From the bottom of my heart...Thanks for sharing.

The best Chesty Puller qoute:

"They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an
enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can't get away from us now!"

- Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC

best post i have ever read on texags

Couple of other points:

1. He was awarded the Medal of Honor on April 21, 1945. Aside from the significance that April 21 holds at Texas A&M, my son was also born on April 21 this year, so that date definitely holds a special place in my heart.

2. The Medal of Honor that my parents have isn't his original medal. The original was swiped during a house party when he was an officer in Maryland (I believe, need to double check the story) and hocked at a pawn shop, never to be seen again.

Awesome!

Awesome story, beautiful gun.

I have one of those sporterized Springfields.

Awesome looking rifle and no doubt your grandpa was a certified badass. Having a medal of honor winner in the family is damn sure something to be proud of. It is men like him that made this country the greatest place on earth. Thanks for sharing that story.

Last night, just checked the pics out while drinking with in laws in town.

tonight decided to read, that was an amazing story. thank you for sharing

that is the most beautiful gun i have ever seen.

Since you mentioned the Japanese symbols, post a better pic of them and I can have it translated for you want. Awesome story.

thats incredible. beautiful gun. great man, awesome story. that is going to be one awesome heirloom.

awesome story

panzer mark v was a panther. that must have been scary as hell. their frontal armor could not be penetrated by a sherman's 75 mm gun.

very cool

Amazing gun, beautiful rifle.


If it was me using it, I really might think about getting a reproduction or restored period scope and doing something etching wise with it. Would just be a cool little touch on an already amazing gun.

This deserves another bump.

Merry Christmas all!

Hard to understand how someone could steal a MOH, and even harder for me to understand how someone would keep a MOH that was not theirs. There are truly some strange ones on the rock. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, thanks for sharing!

Bump for a great story.

Wow. I missed this the first time around. What a great story. Thanks for bumping this.

Great post, glad the rifle went to someone who can appreciate it.

In the article you linked:

quote:

---

One of Whittington's grenades, aptly aimed at a field piece, lodged in the muzzle of the cannon and put it out of commission for the time. A tracer bullet from the M-1 rifle fired by Sergeant Whittington was credited with having set off the ammunition dump.

---

This may have been a bit of WWII propaganda, but oh my gawd.... And

quote:

---

While Whittington was in an Italian hospital at Castlebeltrana which had been taken over by an American medical unit after the hazardous action in the pass approaching Palermo, he had a little time to think. And his thoughts took him back to his comrades on the front line. Within five days of his admission to the hospital, he had slipped away to join his unit as they advanced to Palermo.

---

That might be the most beautiful gun i've ever seen. Wish I had something cool like that from my lineage.

I'll admit to looking at the pics first before reading the story, and my first thought was wow, an early Mauser action on a beautiful rifle. Then I read it was a sporterized Springfield 1903. Aha! The M1903 was a copy of the Mauser action and Mauser brought suit, which forced Springfield to pay royalties to Mauser. (or something like this) In 1906 the design was changed to accommodate a slightly altered .30 cal bullet...the 30.06.

Such a cool story about your grandfather, thanks for posting.

[This message has been edited by WC87 (edited 3/7/2012 4:40p).]

Real Life...........better than fiction

Amazing. Beautiful rifle. And your grandfather is a true American hero.

Thanks for sharing this

Do you know if the Whittington Shooting Center in Raton, NM has any connection to your grandfather? The NRA has a history of naming things after CMOH recipients, but i couldn't find anything about the namesake for the Whittington Center. IMO that would be a fitting tribute to your grandfather.

Rab,

I don't believe the shooting center is named after him, but I will find out for sure. I know there are several ordinance facilities named after him at places like Fort Benning and Fort Hood, among others. There's a field dedication ceremony for him in May at Fort Lee, VA that I plan on attending with my family.

Very cool

Thank you for sharing!

A true American hero! Thank you for sharing.

Those guys that fought in the European and Asian theaters were some of the toughtest "SOB's" that ever lived.

Lot of it had to do with the way they were raised. The finest on record and statistically were farm boys that learned how to hunt and fish at an early age. Not all, but most.

Werent nothing liberal about em.

Thank you for sharing that with us. Makes all of us proud to hear about Americans with those kind of sacrifices being made. He will not be forgotton.Nor will any of the rest of that generation.