Poppy donates his World War II service revolver - pics

[Kadie]

Former President George H.W. Bush takes a last look before donating his World War II service revolver to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Wednesday, July 18, 2007. (AP Photo/George Widman)


Former President George H.W. Bush holds his World War II service revolver before donating it to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Wednesday, July 18, 2007. At right is the center's president and CEO, Joseph Torcella.(AP Photo/George Widman)


Former President George H.W. Bush lets six-year-old Harrison Malone, of Media, Pa., hold his World War II service revolver before donating it to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Wednesday, July 18, 2007. (AP Photo/George Widman)

[monmouth]

1. He's looking a little daffy these days, hand the child a gun, geez...

[liberaldemocrat7]

49. What about the airplane that Bush abandoned and left his crew to die in?

Will he have someone drag that up from Davy Jones locker and donate that too?

[hedgehog]

51. I'm no fan of George, but if you weren't there, I don't think you can comment

on what happened that day. Just remember, some arm chair theorists blame JFK for the sinking of PT 109.

[Richard Steele]

60. It's the others who WERE there whose comments I rely upon.

They saw no reason to bail out.

[Kutjara]

2. Pops looks more like Conan O'Brien every day. n/t

[JTG of the PRB]

50. I will NOT tolerate such unfair slander against Conan O'Brien!

For God's sake, the man is Irish! He can't defend his wherewithal! Have a little heart!

[bluedog]

3. what BS..........hand the kid a gun

[Lars39]

4. Why was he allowed to keep it?

Was that standard for WWII, to be able to keep your weapon?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

7. Good question...

Doesn't seem likely.

[rsdsharp]

8. No. Unless a weapon had been listed as having been lost in combat,

and many were (either legitimately or otherwise) the person to whom the weapon had been listed either turned it in, or was charged for the value of the weapon, usually with the amount deducted from their mustering out pay.

I have no idea what Poppy did, but it's obvious from the pictures he has no idea how to handle the revolver. In one picture he points it right at the museum guy, and then of course, he ands to a child.

[Captain Hilts]

14. No one wants to see a navy man handling a firearm. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. My hubby is retired navy and he handles it fine thank you

;-)

[Captain Hilts]

36. Not, according to the marines.....nt

[BrotherBuzz]

42. Are those the same Marines that tell me....

they won the war in Vietnam, only to have the Air Force, Army, and Navy lose it?

:hide:

[Captain Hilts]

43. Actually, the Marines knew it was a losing prospect back in '62. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

52. Ah that rivalry, I see

well then, let me remind you... Marines are part of the Department of the Navy, and are not good enogh to get their own Corpsmen

:-)

I think we can drop the mudslinging now.... friendly as it may be

[awoke_in_2003]

57. "Marines are part of the Department of the Navy"

That's right, they are the Men's department of the Navy :)

[Ian David]

39. He handed the country over to Shrub. What's to stop him from giving a gun to a child? n/t

[Nevernose]

48. Officially? no. UNofficially? Lots of people did.

My grandfather was known to wake up fifty years after the Battle of the Bulge and go for his Colt .45 officer's sidearm he kept in the nightstand, screaming about "Panzers!"

He didn't talk about it much, or practically EVER for that matter, but he occaionally screamed about it during the night-terrors. Occasionally he'd tell me to turn of a WWII movie, and he quite frequently said, "Yeah, Blood-and-Guts Patton. His guts, and OUR blood."

When he died we discovered not only the antique arsenal we knew about, but shit we hadn't even dreamed of. The bomb squad had to come out and diffuse 50+ year-old grenades, mortar rounds, and tank shells (and to think I used to play with 50 year old live cannon rounds when I was a kid... ).

Since then I've known quite a few people whose parents/grandparents kept stuff from the war.

Now that I think about it: my stepbrother and I used to shoot each other with sharpened chopsticks fired from captured VC crossbows...

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Looks like he's at the drooling stage made popular by his predecessor.

[LiberalFighter]

6. I hope the gun ends up lost and then destroyed

[slackmaster]

11. It's a piece of history

I wish I had it in my collection.

[LiberalFighter]

41. Anything of the Bush family is better off being destroyed

That would make any other firearms worth more.

[Parche]

9. GB

Why did the USS Finback have to rescue you????????????????????????? :mad: :mad: :mad:

[KansDem]

20. "Never get out of the boat"

...or raft in this case.

[Ian David]

10. And this is the gun...

"And this is the gun I used to hold the rest of my plane's crew at bay, while I selfishly abandoned them all to a fiery death.




"Go ahead, kid. Do it. Do it now. If you knew how badly my son had screwed-up, you'd know you were doing me a favor. Aim HIGHER, you idiot."

