WWII Veteran 'Bring Backs' - How Allied Troops Obtained Axis Trophy Guns 

As a kid back in the 60s' , the neighbor guy showed me his Luger brought back to the states. He said - "I'm not going to tell you any bullshit war stories . I traded 3 packs of cigarettes for this pistol". Thanks Dr. Felton for another excellent slice of history.

My dad, a WWII veteran, who was in the 8th Army 11th division in the Pacific brought back a Jap rifle and bayonet with a Samurai sword. Played with them when I was a kid,then when I was 19 bought the 7.7mm ammo to shoot the rifle. Great shooting rifle by the way. My dad passed away last year at the age of 94 and was buried with full military honors. My whole life I couldn't wait to have them,, but now I would trade them back in a heart beat to have him back.

As for Soviets and "bring backs," I recently saw a video of Wagner Groups leader in an old mine full of weapons from WWII. Hundreds of thousands of German and Soviet WWII weapons are stored in abandoned mines and military caches, along with ammo as well. Another great subject and video, Dr. Felton.

I grew up seeing SS souvenirs along with arms collected by my father during WW2. He told me he had 2 duffel bags stuffed with rifles, and pistols, but he also had a MP40 in a black leather satchel along with SS knives and daggers. I saw these on rare occasions growing up along with the stories for some of them. When I came home from the service on leave 1978, I went into the garage and opened the black leather bag and took out the MP40. I was not supposed to be snooping but I could not help myself. It was intact with a full mag and the bolt was back. I had training on the grease gun being a tanker in the Army and knew this weapon was ready to go. Needless to say my dad came in the door and caught me and asked for me to put it back. His story was one that I remember as he had reported after the war to the FBI that he had the weapon and had attempted to demil it by working over the firing pin but was not able to. The ATF was not an agency yet and he never heard back from the FBI. He was a doctor in good standing and an upstanding citizen and nothing came of it. He sold most of the trophies to a museum after I had discovered the MP40 and that was the last I saw of those Hitler youth and SS knives along with an officers sword. He was in the 103rd division, 409th Regiment, 1st Battalion, Company D from June 44 to July 45, Dr. Loy L. Hudson and they had captured many SS, he said, "If I did not take these items the next guy would have". The Luger pistol he found in France under a seat of a wagon and I still have it. Unfired since 1945 and with original ammunition still in the magazines. All matching serial numbers and spotless condition. Thank you Dr. Felton for the memory kick in the pants. All of this came rushing back from decades ago..

My dad, 5th Army, buried a case of Lugers wrapped in cosmoline near some railroad tracks in Italy but never had the chance to return for them.

I've seen many war trophies at gun shows and in personal collections, the best I've heard of is an Okinawa veteran brought his BAR home, and theirs the story of the old woman bringing a fully functional STG44 to a police gun buy back that was her husbands and the police had it put in a museum rather than destroyed.

My dad who fought in the Pacific didn't have a single souvenir, he wanted to forget the war and rarely even talked about it. Probably the most interesting WW2 piece in my collection was purchased directly from the Gettysburg Museum in Pennsylvania, it's a sterling silver "AH" monogrammed oyster fork that has solid provenance as having been liberated from the basement under Hitler's bombed out residence in Munich by a US medical Corps Captain. It was part of a personalized cutlery set that was given to the Fuhrer for his 50th birthday in 1939 by Albert Speer.

My shooting partner's take home gun from WWII was a Holland and Holland shotgun his grandfather found in a manner house turned nazi HQ. It was a take down model and he stuffed the stock in his coat and the barrel down a pant leg and tried to walk as normally as possible out. He was a prolific trap shooter and bird hunter and immediately knew what it was when he picked it up. It's a gorgeous piece.

My grandfather brought a Beretta M1935 home from N. Africa, which he sold to another GI who had never left the states for $65, upon returning. My neighbor has quite a few souvenirs that his grandfather bought back from the Pacific. An NCO sword, two Arisaka`s and bayonets. There are probably more Lugers in America than Germany at this point.

