between two wars. Awaiting a warrior’s hand to grasp them again, as they knew it must. He took the grease-packed weapon and bayonet and marched to an open-air cleaning stall. Instructors raced up and down issuing screwdrivers, brushes and cans of gasoline as they barked instructions on how to dismantle the piece…Twenty years to get it [the cosmolene] in and one day to get it out. So they scrubbed and scrubbed…”

[pmclaine]

this James Jones quote? Posted by RTL here 3-18-2012. Escuse my poor computer skills trying to post it.

quote was posted by Rick the Librarian
03-18-2012 09:49 AM
#1


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Join Date:Nov 2008 Last On:Today @ 09:51 AM Location:NW Washington StateAge:65 Posts:1,840 Local Date:07-25-2015Local Time:11:43 AM




Author James Jones on the M1903:



...from his best-selling novel From Here to Eternity:

"...But they would never find anything to beat the old Springfield ...the long sleek streamline, very slim but with potent bulges, all in the just exactly right places to give it that pugnaciously forward-leaning, eager look that marked the Springfield. Beside it, the M1 looked like a fat old man puffing with a lack of training...the two most beautiful things made in America were the ax-handle and the clipper ship? ...they should have added one more thing: The Springfield '03 rifle..."

Bonnie your GoogleFoo is impeccable. That is the exact quote I was looking for. Thank you!

Rick dont you even listen to yourself? You were the original poster.

[Rick the Librarian]

...not from nearly 7 years ago, PM - I'm lucky I can remember what I said yesterday!! LOL!!