Clint's pistol in Gran Torino?

I Did Not

But man was that a good movie. I've... "Come across" a copy and i watch it daily!


The end song is so Beautiful! It makes me well up everytime.... Amazing composer. And you'll never guess who wrote it...
 
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Spoiler Alert!!!!!!!!!

This may be a spoiler to some who have not seen the movie, read at your own risk.



I would imagine it's a standard issue Colt .45 If you remember at the end he said;

"SHUT THE F**K UP,.... you wanna know what it's like to kill a man? Well it's G*D D**N awful that's what it is... the only thing worse, is getting a Medal of Valor for killing some poor kid that wanted to just give up that's all...YEAH some scared little gook just like you, I shot him right in the face with that rifle you were holding in there a while ago!"

Which implied that he still had his issued rifle, so one can assume he still has his issued pistol as well. Now i don't know what marines were given in Korea but after seeing that barrel, i'm convinced it's at least a .45
 
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We just saw Gran Torino, and enjoyed it. Not to hijack the thread, but the idea of the old soldier having his rifle/pistol locked away is a concept I've seen in many movies. In my 24 years in the military (70-94), we never got to keep the weapons issued. Was it ever true? Or is this Hollywood legend?
 
I own two weapon brought home by a Soldier from WWII. He passed away and I bought the rifles from his wife. One is a 1903 Springfield and the other is a M1 Carbine.

He brought them home from the war, probably without the knowledge of the military. Lots of Soldiers from WWI, WWII and Korea did the same. I've even seen amnesty AK's brought home from Vietnam. I've also heard stories of M16's and M60's finding their way home in sea bags.
 
my grandpa got 2 Luger's, a m1 garand, and a grease gun back home after the war.

he ended up selling off all but the Luger's due to medical bills. the Luger's were stolen by my uncle during my grandpas funeral.
 
The gun in the movie appeared to have a polished blued finish, and a brightly polished barrel, which would not be characteristics of military pistols from the Korean war era. Could have been refinished, or a commercial Colt, which were all but identical to military issue, other than the finish, from 1912-1970.
 
The sights on that gun weren't the same as GI issue .45s. They looked like commercial Series 80 sights, way too big and sharp for a Korea-issue 1911.
 
!911

First, the early issue 1911's were blued, and at the end of WWII, Army officers were given the opportunity to purchase their issued 1911. I still have the paperwork, and I think the price for the .45 was $17.50.
 
Regarding soldiers keeping their issued weapons, when my father-in-law was discharged after World War One, he bought his .45 1911 for $24 (it's right there on his discharge papers, which we still have). Later, as a postal inspector, he carried it as his personal sidearm. He was involved in several of the 1930s gangster chases, including Bonnie & Clyde's (but not the finish). Died in 1995 at almost 101, he and his wife now lie in Fort Rosecrans up on Point Loma, overlooking San Diego Bay. My wife insisted on selling that 1911, despite my entreaties. She got $250 for it. With its documentation and history, it would bring in thousands now. Or better yet, remain in the family in remembrance of a fine man.

Cordially, Jack
 
It was not uncommon for some soldiers to bring home "trophies" and to sometimes be allowed to keep their issued weapons. They usually had to pay for them though. I have a "trophy weapon" my grandfather brought back from WWII.

Believe it or not, there are still some soldiers today (usually higher ranks) that get away with carrying "heirloom" sidearms. I witnessed a couple cases of soldiers being caught doing so and being reprimanded. The ones that do not get caught probably outweigh the ones that do.
 
Jack, when my daughter was in the Navy, she was stationed for a while at Point Loma. We visited Ft Rosecrans. Your father-in-law is at rest in a very beautiful, historic place of military honor.
 
GREAT movie.

The pistol is obviously a mil-spec .45 of some variety. You can tell by the hammer. I love how he wields it in a couple scenes...a hardcore badass at 70+.
 
Grandfather fought in Japan, Korea, and Vietman. He brought back an M1 Carbine he stole from a South Vietmanese soldier after he put it down in the street because he was celebrating the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem. He said that the Vietnamese were piling guns up, expecting the end of the war. He didn't keep any issued guns, instead brought back pictures and two purple hearts.
 
I saw that movie tonight. Wow. I never saw so many men crying at a movie. It was powerful to say the least. Clint is truly one of Americas greats.
 
Loved the movie. Agreed on the GI 1911. There's a scene with him cocking it in the truck. You can clearly see it there. I remember my dad telling me about trying to get his M14 after he served. He said at one time they let you buy it but did away with that. He said once they did that you had to get in tight with someone who worked in the armory. He was a Marine maybe the Army is different. I imagine back then making a rifle disappear and having no one ask about it was easier. I doubt it's the same now.
 
I imagine back then making a rifle disappear and having no one ask about it was easier. I doubt it's the same now.
Click to expand...
You might be surprised. At one point my whole job in the military revolved around looking into things "disappearing."
 
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