One of my neighbors was in Pattons army also and he did post-war garrison. He brought back some Lugers, Walther P38s and two k98 rifles and one of my favorite was the K43 he brought back. One of his unit mates brought back an MP-40 and when I met him one time at the reunion, he stated that he was visited by a federal agency who told him about the NFA and that he needed to pay a $200 tax for it. Being he was flush with cash, he handed it to them and they did the paperwork for him. Last, I heard, his daughter sold it to a dealer in Arizona in the late 90's. My neighbor when he passed, his wife gave me one of the K98 and one of the Walther P38s. Thanks for doing this video. RIP Dr. Danner my next door neighbor and WWII veteran.

There was a case a few years ago here in australia when someone handed in a German WW1 artillery Luger with all the kit to go with it in mint condition, when the public found out that it would be destroyed with all other amnesty guns there was a mild uproar and thankfully it was put into a museum

Family friend of mine had a sword captured from the Japanese. They actually had its engravings translated, and contacted the family of the original owner, travelled to Japan and returned the sword. I believe this family is still in contact with the Japanese family. I don’t remember the specifics, but it’s a touching story.

Yep…my father in law, a Lt.Col. in Patton’s 3rd Army, brought back pistols, swords, daggers and two rifles. One of the rifles was taken off a 14 year old Hitler Youth who had put a bullet through the windshield of his jeep during the last week of the war. His soldiers wanted to shoot the kid but he would not allow it. Instead after disarming him, they gave him a spanking and turned him loose.

As a kid here in the U.S. one of our neighbors let us kids wear German uniforms /w helmets and deactivated MP40’s. He did this so we could play properly (he was a collector) as the WW2 U.S. gear was readily available from the “army surplus” store. Us kids ran around the neighborhood dressed as U.S. and German army. It was great fun.

My father served as a PT Boat skipper in the Philippines towards the end of WWII. In fact, he was the last skipper of his boat. Because almost all of the PT boats were scuttled and/or burned after VJ day, including his, my dad allowed the crew to take any souvenirs from the boat. As the last skipper of the boat, he appropriated the wheel, its national ensign (flag) and a Bureau of Ships US Navy comparing watch made by the Hamilton watch company. He boxed those items and sent them to our hometown in Missouri. All arrived at our family's home at the time. They were eventually passed on to me, his oldest son and the only one of his eight children who served in the US military (Marine Corps). He also procured a Type 38 Japanese bolt-action rifle. Like most of those captured rifles, the Japanese POW who had surrendered it defaced the chrysanthemum (flower) in an effort to save face. The chrysanthemum was the symbol of the Japanese emperor and it was stamped on all Japanese weapons to show that the weapon was was manufactured for the Imperial Japanese Army and therefore belonged to the emperor. He wrapped the rifle in brown paper and wrote an address on it. It, too, arrived safely at its destination in Missouri about three weeks later. I still have the rifle as well.

I knew a student in high school whose dad brought back a Thompson SMG and an MP40 as well as P08 Luger pistols. In Vietnam they brought back M14s, M16s grenades, AK47s, and Tokarev pistols from what I saw here in California. Thank you Dr. Felton for another very informative presentation.

It still goes on to this day. One Vietnam vet I worked with in the USA, got an M16 back from Saigon, broken down and smuggled thru in HI FI stero components and mailed back to the US. The Gulf War,there was stuff coming back in the 1990s too. Give people an incentive,enough time to figure out how to game the system and fancy their chances ,and they will bring stuff home.Long may it continue!!!

My moms cousin brought home a Luger, an SS uniform, several flags, a set of silverware from an SS officers training school, and a suit of medieval armor! He must of had his own troop transport home. 😅

My late uncle Griff served in the 2nd AIF in New Guinea during WW2. He brought back a samurai sword. The one thing he, along with his brothers, one of which was my late father, & ALL soldiers brought back was the one souvenir they definitely didn’t want… PTSD. 😢 Lest We Forget….

My Father bought with him a P38 pistol, a German dagger reading "Deutschland Über Alles", a German helmet and a variety of German Army Veterinary instruments made by Hauptner. He had been in the US Army Veterinary Corps, helping to buy, issue and care for pack mules by the thousand in Africa, Italy, France and Germany. He kicked himself for not bringing back some German hunting rifles or shotguns which were readily available instead of the veterinary instruments.

In Yugoslavia, my grandad was a partisan fighter and later a JNA officer. He used his personal, captured Radom Vis 35 as his personal sidearm until retirement in the early 1980s. He was issued a carry permit by the army for it. His dad, did however, return a captured MP40, at some point.

