CMP reunites Pat Farmer with his rifle

Dave sends us a link from Buckeye Firearms Association which tells the story of Pat Farmer who, thanks to the efforts of the Civilian Marksmanship Program, was reunited with his basic training M-1 Garand #4305638 56 years after he left the rifle in basic training. It seems like most of us, he kept every little piece of paper from his Marine Corps years and he found a hand receipt for the rifle in his box of stuff. He contacted the CMP to see if it had passed through through their hands;

In October 2013, he contacted CMP customer service and was put in touch with Jennifer Smith, the serial number/inventory clerk. To Pat’s amazement, he soon learned that the very same rifle he used in boot camp was being stored at the CMP facility, but was still Army property. Unable to distribute the rifle until the Army formally turned it over to the CMP, Jennifer informed Pat that it may take some time until he’s able to see his rifle again.
[…]

Then, a little over three years later on March 20, 2017, true to her word, Jennifer contacted Pat and told him the Army had released more rifles – including his.

After a short period of processing and grading, on April 24, 2017, Jennifer contacted Pat again, asking him to send in his paperwork so he could, after 56 years, be issued his rifle again.

Finally – a few weeks later, on May 8, 2017, Pat was reunited with M1 Garand #4305638.

Mr Farmer says he found a piece of tape in the trigger guard marked with his name and 500 yard “dope” after all these years. He says that, after firing off a few rounds for old time’s sake, he’ll store it to pass on to his progeny.

Category: Who knows