"make up for his lack of accuracy"

Jerry's son Bob recalls a conversation with him from Sep 2007. Jerry had recounted some of his Marine training in the conversation.

He is in good spirits, and told me some things about being in the Marines that I never knew - that he graduated from boot camp without having passed his marksmanship test on the M-1 Garand rifle that was the basic weapon for Marine infantrymen in WWII. He later qualified on it, on the 30 caliber machine gun, and also qualified on the carbine (a shorter weapon better suited for scouts and radiomen to carry. Papa liked it because it had a 15 round cartridge vs. the 8 rounds in the M-1, and he figured it would make up for his lack of accuracy. He also qualified on the 45 caliber pistol, because he did some assignments as a courier - bringing a briefcase of important papers from the officers on one island over to their counterparts on another island. The briefcase would be handcuffed to his left hand, and he had to be able to shoot the 45 if anyone messed with him.

Thanks for sharing this Bob.

If you have a memory or story of Jerry to share, please send it along.