Bolo Mauser Broomhandle marked Shanghai Police

[kanemono]

This Bolo Mauser with stock and Chinese dagger were both brought home by Petty Officer Third Class George Pradarits Jr. who was assigned to the destroyer USS Waller for duty with the Yangtze River Patrol Force. Waller entered Shanghai with the first allied naval units on September 19, 1945. Two weeks later, off the China coast, Waller single-handedly immobilized a Japanese suicide boat garrison and assisted Chinese authorities in disarming 2,700 former enemy soldiers near the city of Tringhai. The "Kamikaze" unit surrendered its arms to a Waller landing force of 21 men who kept the Japanese busy all night carrying ammunition and removing explosive charges from 87 suicide boats. A few days later, on October 9, 1945 Waller struck a mine while returning to Shanghai in the Yangtze River. Twenty-two men were injured, including Pradarits who suffered a broken arm, the ship received structural damage that required dry-docking in Shanghai. George spent quite a bit of time in Shanghai while the Waller was being repaired. This Bolo Mauser with a Chinese holster stock is marked to the Shanghai Police Force in Chinese on the left side of the barrel extension. The dagger is a Nationalist Chinese officers dagger with extensive enamel decoration. George told me that the Bolo Mauser was part of the cache of weapons captured from the Japanese "Kamikaze" unit. He said the Captain of the Waller allowed sailors to liberate souvenirs from the pile of captured weapons.

[kanemono]

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[kanemono]

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[Old Marine]

Those are spectacular bring backs. Thanks for posting them.

[268th C.A.]

Wow! No kidding! Thats one nice little group, I wonder how he liberated that! If it could talk....Nice post!

[easterneagle87]

Very nice dagger!!

[11thcavsniper]

What a score. Both the Mauser and the Dagger are fabulous! Then everything else that came with it. Thanks for sharing.

[Dirk]

Very nice!

[beerdragon54]

This is freaking awesome!!

 

 

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[Nkomo]

Stellar!

[Garandomatic]

Lovely

[The Meatcan]

Major score! Fantastic items.

Terry

[Ronnie]

Very nice grouping.

Ronnie

[katieony]

What a great group...thank you for sharing the images and story!

[Paulruss]

Outstanding!

[badash5946]

Absolutely incredible as well as historical grouping. Museum worthy.