Nope- we had the Springfield 1903-the later revised version 1903-A3, a few had the Johnson semi-auto, then the Garand and the BAR- plus our issued bayonets and K-Bar fighting knives- shotguns, mostly Winchester Model 1897 trench guns from WW1- later on, with the campaign against the Japanese in the Pacific theater, the great M-1 Garand, the Thompson SMG and some Ithaca M37 and both Model 12 and 97 riot guns- usually with brass shells, against the salt water and over-all humidity of that TO--
Issue sidearm for officers and non-coms E-5 and up was, of course, the great 1911-A-1 in .45ACP- same round as for the Thompson SMG-- The only issue weapon, which came out in about 1943, that was not 'up to snuff", IMO, was the M-1 carbine. Dave Petzal, gun writer for F&S, once wrote about a boyhood neighbor who was in the 101st A/B and survived both Normandy and Bastogne in WW11-- he carried both a 1911-A-1 and the paratrooper issue M-1 carbine with the folding metal tubular stock (similar to the British Sten and also the German Schmeisser-)and he had a full 15 round magazine, when a huge German Feldwebel (Sgt.) charged at him with a drawn Luger pistol- at close range he emptied all fifteen rounds from that M-1 carbine, all hit the big German in the chest, and he was still alive and aiming his Luger when the last round hit him in the head and he died face forward in the snow at Bastogne--I share the same negative feeling about the M-16 in 'Nam, POS weapon, and I relied on the "improved version" of the Garand, the M-14. "Use enough gun" does not always mean Robert Ruark in Africa--Semper Fi!!