My Uncle openly admitted to picking all his weapons from those piled in town centers by German citizens. They were told they had to "surrender them, or else you will regret it." He mailed three foot lockers back. Only one wasn't stolen in transit. In that footlocker were at least a K98k, Kar 98, a Luger, a P38, and a Browning Trombone .22 rifle.

My family that was active during World War II was all Air Force so they never had a chance for any veteran bring backs like small arms. But today I am a collector and own several pieces such as an all matching Luger and non-import marked K98. I’m hunting for a G43 and I hope to get a reproduction FG42 one day. One of my best friends does have a veteran bring back Luger though, from the story I was told his grandfather took it off an officer he killed.

When clearing out my Grandfather's garage following his death, we found a Walther P38 in a biscuit tin with spare magazine and 20 rounds of 9x19.He was a Royal Marine and served in Africa, Italy and the Netherlands during WW2. My uncle remembered seeing it when he was a boy and asking my Grandad how he got it. My Grandad gave him a long look and said "You don't ask a man a question like that."

I have a friend who served during the Falklands war. He and his buddy collected a number of Argentinian Colt 45 1911 pistols as souvenirs. As they were heading towards the Isle of Wight, an officer informed them all of a last minute inspection of contraband. In a panic my friend threw his souvenirs overboard. To his fury the inspection never went ahead. He did spend a number of years inquiring about obtaining some diving equipment but never followed through.

Mark's videos is one of the things that got me into collecting ww1 and 2 firearms, now I have almost 2 dozen lugers, and nearly everything else now. I even have a lufwaffe m30 survival drilling rifle!!!😁😁 if only they could talk. I'm a younger guy and I really wish more of my generation would appreciate history and videos like these.

My dad had a story about a guy in his unit who claimed he was going to get rich selling the souvenirs he sent home. My dad and the others talked him out of mailing a hand grenade that no one knew how to disarm. The guy died when he went out into a minefield in search of more stuff.

A couple years back, my cousin and I were helping his in-laws move into a condo. On the last haul, we were emptying the SUV one last time and wrapped up in the footwell was an Arisaka rifle.

Thanks Mark. This brings back memories. My dad returned from the European theatre with a Walther P38 I think, and a Beretta M1934. Unfortunately for me, both of these were, I believe, stolen by my eldest brother shortly before our father died from cancer. Being an MP who had occasion to work undercover in the post war period. He had a shoulder holster for the Beretta, which I assume helped him pull off his guise of being a well dressed hoodlum. As he infiltrated counterfeiting gangs lurking around Frankfurt between 1955-1958. I saw him pull out that pistole two times and only when he was ready for action. Sadly he passed away before I grew old enough to hold mature conversations with him about his work as an MP. I recommend that everybody question their parents, and grandparents, and gather as much first hand accounting of their lives as you can before their gone. All the best to you!

My grandfather was an officer in the French Army, he brought back home a lot of german stuff... Medals, swords, 2 rifles, an MP40, bayonets, knives, some SS memorabilia as well, some helmets, flags, etc... He would keep them in his cellar and sometimes he would show us something. When he died my dad inherited it all but he sold almost everything... I still got some items like plates, forks, knives taken from the Kommandatur of Beauvais, a beautiful Luftwaffe knife, a nice SS belt buckle and a coat hanger "found" in Pforzheim with a stamped swastika on the rear 😊

I'm enjoying all the comments as much as the video! My grandfather was in the 8th Air Force and had a duffle bag with pistols and other souvenirs that was unfortunately stolen during his train ride stateside. He also told me how you could buy lots of old German weapons at local hardware stores in the 50's and 60's for a few dollars. It's hard to believe now, but for many decades after the war, they didn't hold much value and weren't even seen as collectible. Hence why so many were sporterized or refinished.

Back in the 80's a classmate showed me a nice MP-40 in his duffel bag in our geology class that his grandfather had brought back from Europe. His family was dirt poor and he would use it to poach deer so his family could eat. He'd sneak up on a herd in the forest across from school at first light, pick a deer, give it a quick burst and note where it fell. Using the payphones by the cafeteria he'd call one of his brothers who'd come get it later in the day. I never felt unsafe with this student having that in school. Those times were just different.

