As a young man, I served in the Army. This is long past, but I will never forget the experience. The only reason I write this paper about guns is that I was trained to know and fire every small arm in the military arsenal during that period.
My intro to guns began in 1945 at basic training in the infantry at Fort Hood, Texas. Here is where I shot my first rifle, a Garand. It took a clip of (I think) seven rounds. Inserting the clip required some dexterity, or you damaged a thumb, at least, that is how I remember it. I handled it well and received my expert pin. But this was just the beginning.
After a considerable training period, the company I trained with went off for the invasion of Okinawa. I was sent to advanced training in the Signal Corp., and we trained in mostly night warfare. I am seriously colorblind (which kept me out of the Navy V5), but reading maps at night with very little light was a gift I had. I could also identify camouflage from the real thing.
Our training had something to do with the possible invasion of Tokyo Harbor. I believe my life was spared because of the atomic bomb(s). We were in Hiroshima and did not feel good about the devastation, including the dead and dying we saw. Because of nuclear weapons, fighting largescale wars, “mano e mano” has become a thing of the past.
Our problem in the good old USA is a different type of mass destruction. Automatic weapons. Especially in the hands of young and troubled people. Why on Earth does any citizen have or need an automatic weapon? We have the best trained and armed military in the world, so the defense of our country is not the issue. Hunting rifles, shotguns, and pistols meet all our personal needs for food, sports, and safety, but an automatic weapon? Come on!
Sy
