Jump to content

My Favorite M2 Switchblade


Allan H.
 Share

Recommended Posts

I have been collecting militaria since I was about ten years old, but I got interested in airborne when I was in 8th grade, thanks to a very special teacher of mine- Sherman Oyler. Sherm was a paratrooper in the 502nd PIR of the 101st Airborne Division and he made jumps into Normandy and into the Netherlands during the war.

 

Sherm was a real character and one of the things he liked to do was to dress up in his jump suit and jump off his desk when we got to the WWII portion of his American history class. Sherm and his wife Joyce allowed me to "adopt" them as grandparents and I got to spend a lot of time with them over the years up until their deaths.

 

One of the most precious items that I have is an M2 switchblade knife as issued to paratroopers during the war. Condition wise, this is the worst one that I have, but it has a better story than all of the others that I own. You see, this was a gift from Sherm many years ago.

 

The spring mechanism is out of the knife and there is pitting to the blade and the fittings. The bone handle is missing a piece here that safety lock and button are located and there is a small chip out of the back side grip as well. So, why would this be such a "great" knife? Well, here is the story.

 

On that night of nights, Private Oyler jumped from a plane over Normandy and found himself in a cow pasture with a German machine gun position in it as well. Oyler landed close to a hedgerow, so upon landing, he crawled up under the folliage so that he could get himself out of his parachute and into the fight. The German gun had been firing at him during his descent, so he was in a hurry to get out of the harness because he figured there would be a patrol looking for him soon.

 

The troopers had been instructed to cut themselves out of their harnesses as it would save them a lot of time and effort. The harnesses were tight and very difficult to get out of by normal means. Oyler pulled his M2 out of the throat pocket of his jump jacket and started to work on his harness. He cut the chest strap and then started on his leg straps. While he was cutting, he dropped his knife! he searched and searched for it, but could not find it anywhere. He finally gave up looking, finished getting out of his harness and proceeded on his airborne mission.

 

In June 1969, Sherman Oyler made his first return to Normandy for the 25th anniversary of the invasion. While he was there, he endeavered to find that pasture where he had landed. After hours of searching, he found that pasture. Sherm walked around the pasture and came to a spot that looked familiar to him. He pushed around on the hedgerow, which had another 25 years of growth on it, but found a small area that he could crawl into. As he was crawling down into the depression, he kicked something with his foot. He looked down and picked this knife up! Now, I cannot prove that this was Sherm's knife, but the story was compelling to me, and that is why I treasure it so.

 

Allan

post-151-1325270761.jpg

post-151-1325270785.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Irish Bird Dog
Here's the detailed look at some of the pitting.

 

 

Super story.....I for one want to believe it was your friends knife!..........how could it not be believed & who would challenge it.....thanks for sharing. You are very fortunate to have the privilege of knowing that man.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all for your comments. I posted this in honor of Sherm's birthday. Had he lived, he would have been 91years old, but he passed away in 1999. I miss him, but it puts a smile on my face to remember the man.

 

Allan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great knife and story. Did you get him to write the story and sign it? For something as interesting as that knife it should be documented.

Dick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wonderful story! Just read it to my twin grandkids. They really liked it. Both are into the militaria, and history. I'd tag it, and keep it with a copy of the story, and as much info about Mr. Oyler and his military service as you know. Thanks for posting. SKIP

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wonderful story! Just read it to my twin grandkids. They really liked it. Both are into the militaria, and history. I'd tag it, and keep it with a copy of the story, and as much info about Mr. Oyler and his military service as you know. Thanks for posting. SKIP

 

 

Allan: I, too, remember Sherm. He and I got to be great friends over the years. I introduced him to the Association of the U.S. Army local chapter. He really enjoyed it. Every year we would host the student Allied officers class from Fort Leavenworth for lunch when they came over to Topeka to learn about the State government. Sherm would wear his Class A uniform and stand at the door and welcome the students. They always seemed to enjoy seeing him in that 101st A/B uniform. I also used to take him to gun shows or militaria shows. He was a great guy.

 

Dallas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Corpsmancollector

Allan,

 

Thank you for taking the time to post this topic, it was a real gem to read. I'm sure we can all appreciate why the knife above holds such a special place in your collection; what a fascinating piece.

 

Mr Oyler sounded like one really great guy :thumbsup:

 

Thanks,

 

Will

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fantastic story and great knife. There is nothing like holding a piece of history. It is always a pleasure reading stories about our WWII vets, there is getting to be less of them these days to be able relate their tales first hand.

 

Thanks for sharing,

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Amazing account Allan, I can fully understand why this M2 means so much to you, a wonderful and historic artifact. Regards, Clive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

I'm bringing this topic back up this morning as it would have been Sherman Oyler's 95th birthday today if he were still living. I miss him every day. This is one of the best pieces I have ever gotten from any veteran.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Allan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Patchcollector

Did you get him to write the story and sign it? For something as interesting as that knife it should be documented.

 

 

Good idea and even better would be to get the story from him on video(were he still was with us).With DV cams so abundant and relatively cheap,I would recommend making videos of Vets' sharing their memories,whether there is an artifact to go along with the story or not.

 

Here is a link to a Government program that has "kits" for documenting Vets' stories.They can then be submitted for inclusion into the Veterans History Project.

 

https://www.loc.gov/vets/

 

 

Here is some info from the site:

 

The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

 

 

The Project collects first-hand accounts of 
U.S. Veterans from the following wars:

• World War, 1914-1918

• World War, 1939-1945

• Cold War

• Korean War, 1950-1953

• Vietnam War, 1961-1975

• Grenada--History--American Invasion, 1983

• Panama--History--American Invasion, 1989

• Operation Restore Hope, 1992-1993

• Persian Gulf War, 1991

• United Nations Operation in Somalia

• Haiti--History--American intervention, 1994-1995

• Operation Allied Force, 1999

• Peacekeeping forces--Bosnia and Hercegovina

• Operation Joint Guardian, 1999-

• War on Terrorism, 2001-2009

• Afghan War, 2001-

• Iraq War, 2003-2011

In addition, those U.S. citizen civilians who were actively involved in supporting war efforts (such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers, etc.) are also invited to share their valuable stories.

How did the Veterans History Project start?

The United States Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000. The authorizing legislation (Public Law 106-380), sponsored by Representatives Ron Kind, Amo Houghton, and Steny Hoyer in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senators Max Cleland and Chuck Hagel in the U.S. Senate, received unanimous support and was signed into law by President William Jefferson Clinton on October 27, 2000.

AARP is the founding corporate sponsor of the Veterans History Project. In addition to providing initial major funding for the Project, AARP also spread the word to its legion of volunteers and almost 37 million members, encouraging them to get involved. Numerous state chapters have also been involved in the Project.

The Veterans History Project is made possible by the generous support of the United States Congress.

 

 

Nice knife and story BTW!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

Here is one that was definitely there on that day of days. Bringing this up in memory of the 72nd anniversary of D-Day and my friend, Sherman Oyler.

 

Allan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

I want to bring this one back up for the 74th anniversary of D-Day. This knife has definitely been there!

 

Allan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...