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[Sgt. Boghots]

Last Thursday night, I posted in Edged Weapon reference section about a knife I've been hoping to acquire for several years.

It is now in my collection, and today I spent some time taking pictures. - The 89 year old veteran I've obtained it from was an army staff sergeant, primarily working on and with early Sikorsky helicopters in the Pacific, aboard the SS General Russell. They wore navy working uniforms aboard ship, complete with white hats, but were still members of the USAAF.

Here's a picture of him in the Pacific, just prior to operations in the Philippines:



The veteran acquired the knife from an injured paratrooper brought to medical aid by one of their two Sikorsky's. His recollection is that the trooper was a member of the 503rd RCT. There is what appears to be an initial P 1322 on the back of the canvas belt loop.

The knife and scabbard are depicted in the following pictures. Aside from lightly wiping the grime off of the blade with Hoppe's #9 and a soft rag, I'm going to do no further cleaning whatsoever.

The blade appears to be an unmarked M3 style, which measures approx. 1/16th inch shorter than a standard M3, from crossguard to tip.