WWII Commemoratives, Right On Time

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of conflicts that changed the world, so it seems fitting that a pair of matching-serial-number commemorative Colts rolled into our shop.

These nickel-finished and scrolled specimens, velvet-bedded in wooden boxes, are a far cry from the masses of close-quarter-combat, rough-and-ready .45 ACPs that served all military branches in WWII from jumbled and broken European cities to dense jungles of the Pacific.

In 1970, Colt made 10,000 of each to honor both theaters of conflict. One marks the initial German surrender at the Supreme Headquarters of Allied Expeditionary Forces at Reims, France, signed on May 7, 1945 (a more official surrender took place weeks later in Berlin). The other celebrates the surrender of Japan to the Allied Powers aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.

Engraved oak leaves and smooth walnut grips on the .45 are paired with a dark-veneer display box, setting the European Theater theme. Engraved palm leaves, smooth blonde hardwood grips, and a light veneer with a mock bamboo set the Pacific Theater theme.

Each has the serial number on the right side of the frame. Engraving on the slides of each note the theater of combat on one side and the major battles on the other.

The left side of the Pacific Theater 1911A1 notes, “PEARL HARBOR . CORAL SEA . CORREGIDOR . GUADALCANAL . TARAWA . SAIPAN . LEYTE GULF . IWO JIMA . OKINAWA . TOKYO” bordered with palm leaves and with palm leaves at the rear of the slide. The right side has “WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE / PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS,” bordered with palm leaves and with palm leaves at the rear of the slide.

The left side of the European Theater 1911A1 notes “WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE / EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS” bordered with oak leaves and with oak leaves at the rear of the slide. The right side has “NORTH ATLANTIC . TUNISIA . SICILY / PLOESTI . SALERNO . ANZIO . NORMANDY . BASTOGNE . REMAGEN . BERLIN” bordered with oak leaves and with oak leaves at the rear of the slide.

Each is a classy tribute to John Moses Browning’s upgraded M1911A1s, which served many a GI, marine, sailor, and airman in tough times. Thousands of these pistols found their way from leather shoulder holsters and hip holsters to duffel bags and home firing ranges after the war.

Nickel, unfired, and packaged with silver dummy bullets or not, the sentimental value of a matched pair of pre-1970s 1911A1s on the 80th anniversary is something special.

Heck, even The King thought these were cool.

Elvis Presley presented a European Theater commemorative to President Richard Nixon when the pair met in December 1970. Recognizing Presley’s concerns for the country in turmoil and his request to be appointed a “Federal Agent at Large,” Nixon presented Presley with a federal narcotics badge at this meeting.

Even if these remain unfired, know that housed in these boxes is the same short-range punch of the rugged and reliable general-issue 1911 of both great wars.

The differences between the original “Model of 1911”–so named for its adoption as the Army’s official sidearm in March of 1911, and later named the M1911.

The M1911 earned its reputation through WWI, and the Army still issued some older stock early in WWII. But wartime did reveal some ideas for improvement.

The 1911A1 came with a shorter trigger, cutouts in the frame behind the trigger, an arched mainspring housing, a longer grip safety spur to prevent hammer bite, a wider front sight, a shortened hammer spur, and simplified grip checkering (eliminating the "Double Diamond" reliefs), according to “The Model 1911 and Model 1911A1 Military and Comercial Pistols” by Joe Poyer.

The most widely used pistol in the U.S. Military from 1911 to 1985 remains in production today, and many versions are likely to be released for the foreseeable future. However, the WWII era and the significance of this particular firearm in world history are worth every bit of celebration and nickel-plated shine we can manage.