I don't know the circumstances of the sale and the auction co. will not give out any family info. we checked with them first.  I also considered that there might be at the very least a purple heart also in the sale but the auction said there was nothing else that was not in the auction. I suspect some family member got it when the parents of Pfc. Swanson passed away and sadly both the brother and sister are gone too now. A nephew and a niece were mentioned by name in an obituary but they too are deceased.  So...........  What to do now???   I think I'll keep it for now until I give up all hope of finding someone in the family who might appreciate it. Thanks for trying to help.     Steve

Looking for a good source to replace a missing binocular strap. Also, were the original straps brown or black leather? 

I have the barrel and barrel ring from a carbine that was found in the Sunlight Basin in WY. SERIAL NUMBER 2195. Friend’s father in law found it leaning against a tree while elk hunting in the 70’s or80’s. Bad rusted but after 25 years I finally put it together with old spare parts to have a wall hanger. 

Tom,   The DUI (Distinctive Unit Insignia) on the lapel is for the 602nd AAA Battalion.   The unit was established at Fort Bliss, Texas in 1942 as 1st Bn 602nd CA (Coast Artillery) AA (Anti-Aircraft). It was briefly assigned to the AAA Command of the Eastern Defense Command in New York, before being shipped overseas to Britain, then it went on to France and then Germany in 1944.   The unit used 90mm AA guns    The unit was involved in the Defense of Paris and Antwerp and the Battle of Bulge. During the Battle of the Bulge the units guns were pressed into service in the anti-tank role and were deployed around Stavelot, Spa and Stoumont. The commander was LTC Blair C. Forbes.   There is a good FACEBOOK group for the 602nd AAA unit..   The photo indicates the Soldier was a Military Policeman assigned to the unit and thus wore the DUI for the unit while the unit was based in New York.    Leigh         

. Hi Johan,   a good comment and they are great Jeeps as you say, and as I often say without the production of the Hotchkiss Jeeps and all the spare parts they produced to maintain the Jeeps then there would be less wartime Jeeps on the road as many have used Hotchkiss spares to keep wartime ones running.   There were also a number of improvement modifications they made to the parts they produced including to the wartime transmission parts etc.  And again all virtually interchangeable with wartime Jeeps except the upgraded 24 volt parts they introduced.    Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 30  2O25.    ….

All I see are captain's bars, not 1st lieutenant's on that first coat. A wound chevron would be on the right seleve. When the gold-colored chevron is on the left sleeve, it represents 6 months of service in the Zone of Operations. The red chevron above it is for honorable discharge. Crossed rifles is for Infantry. 

Any idea of who the maker of this 1816 is?

Sad as the Hotchkiss M201 is a fantastic Jeep in its own right.... Here's one that belongs to a friend, restored to what it really is, a post-WW2 French made Jeep....    

BayonetM16 regarding post #4.  The "V" shaped chevron mark on Milpar M7s started with the Colt marked Milpar M7 and continued throughout the first contract. Ralph Cobb suggests that due to the number of these chevrons found on Milpars M7s, that the chevron may have continued to be used for some time afterwards.  As to the chevron being found on the 1968-69 M7s, I don't think you'll ever find one.  By that time, it was a little late in the game to find a chevron.    As to the curved runnout on Milpar M7s,   When I mentioned in post #2 that this M7 was made during the Vietnam era, that's not necessarily saying it was used specifically in the Vietnam war.  However, tracking shipments and transfers of bayonets from one Base to another, redirecting of supplies etc. is hard to track. In my opinion, there could have been many of these Milpar M7s with the curved runnouts actually used by troops in Vietnam.   The pictures below are of a Milpar/Colt M7. Marv By the way, I don't mind being corrected on any of this information...feel free.

It has the same "edged" clip keeper as the LINCLOE ammo pouch. Tim