A vet I knew was stationed in Seattle where his team passed mine detectors over barracks bags shipped home by GIs. A beep resulted in the lock being clipped and hundreds of weapons were retrieved. These were dumped in the bay (after the the CO took a pistol he liked). A vet from Europe told of shipping home some nice weapons. Only one made it past pilfering and Customs; a boar rifle "liberated" from Herman Goering's hunting lodge, not a military weapon. My wife's family has a NCO samurai sword brought back by their Marine dad.

My Dad never brought anything back to the uk from North Africa or Italy, he did try to bring a pair of Pearl handled Colt .45 (1911’s) he had traded in Korea , but stories of regular checks and threats of jail meant he dumped them in the sea on the way back to Japan. A close by neighbor passed away in the 70’s and he had a box under his bed with several Mills hand grenades , and a Webley revolver and ammo, I’m sure he would have had a custodial sentence if found out.

In the 1950s I had a friend who had a room in their basement he called "The Museum". My friend's dad was a medic in Europe in WWII. He told us when a building housing a natural history museum needed to be turned into a hospital, all the exhibits were simply thrown out the window. He crated up a lot of stuffed animals, stuffed birds, and minerals samples most of which had German labels on them and sent them home. He also had a pretty extensive collection of military stuff such as gas masks, Nazi flags, helmets, etc. No guns that I ever saw, however.

While living in Rhodesia in 1978 I got my hands on a remarkable WW2 trophy, a 1928 A1 Thompson sub machine gun. It was fully functional and had two 20 round stick magazines. It was hand painted green and brown in a jury-rigged camouflage style. It did not have the forward pistol grip but had conventional furniture. Apparently this weapon had been used in Burma, so the story went and brought back to Rhodesia. I had the gun beautifully re-blued and restored. A friendly gun dealer in Salisbury gave me a hand written note confirming that the weapon was ‘deactivated.’ I took the note to the Firearms registry office and got it registered. Later I acquired a 50 round drum for it from America. When I left Rhodesia I sold it to a friend and it is still in his collection.

My grandfather was a US Army officer stationed stateside during the Second World War. One of his duties was to process German POWs after they arrived to the states. My grandfather noticed one prisoner acting suspiciously so he called for assistance. Thankfully he did because the prisoner he was processing had smuggled in a Luger. My grandfather and his backup tackled and forcefully disarmed the prisoner. My grandfather kept the gun and it is still with the family.

My father brought back a Japanese Ariska rifle. Appeared to have been a late production model because it wasn't made all that well. This video reminded me of Lester in "Mchale's Navy" with his very extensive war souvenirs. He had weapons, uniforms, flags.....even a plane's wing.

I went to law school in Chicago with several Refusniks. One of them served (against his will) in a labour battalion in the Urals near Magnitogorsk. All day for months they inspected crates of German guns, G43s, K98s, Stg44s, MP 18/38/40s, and in how he described them Czech ZB26s or 30s. All day unpacking, inspect and greasing them, this was mid-80s.

My uncle Cliff managed to bring home a real live German woman - 5' 2" blonde hair and blue eyes - in '46. She was pretty high caliber. And they had my cousin hidden inside her!

Some of my most prized possessions are trophies that family members brought back from the war. A T99 Arisaka captured during the Aleutian Campaign, three Japanese battle flags brought back from the pacific, a Mauser M1914 pistol liberated from an elderly Volksturmm member, and a Nazi flag signed by the squad of American tankers that captured it. I believe the knowing the circumstances behind how the items made their way back to the US is just as important as the item itself. The stories and history give these inanimate objects life.

Dear Mark, my grandfather, a colonel in the Soviet army was fighting with the Japanese in 1945. He brought the Luger from that war. However, around 1960s weapon ownership laws were getting worse so we disposed of a gun in the nearest lake. Later on, there were several campaigns to collect unlegal guns in exchange for immunity in USSR. However, a lot of wartime trophies were still in the possession of veteran families. Thank you for your amazing stories.

... Love this one. Big love to all my cousins from American/commonwealth countrys 💕🇬🇧🇺🇸

Its thanks to these troops thst alot of historical items still exist. I bought an iron cross liberated from the Reichs Chancellery by a British soldier in July 1945. This was the earliest that most of the Western Allies were able to access central Berlin after the end of hostilities.

