. And now back to the old days . . . . . .   A few forum members have added likes before when I have mentioned vintage scooters.  As I have mentioned before I was a MOD scooter owner back in 1966 / 67 / 68, and I have had these scooter magazines sat around in a container dating back to then.  How many time have I looked at them, re-read them, opened them,  there comes a time when we should pass things on or throw away.   A French friend is heavily into the retro UK MOD period and owns around eight 1960's / 70's scooters, so I will be passing the magazines on to him, he has the choice to look through them, read them or throw them away, or maybe he might pass them on to other friends owning  scooters.  If nothing else some of the prices shown for scooters are of interest, and like many other things have increased in prices since then.    Back in the 1980's I passed on my MOD mohair suits and clothing to my two young nephews who were interested in MOD's around that time.  In the second photo there is mention of an SX200cc for £165, I believe a reconditioned one of these if found are selling around £12,000 / £15,000, hindsight is lovely. !!!!!!!!                       Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 30  2O25.    ….

Interesting! I assume it wasn't loaded when found.  Can you read the serial number completely? That would allow you to find out much more about it. Guns found in remote areas  are always interesting and you have a good looking wall hanger now. Thanks for showing this.     Steve

CrazyCollector, All Eickhorn M7 bayonets with the Colt rollmark which says Hartford, Conn, and includes "Made in W. Germany",  were made in In West Germany.  Eickhorn acquired the Colt License to make these bayonets for the German army, some of which were made with a "half guard" to fit the G-3 rifle and the military equivalent (I forgot the name).  Eickhorn went in and out of business several times throughout the decades. They continued to make Colt marked M7 bayonets mostly for commercial use.    William Humes states that Eickhorn made some M7 bayonets for the U.S. military in the early-mid 1960s.     With no documentation at all, just observational analysis, I believe I may have one of those. It is NOT maker marked. There are many unanswered questions about this M7.  Here are the pics. Marv 

USAF / 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Triple Nickel". Udorn RTAFB, Thailand Feb-Jul 1966 / 1968-1974. F-4C/D "Phantom II". Japanese-made "Vulcan".

Edward,   This may have also been brought to your attention that if you had not already considered reaching out to the National Archives (NARA) to get the records as a relative/NOK, you may be able to get replacement medals for them as well, free of charge.   Leigh  

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.    ….