Received an incredible Christmas gift this year, I'm still in shock! My grandmother had a collection of guns that had belonged to my great grandfather and she passed them out to some of my family members this xmas when we were all together. I received the Colt 1911 that my great grandfather carried when he fought in WWI.
I don't know a whole lot about his service as he passed long before I was born, but I do know that he was wounded in action in France when he dove into a artillery shell crater while under fire...unfortunately the shell had been loaded with mustard gas and he received extensive injuries from the exposure, which caused complications throughout his life. My grandmother still has a box with his Purple Heart, a German Iron Cross, and a .45 round that he scratched "FOR THE KAISER" on the side. Wish I could have met him as he sounds like he was an amazing guy.
I don't know much at all about 1911s as they have been way out of my price range but I think based on the serial number this one would date to late 1917 or early 1918? I plan to get the Colt "letter" for this one to help narrow down the date. I think it still has the correct barrel for this serial number range too....anyone able to confirm?
The last photo is of two other items we believe he brought back from the War that I was also fortunate enough to receive....top is a sawback bayonet and bottom is a unit marked German Naval cutlass.
I don't know a whole lot about his service as he passed long before I was born, but I do know that he was wounded in action in France when he dove into a artillery shell crater while under fire...unfortunately the shell had been loaded with mustard gas and he received extensive injuries from the exposure, which caused complications throughout his life. My grandmother still has a box with his Purple Heart, a German Iron Cross, and a .45 round that he scratched "FOR THE KAISER" on the side. Wish I could have met him as he sounds like he was an amazing guy.
I don't know much at all about 1911s as they have been way out of my price range but I think based on the serial number this one would date to late 1917 or early 1918? I plan to get the Colt "letter" for this one to help narrow down the date. I think it still has the correct barrel for this serial number range too....anyone able to confirm?
The last photo is of two other items we believe he brought back from the War that I was also fortunate enough to receive....top is a sawback bayonet and bottom is a unit marked German Naval cutlass.