I’ve got a buddy whose grandfather passed away a few years back and was in the European theater during the war. They were going through his house and they found a crate a WWII grenades, I kid you not I saw it with my own eyes.

My grandfather used to own a Walther P38 that a friend’s father had picked off of a dead soldier. I still remember him showing it to me at a young age as I stared at it in complete awe.

Hey Mark, just a small thing. At 3:02, that is not a Kar98k, that is a G24(t), a substitute standard weapon often used by second line troops or early on by the SS, before they got more ready access to regular German weapons. Incidentally, my grandfather served in the Pacific but came back with a German Naval Dagger, his story being that he took the surrender of a German naval officer since he was the highest ranking officer present when the man arrived (1st Lt). We still have it.

As an American I'd just like to say that yes, some souvenirs are worth fighting for.

There was a military store and gun shop I would regularly visit in Toronto in the late 80s and they would regularly get bring back pistols . Usually brought in by the widows of vets who wanted the guns out of the house . Lots of rare and unusual firearms.

Ive been a bomb tech in a major American city for decades and have come across war souvenirs weekly during that time. Generally these items are found by family members when the vet passes. Grenades are the main item found but we have a museum full of bring backs collected including Japanese knee” mortars, vietnamese rpg launcher and mines. Crazy discoveries included a ww1 gas round and an ammo can filled with c4 and det cord. I would love to hear the stories of how they made it into a garage…

Your description of British troops coming home to be searched for weapons is spot on Mark. My father, and RAF Flight Sergeant came to the port of embarkation back to the UK and being in possession of a Luger was told of the trouble he would be in if caught with it back in Blighty promptly handed it in. Too honest by far was my dad!

My grandfather brought back two Mp44s with him to Canada. When he got off the train in Saskatoon he traded one straight up for a new car. He placed the other one under the drivers seat and, after driving to Victoria, sold the car and forgot to remove the rifle.

First World War trophies we had around the house while I was growing up included a Frankenstein helmet that took a glancing blow from a bullet, a Pickelstaube helmet with interchangeable ball and point, and a gas mask in a metal canister that in retrospect was probably pretty toxic. Over there! Over there!

Growing up in the 50's and 60's most, if not all, of my friends fathers had rifle or pistol bring backs.

My grandfather brought back a Type 99 Arisaka Paratroopers variant from the Pacific. It shoots real nice too it's a family heirloom. We also have the bayonet too.

Souvenirs brought home from wars has a long and honored tradition in the American military. Troops stationed in Germany would start asking about German WWII gear shortly after arriving.

My great grandfather brought back an SS officers dagger from the Battle Of The Bulge. Showed me the paperwork that allowed him to bring it back with him too.

My Dad's Uncle was a Marine Corps tanker and he brought home several Japanese flags, a pistol and a beautiful Katana. It was razor sharp and my cousins and I loved to take it down from the wall it was hanging on and run around with it, much to the annoyance of my Dad's Uncle.

I had a friend in the infantry, late 70s. who mailed an M72 disposable rocket launcher to his parents place. Wanted to fire it for his friends when he next had leave. His dad, Returned To Sender. Thinking, my son doesn’t live here. It sat in the mail room where it was finally discovered. He did a few weeks in closed custody. Never kicked him out. It just became another regimental legend.

Worked with a man back in the 70s that was a WW2 vet. He told me he brought a small dog back he found in Italy. A terrior of some sort. I asked him how he got him over here. Said he just took him on the ship and nobody cared. Upon arrival in New York he put him in his duffel bag and just walked unchecked right on through. The guy said he was an excellent squirrel dog.

Japanese bayonets are so common where I live because of all the WWII Pacific veterans than lived in my neighborhood. As a kid I would see them at garage sales all the time along side canteens and mess tins. Nobody was really interested in buying these things, they bought the Samurai swords but not so much the bayonets which could be had for just a few dollars. I bought once once and still have it, the old man who brought it back having served on Iwo Jima so it likely came from there.

I brought back 16 or so weapons from Kosovo as unit trophies. The paperwork took the whole 6 months tour, our unit was in charge of the Secure Weapons Storage Site at KFOR Main. What was regularly destroyed would break your heart. Each Mess got a weapon, each sub unit got 2 weapons SKS and AK47 mainly. I also got a nice MP5 Jugoslavian copy for my Battery. A nice slab sided MP40 and a 1917 DWM PO8 Luger which are now in a local museum here in Germany.