[Kingshakabobo]

26. Hilarious! n/t

[Jim Warren]

33. "and this is also the gun

I told the three "tramps" on the grassy knoll that I use on them if they fucked up".

[Marr]

12. Never fired, only dropped once.

[Captain Hilts]

13. Why would the National Constitution Center want it? nt

[Ian David]

40. Maybe because the Iranians didn't want to exchange a hostage for it? n/t

[guitar man]

15. damn

I was hoping he was donating it to junior* :(

[Squatch]

16. Despite what opinions you may hold of him, this is actually pretty cool

Bush 41 *is* and always will be a part of our history, and so that future generations can fully appreciate his presidency, it's important that items such as this are archived.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. Yeah, he'll always be there.

We'll never get the stain out.

[Squatch]

19. Well, our history has had its share of mediocre presidencies

but they *all* add to the sum of what this country has become.

[Solly Mack]

17. that family should be shunned in all ways

[partylessinOhio]

21. Is Poppy deranged? I know nothing about guns but I don't think he is

handling the gun properly with safety in mind.

Why was HE permitted to keep his service revolver?

Like father like son, it is apparent that both of them aren't wrapped too tight. To think that this country put them both in the presidency is really scary.

:scared:

[jmowreader]

45. Don't worry. It won't go off.

See that big round thing hanging off the side of the gun? That's the CYLINDER.

On a revolver, the cylinder holds the ammunition. If it's hanging off the side of the gun, the gun cannot fire even if he dropped it.

Why was he allowed to keep his service revolver? I don't know. Maybe he was given the gun by his supply sergeant, told how to play "Bush Roulette" (which is just like Russian roulette, except with five rounds instead of one)...and the supply sergeant was so astounded that he actually hit the empty chamber, he gave Poppy the gun as a prize.

[emilyg]

22. Damn - I was so hoping he'd give it to Jr.

[BringEmOn]

23. While you're at it, release yours, and Ronnie's, presidential papers.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

24. Crude Caption Alert!

"Former President George Bush after contemplating the Bush legacy"

[dflprincess]

27. I had pretty much the same thought when I saw that picture

but couldn't come up with a clever caption. Though I did think of "Me or junior?"

[BringEmOn]

25. Is that the gun Hinckley used to shoot Reagan?

Poppy seems to have a habit of sending a boy to do a man's job.

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. Ok weren't they issued oh I don't know .45

or perhaps pilots got .38 caliber

Also a kid holding a revolver turns my stomach

[Jed Dilligan]

30. What kind of gun is that?

I thought the WWII era sidearm was the 1911 Colt 45 automatic?

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. That was my thoght, that is a '38

[Captain Hilts]

37. I think they used a slightly smaller weapon because of the way they were often carried...

or rather, worn by pilots, not as a sidearm, but often in a flight jacket pocket.

[nadinbrzezinski]

53. Photos I have seen from the period they were .45

but we can always do a quick web search

On edit

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_2001_Annual/ai_63922925/pg_3

They used both

[Sanctified]

38. Any Chance it was not military issue but his own personal?

That may also explain why he still had it after the war.

[RamboLiberal]

54. Pilots up to the Vietnam era often carried a 38 revolver

usually in a shoulder or chest holster strapped over their life vest. As a gun owner I think one reason might be that the revolver is usually more likely to function when dirty, wet, salt water, etc than the semi-auto .45

I've seen a lot of pictures of pilots, especially Navy and Marine with .38 revolvers strapped in a holster to their chest.

[Jed Dilligan]

56. Thanks for the info

It always makes sense to rely on the simpler machine in rougher conditions.

[stevedeshazer]

31. Who the hell cuts his hair? Nerds R Us?

Was that the heat he was packin' when he bailed out on his crew?

[kskiska]

32. Maybe Junior will hand over Saddam Hussein's pistol

He's got it framed in his office, and probably takes it out to play with on occasion.

[peekaloo]

35. Bu$h legacy: Half cocked and fully loaded.

[awoke_in_2003]

59. Damn,

almost ruined a monitor with that one.

[dysfunctional press]

44. i wonder if he used the gun to shoot his way past his crewmates to bail out?

nt

[Rex]

46. Wow, he looks insane.

[Robeson]

47. The secrets that guy is going to take to the grave....

...could fill a library. Hell, ten libraries.

[Canuckistanian]

55. I'm in favor of disarming Bush family members

In fact, it should be made national policy.

[ConsAreLiars]

58. Too bad he still doesn't have the parachute he used

when he abandoned his two "buddies" in that plane and sent them to their deaths.