Last year I started a thread that had a jumble of information pertaining to this Springfield 1903 and sight covers. Since then, some of the pics in that thread were lost, while the remaining images were somehow resized and became useless. I decided to trash the other thread and create this new thread (organized and has updates).
The SRS hit for this Springfield Model 1903 goes back to a unit inventory that was taken on March 1, 1926. On February 2, 1927 (11 months after the inventory), most of the 4th Marine Regiment sailed from San Diego, CA to Shanghai, China aboard the USS Chaumont. By the summer of 1927, all of the 4th Marines were in China. This rifle was witness to the start of the Chinese Civil War in 1927 and probably traveled throughout the country. It may also have been used in the shooting matches, such as the one in which Gunner Orr won a set presentation sight covers (pics and info on these are in the next post). In order to stay competitive in these interservice matches, the 4th Regiment drilled/tapped their rifles for Lyman 48 sights (I have these archival records, but I've been asked not to share them). This rifle is drilled/tapped on the right side of the rear bridge, which matches records for the rifles from this unit (the stock is a replacement and isn't notched). If only this rifle could talk!
It's extremely impressive that this rifle still exists because the 4th Marine Regiment was completely decimated by the Japanese at the beginning of WWII (May 1942, Corregidor Island, Philippines). There were only a handful of surviving Marines and all of the Regiment's equipment had been captured or destroyed. I have no idea how this rifle survived, but it could have been purchased by the Marine it was issued to at the end of his enlistment, before WWII, and taken home with him. I visited Corregidor in 2016 and it was unbelievable! As a member of 1st BN 4th MAR (1/4), it was sort of a pilgrimage for me, and I was in complete awe seeing the ruins that were left on the island. As an Iraq War veteran, I can't even imagine fighting through those jungles and suffering those brutal losses. Those who came before me were truly great men and Marines! I highly recommend that you guys visit the island if you ever find yourself on that side of the world!
Same unit, but almost 100 years apart! This Springfield 1903 saw service in Shanghai, China in the 1920-30's and my Scout Sniper platoon had this actual IBA XM3 in Fallujah, Iraq in 2008-09! I purchased the XM3 from a CMP auction last year. The paint job looked familiar, but when I looked at the cover of the log book and saw my buddy's name, it all made sense. My platoon was issued 4 XM3's during our deployment and another one of our rifles actually came up for sale right around the time I visited Corregidor! I missed that auction, but this rifle popped up a few months later and I had to have it! I am truly honored to have both of these amazing rifles in my collection, they mean a great deal to me and this unique pair will never be split apart.
The first pic is my XM3 in a hut at Camp Baharia, just outside Fallujah, Iraq. The picture was taken by a sniper from a previous unit (the XM3's we had were regional assets and were left in country for the next unit to use). This is how the rifle looked when it was first issued to my friend and he immediately gave it a new paint job. The second pic is in my apartment, I just wanted to get a similar shot of the rifle.
The SRS hit for this Springfield Model 1903 goes back to a unit inventory that was taken on March 1, 1926. On February 2, 1927 (11 months after the inventory), most of the 4th Marine Regiment sailed from San Diego, CA to Shanghai, China aboard the USS Chaumont. By the summer of 1927, all of the 4th Marines were in China. This rifle was witness to the start of the Chinese Civil War in 1927 and probably traveled throughout the country. It may also have been used in the shooting matches, such as the one in which Gunner Orr won a set presentation sight covers (pics and info on these are in the next post). In order to stay competitive in these interservice matches, the 4th Regiment drilled/tapped their rifles for Lyman 48 sights (I have these archival records, but I've been asked not to share them). This rifle is drilled/tapped on the right side of the rear bridge, which matches records for the rifles from this unit (the stock is a replacement and isn't notched). If only this rifle could talk!
It's extremely impressive that this rifle still exists because the 4th Marine Regiment was completely decimated by the Japanese at the beginning of WWII (May 1942, Corregidor Island, Philippines). There were only a handful of surviving Marines and all of the Regiment's equipment had been captured or destroyed. I have no idea how this rifle survived, but it could have been purchased by the Marine it was issued to at the end of his enlistment, before WWII, and taken home with him. I visited Corregidor in 2016 and it was unbelievable! As a member of 1st BN 4th MAR (1/4), it was sort of a pilgrimage for me, and I was in complete awe seeing the ruins that were left on the island. As an Iraq War veteran, I can't even imagine fighting through those jungles and suffering those brutal losses. Those who came before me were truly great men and Marines! I highly recommend that you guys visit the island if you ever find yourself on that side of the world!
Same unit, but almost 100 years apart! This Springfield 1903 saw service in Shanghai, China in the 1920-30's and my Scout Sniper platoon had this actual IBA XM3 in Fallujah, Iraq in 2008-09! I purchased the XM3 from a CMP auction last year. The paint job looked familiar, but when I looked at the cover of the log book and saw my buddy's name, it all made sense. My platoon was issued 4 XM3's during our deployment and another one of our rifles actually came up for sale right around the time I visited Corregidor! I missed that auction, but this rifle popped up a few months later and I had to have it! I am truly honored to have both of these amazing rifles in my collection, they mean a great deal to me and this unique pair will never be split apart.
The first pic is my XM3 in a hut at Camp Baharia, just outside Fallujah, Iraq. The picture was taken by a sniper from a previous unit (the XM3's we had were regional assets and were left in country for the next unit to use). This is how the rifle looked when it was first issued to my friend and he immediately gave it a new paint job. The second pic is in my apartment, I just wanted to get a similar shot of the rifle.
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