One of my great uncles served in Europe in the US Army 97th Infantry Division (allegedly responsible for firing the last shot in the ETO). The division was sent to the pacific in preparation for the invasion of Japan. While on their way the war ended. When he landed in Japan on occupation duty he was part of a group responsible for defacing and destroying Japanese firearms. According to him, every one of his group grabbed an Arisaka Type 99 and brought it back. I still have the Arisaka.

I think one of the more darker war trophies I've heard about were Japanese skulls sent home by US soldiers. I saw a post on reddit awhile ago from a guy who bought out a veterans estate, among the uniforms and other pieces was a human skull with the top sawn off and cigar resting notches filed into the skull walls, crazy to think he used that as an ash tray for all those years.

In the early 1970s, many wartime pistols were still common at gun shows, including nambu type 14's! These days, those sightings are pretty rare.

I still believe the STG-44 to be the most attractive looking assault rifle ever ! They are so cool

My grandfather was in the Royal Engineers during WW2. His home had several souvenirs. Above his fireplace he had a couple of spent British mortar shells, a oil painting in his dining room he took from a house in Germany and a massive brass Nazi eagle on top of a cabinet. That’s what was visible, he had stuff stashed all over his house. He also snuck back a Beretta pistol he acquired whilst in North Africa. Funny story to that is when he came home on leave he showed it to a friend who started fiddling with it. The friend accidentally discharged the pistol. There was a large US army presence near by who heard the shot and mistook it for a spy. Apparently they started getting in a flap flying around in jeeps searching for a German spy. Anyway he handed it in during a amnesty during the 1950’s.

My grandfather an Army officer who fought on Guadalcanal and New Guinea returned with a Type 26 revolver (with an early serial number and production date around 1900-1910) and a Katana. He never told the story about how he got them but through research we figure they are more than likely from the same Japanese officer as the Katana has all the hallmarks of being a family sword and not military issue. Plus the Type 26 revolvers were rare as in service front line pistols at that time being that production stopped in 1926. It's amazing how high quality the Type 26 is even to this day.

In Australia, Japanese swords were always the most prized weapon. Personally, had I been alive then, I’d have tried to bring home a tank or two. A Panzer IV or V would be a wonderful item of loot,

The watchman at a plant where I worked had a bringback Artillery model Luger that he brought back from WWII, while my first rifle was, and still is, a Type 99 Arisaka, complete with bayonet, that my boss had brought back from Okinawa at the end of the war.

My father was an infantry man in the 87th Division. They spent most of their time in Europe under Patton in the 3rd Army. He was wounded a day or so before the Battle of the Bulge started and spent Christmas 1944 in a hospital in Paris. On returning to his company, he still had trouble walking fast because of his leg wound so while he healed, he filled in as the company postal clerk. While doing this he helped guys send back hundreds of trophies. And he even sent back 4 or 5 German rifles and Lugar and a trunk full of other items. His uncle had a number of farms between Seneca Lake and Keuka Lake in upstate New York - near Dundee. His mom, not wanting the rifles in the house, sent them to her brother's farms and they were used for 'deer pest control' for years.

My Great Grandpa was one of the officers in charge of the postdam conference and in charge of all military and civilian activities in the American sector of Berlin after WW2 ended, he brought home ID cards used to get in the conference, pictures of generals, and he even brought back a full German uniform (though sadly it got worn out over the years due to moth holes). Despite that I still have a good amount of his equipment and papers from the day.

My father served with a man who collected several MP40s and crated them up to ship to his home in Pennsylvania. When they arrived his family found that the crate had been drilled through and through in many placed destroying the guns.

I remember vets in the 60s 70s having Mps, Kar98, flags, helmets. As a kid I got stuff from them, mainly militaria like a nice decal helmet one vet neighbor had, a 69th Div vet. My uncle fought in North Africa, Italy and France. When he passed I got his stuff including Afrika corp.

