My dad came from a poor cotton sharecropper family in Luisiana… He joined the USAAF in 1948 when he was still 17… He said his hands couldn’t take the cotton fields any longer and besides his sisters kept bragging that they could pick more in a day than he could in two… Anyway, after he joined up he was sent to the far east during the Korean Conflict, assigned to the Air-Sea Rescue Service stationed in Japan (hence I came along). During the 1960’s he was stationed in Okinawa in support of air operations to Viet-Nam… He was lucky in that he never had to set foot to ground there, but did his best to make sure the planes that flew were in the best shape to do so…

My dad’s family has been dirt poor farmers since back in the 1800’s… the furthest back I’ve been able to link my family is to a Capt John Sikes of the Boston Militia during the 1760’s (or so my cousin’s sources say)… So I guess there has been some sort of military tradition in my family since the beginnings of the United States of America…

To come to my point, He acquired an M1 Carbine back in his “Nam days” and it was his connection to his time in the service back during the Korean Conflict and the Viet-Nam War… He had put a custom “Sporter” stock on it to better fit his frame (he was 6’2”)…

When I was enlisted into the USAF in 1972, he gave me his M1 Carbine as a “carry-on of tradition”… I cherished that carbine… It was my goto gun for basically all my shooting, to include some javalina and small deer hunting in Arizona… along about 1976, my house was broken into and they took that carbine… I looked everywhere but it was never recovered… I was heartbroken that it was gone…

Well, here I am at 69 years old, my dad pasted-on back in 2002… One of my sons was a Targeting Systems Tech on a C-130 Gunship crew when he was in the USAF in the mid-1990’s… My other son was in Intelligence Operations in the Army in Afganistan and Iraq… Now one of my grandsons is off to college and my other grandson just joined the Navy…

I’ve been thinking about my dad’s legacy and I come back to his old M1 Carbine… Well… I just acquired a ‘60’s issue M1 Carbine from Plainfield Arms … I know, it’s a commercial built one not issued during WW2 or the Korean Conflict, but quite a few were issued to Other nations and to some of our police units and to the South Vietnamese Army during the 1960’s…

What I plan to do is to put a “Sporter” stock on it similar to the one my dad had on his and tune it up to use as my “around the farm” critter buster… and eventually give it to one of my grandkids as a continuance of the “family heritage” heirloom…

I’ve been collecting a few guns in my life… many “treasures” that have come and gone (very reluctantly) but the one that breaks my heart was the M1 Carbine that my dad had… this one will only leave my hands one way… to one of my family when my time is up…

And a good decision.

That’s some neat history. Sorry to hear of the loss of the original one, but now you’re able to make one your own and create new history as well as a legacy. Do you load for the Carbine? I bought a big pile of 110 fmj bullets awhile back and I’d be glad to send some your way if it would help to feed the new family tradition.

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https://facebook.com/M2bKydex/

I wish I still did... about three years ago I had to go under the knife for blood vessel surgery in Texas to correct blockages going to my head... I had to relocate for a year to Texas to do so... the cost was enough that I had to sell quite a few of my "possessions" to cover the expense... to include my reloading equipment... so sadly today I do not have the capability to reload ammo... thanks for the offer... I really appreciate it... save it for a time that you can use it... you never know...

I wrote the above story cause I feel very "mortal" these days...

Don, thanks for sharing your story. Sad that you lost your Dad's but it sounds like you have a good plan. If you are interested, I have a thumbhole stock for the M1 Carbine that needs to be fitted and finished. One of those things I'll never get around to doing.

Thanks for the offer...

I have a custom "sporter" stock with cheek-pad just like the one my dad had that I had picked up along the way to do a build up when I got the chance... it's been sitting around for a while... just needed something to put in it... I did pick up a Chiappa M1-9 (9mm)which is a M1 style carbine but it wont quite fit the stock without some modifications to the stock.. (I always wanted a 9mm carbine that looked better than a Hi-Point and not as cumbersome as a AR conversion)... so now I have an M1 in 9mm and an M1 original .30 carbine...

NT