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In early June 2006, a small statured man of about 80 walked up to my display at the York, PA gun show carrying a small box. He stopped in front of the 5 Lugers I had for sale and after a brief discussion, I agreed to buy the luger in the box if he would tell me the history of the gun. He agreed and came back an hour later with a box of documents that are included in this history.
The following is his story as best he could remember after sixty years, and the best
that
I can re-
Early in 1942, Cpl. William H. Hinton, 20320382, was assigned to Hq. Co. 1st Bn.
109th Inf. then located at Camp Livingston, LA. His most memorable experience at
Camp Livingston occurred
when he was assigned for the day as driver for three Generals:
Eisenhower, Bradley and Ord (clearly Bill was mistaken about the third name after
60 years). The Generals wanted to take
a flanking route around the maneuver area,
composed of rural dirt roads. From the crest of a
small rise Bill saw the path went
through a wash. Hinton was hesitant to drive through the
muddy area, ordered to
drive on, the vehicle promptly got stuck. Much to Bill’s surprise, the
three Generals
got out and pushed the car free with some slips, falls and a lot of laughter.
After
re-
day for a long time.” At the time, his only thought was that he would have
to clean the car.
Hinton landed in France 22 Jul, 1944 and participated in the five major campaigns.
The Bronze Star Medal was awarded to Hinton for his actions on 3 Feb 1945 during
the
attack on Colmar, France.
The Citation says “Private First Class WILLIAM H. HINTON, 20320382, Headquarters
Company, 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry, for heroic achievement on 3 February 1945,
in connection with military operations against the enemy in France”.
“During the attack on Colmar, France, Private First Class HINTON preferred not to
remain
in the shelter of the command post, although the fire of the enemy during
the attack
was very intense, but bravely exposed himself to act a a runner and bodyguard
to his
Commander. After successfully leading a party of wiremen through enemy fire
to the
command post, Private First Class HINTON proceeded to the front lines in order
to be with the Colonel. Crawling along a dyke which marked one of the flanks of
the Battalion, he discovered
that a sniper had infiltrated through the lines to a
position in the rear of the American troops. Private First Class HINTON, fearing
the safety of the Commander if he should attempt to
return to the command post, maneuvered
into position and killed the sniper thereby clearing
the route to the front lines.
He then joined his Commander and remained with him
throughout the attack. By his
heroic achievement he reflects great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of
the United States. Entered military service from Pennsylvania.”
Signed by NORMAN D. COTA
After reading Bill’s citation, I asked him where he got the Luger. He said he took
it from the German Sniper, along with his binoculars. I asked him why he didn’t
take the Sniper Rifle
instead, and he said it was too big. If you got captured with
a German weapon
they would kill you. He kept the Luger in his Thompson Sub-
attached to his belt. The Thompson was his favorite weapon, the one
he used to
kill the Sniper.
Bill wouldn’t sell me the sniper’s binoculars with the Luger because he used them
for
bird watching. After his death, his wife called me and said Bill wanted me to
have them
someday.
The sniper’s Luger Pistol became a prized souvenir even though it placed Hinton at great risk if captured by the Germans.
At the war’s end, Hinton was one of three men surviving without injury from the original
regiment who landed in France. As a “high points” man, he was among the first to
rotate
home. He was moved to Le Havre, France and billeted in an old fort high on
a hill to await
transfer to a ship home. Seeing an inspection team headed his way,
Hinton spread his
bedroll and arranged his “official” gear for inspection. The sniper’s
Luger was placed under the bedroll and luckily not discovered.
William H. Hinton brought this same Luger home in 1945 and kept it until June 2006 when I acquired it.
It was jammed when I got it from Bill. The toggle link was not engaged with the
mainspring,
it had been that way since Bill was playing with it in 1945, perhaps the
reason for its survival.
This Luger pistol remains in excellent condition and is marked “S/42, 1937” and is
serial number 8263 n with two matching serial numbered magazines. The second magazine
is marked
“8263 n +”.
It was a pleasure to meet Bill Hinton, but more importantly, it is my honor to document and preserve this small part of history for future generations of Americans.
Steve Clark
Beaver Creek Antiques and Arms
BCAandA.com
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