Our Dad was a medic with the 101st. After the war he would sometimes cross over into neighboring sectors (though you weren't supposed to) Someone in his unit agreed with some German soldiers to barter U.S. cigarettes for souvenirs. At street level the medics produced the cigarettes, and the Germans pulled out lugers for a one way exchange. The medics pointed up and behind to now protruding rifles from the broken windows above....and the exchange occurred as originally planned. My Dad got this very thin amazing German metal cigarette case.

My dad who was an officer took a P-38 off of a dead German officer and I still have this gun to this day. A friend mine who's dad served in the Pacific had in his basemen a large Japanese machine gun of some type. I remember asking him how he got that because it was on a stand and very heavy. He told don't ask because you won't believed what I had to do to bring this back with me!

In the1990s a schoolboy's father was 'persuaded' by the police to donate a Luger to the IWM after he brought it along on a school visit and hid it in the grounds outside when he realised bags were being checked. We were also conducting checks of the grounds and found it. It was a civilian model that was later stamped for military use, making it an interesting piece. Grandad had 'aquired' it during his war service.

Excellent video. My Father was a Sgt. in the US Armys 160th Combat Engineer Battalion and was at the battle of the bulge. He told me that he had an artillery model luger but some other GI stole it from him. He did bring back a silver panzer badge and a NSKK stickpin which I still have to this day.

When you showed the two soldiers holding up a rifle in front of a Panther tank I was half-expecting a story of how the Panther was brought back! Thanks for another interesting and informative video.

My dad served in the U.S. Army between WW2 & the Korean conflict. One day as he was unpacking crates of war materials recently sent back from Europe to the U.S., he pried off the top of one crate of communications equipment (as a private he worked on telephone lines) and found laying on the very top of the equipment a small cache of war souvenirs including a German flag and a P08 Luger! Evidently some soldier who packed the crate in Europe had secreted the items there hoping to be lucky enough to be the one who unpacked that particular box upon arrival in the States. My dad turned all the items over to his commanding officer, but Dad said that officer probably ended up keeping the items for himself. In college during the 1980s, I had a friend who once showed me a Japanese Nambu pistol that a relative of his had as a bring-back from the Pacific. Both pistol types bring ridiculous prices at American gun shows today, especially the Lugers.

Never thought I’d see humble ole Hartford, CT mentioned in a Mark Felton video 😮 I can only hope that some of these historic and oftentimes rare firearms are sent to museums and not simply destroyed.

My Dad started his tour on D day all the way through the battle of the bulge. He got wounded and when he got better he was on his way to Japan for the Invasion that was planned. The later that you sent the gun back the less chance of it getting to your home.

My grandfather had a Mauser. He pointed it out to me but never took it out of the gun rack. After he died, grandmother respectfully cleaned her home of all things WW2. I got his books and footlocker. Museums got things like the Mauser. He was Col. Rudder's demolition officer, 2nd Rangers, HQ Co. He climbed the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc on D-Day. And now you know you the rest of the story.

The biggest tragedy for surrended weapons was in Japan . Many swords were melted down including family heirlooms dating back hundreds of years . Blades that had been made by master sword smiths and were not only weapons but priceless works of art

I volunteer at a small museum in the states. It is largely the private collection of one individual, and a number of items have been donated. Veteran bring-backs that are donated by family members are some of our favorite pieces.

In the UK., A 'Family Member' had 2 UK revolvers and a Pristine Luger in its original Holster with a full clip , the gun blue and the hand grip sharp, never held much. All from WW1 They were all handed in to the UK government in an Amnesty in the 80s. He showed me, What a great loss. This 'Family Member also fought in Italy and Northern Europe in the REME. A tank transport driver. God Bless. Great post Felton !

My step Grandad a RASC veteran who saw service as a Machinist from France in 1940 through the Western Desert and Italian campaigns had many interesting souvenirs including a WW1 German daggers with a handle made from a deers foot, a collection of Australian beer labels preserved inside a Bedford lorry drivers manual and what im told was a German handgun. Both of his Son-in-laws (My Father & Uncle) told him to ether get rid of it or take it to bits when the UK attitudes towards handguns hardened in the 90s. He must have done as the gun was never found after his death. Or perhaps if you live in a sheltered housing flat in Redcar perhaps you may find it hidden in the loft

As Canadian EOD I deal with “bring backs” quite often. The most common item being the No.36 Millsbomb grenade.

For context on the Machine Gun restrictions for the US, in 1933 the NFA (National Firearms Act) was passed which was the first major Federal firearm law in the US. This act required the registration of machine guns in the US along with a $200 tax stamp which at the time was very expensive. Most other guns were unaffected by this act and as such there were practically zero federal regulations regarding these.

My grandfather brought back a Japanese Type 99 rifle with the chrysanthemum stamp and a large bayonet. He was gunner (B-25 mostly) in the Pacific starting about when Japan pulled out of Guadalcanal to VJ day. He also had a personal M1911 that he carried in some sort of waterproofish way in case he was shot down. He didn’t talk much about the war, but I know he really hated flying thereafter, which says a lot.

One of my uncles was in the Seabees and participated in the invasion of Saipan. He brought home a Japanese “Lugar”, along with the battle sword that he took off of a dead Japanese officer. He was very proud of the artifacts that he risked his life for.

My dad was in Germany and right after the war he told me in almost every government building, schools ect, every room was stacked to the ceiling with surrendered small arms.

I aquired a "Last Ditch" Arisaka rifle years ago from a veteran of the Pacific theater. He told me he had the paper from his commanding officer but couldn't find it. He told me if he ever found the paper he would contact me. He's since passed away and the paper is now lost forever.

I got a Luger from an old guy in 1996, he had about 30 of them he had bought up from old war buddies over the years. His favorite example was a mint condition, but non firing one. He speculated that it had been sabotaged at the factory where it was produced. I can't remember which one that was, but it sure was a beautiful pistol.

Fascinating video as usual, Dr. Felton. A few years ago, my father and I were talking with the man who ran the storage center we rented a unit at. He told us about how one day, he happened to be present when a guy who also had a unit rented came in with an large open box to put in it. Inside was a HUGE Nazi flag carefully folded. Rather unsettled by this, he asked the fellow why on earth he would possess such a thing, and he was told that this flag was in fact one that had flown over the Reichstag in the last days of World War II, and had been brought back to the United States as a war trophy. It is unclear however if American GIs found it themselves or if they bought it from Soviet soldiers who had taken Berlin first. Quite a piece of history to own, even if it is a nasty symbol.

Fascinating! You always find the best topics to explore. My mom's dad, a tech sgt in the signal corps, didn't bring back any weapons. Instead, he brought back a huge flag flown from a building. It has the German cross on the upper left and the large symbol of the party of the Little Tramp in a white circle in the center. It even has a piece of rope attached, as well as manufacturere's tracking numbers on it. I still have it, in a box clearly labeled "Grandpa D's war trophy, brought back from Europe, 1946." I did find a Luger in an abandoned home in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana while doing Katrina cleanup - no idea if it was authentic - but it was disposed of along with frag grenades (!!) we found elsewhere in the house.

Ooh! finally a video i have a personal story that relates to! My pop was in the army in the pacific and at the end of the war when they were beginning to occupy the mainland, he was put on a mission to go capture a munitions dump. There was no resistance, and they took it peacefully. the CO let everyone on the mission choose between a type 99 revolver, binoculars, and a katana. My pop chose the type 99, but told me in hindsight he wished he had chosen the sword. i think i agree with him. He also took home a japanese battleflag, but years later in the 70's, a Japanese foreign exchange student attended the local highschool. Pop had been making ammends with the japanese in his own mind areound this time and asked the principal if he could give her the flag to take it back home to her people. The principal insisted they have a school assembly for it, so that's what they did. I wasnt alive yet, but i have heard it was quite emotional.

My great grandfather won the distinguished service cross in WW1 and my grandfather passed the stuff to me. In the box were his chevrons, a german iron cross pin, its a smaller iron cross, an enlisted shoulder board, a bible with what I think is blood on it, and I a bayonet, I think its french. Pretty cool stuff.

My family still has a Bring Back sword. I'm feel pride for my grandfather every time I see it.

My old dad moved into a house in the early sixties that had previously been occupied by a WW2 paratrooper that had been involved in liberating one of the concentration camps. In the loft, amongst the usual stuff, was a German Cross in gold and a cat o nine tails whip. I didn't realise it at the time that that the whip would have been used to beat camp prisoners. My dad knew the reakity of it and threw it away. The German cross however languished for years in an old biscuit tin before it eventuality disappeared