George Bush Snr donates service revolver

[Andy in West Oz]

Brostrom's comments are great. When it lists his rank, do you think they meant Lt(jg) or his first initials were J.G.?

Former President Bush donates World War II revolver to Constitution Center - International Herald Tribune

PHILADELPHIA: Former President George H.W. Bush presented the National Constitution Center with his World War II service revolver, returned to him 60 years after he gave it to a lieutenant on the submarine that rescued him after his plane was shot down.
The son of the late Lt. J.G. Albert Brostrom on Wednesday returned the .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver and its leather shoulder holster to the former president, who in turn presented it to Constitution Center president and CEO Joseph Torsella for permanent display in the museum.
Brostrom was the sonar man on the USS Finback, the Navy sub that rescued Bush on Sept. 2, 1944, after the future president's plane was shot down by the Japanese in the Pacific. Brostrom met Bush as he stepped aboard the submarine, brought him to the infirmary, and later shared his bunk with the president.
As he left the Finback, Bush gave Brostrom his revolver in gratitude.
Ron Brostrom, 59, of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, said his father never spoke to his family about the war, except for the kindness and sense of humor of the pilot who gave him the revolver.

"We only knew it was a 20-year-old lieutenant," Ron Brostrom said.
It was not until 1980 when Bush — then a vice-presidential candidate — announced he was looking for Finback crew members that the family realized who that pilot was.
"Dad was kind of like, 'The kid did OK,'" Brostrom said with a laugh.
After his discharge, Brostrom's father married, raised two sons and worked for many years as an engineer for General Electric. He died in 1982.
"Dad told us, 'He (Bush) was a young man doing a good job at a very tough job,'" Brostrom said. "It's a real honor for me and my family to be able to give it back to him today."
Bush has been associated with the center since its creation by the Constitutional Heritage Act in 1988, passed when he was vice president. He is chairman of the board of trustees, has taken part in public service announcements and promotional videos about the museum, and has served for 10 years on its National Honorary Committee with his wife, Barbara, and all living former presidents and their wives.
The Constitution Center, a nonprofit organization founded in 2003, is dedicated to increasing public understanding of the U.S. Constitution. It contains a multimedia show, more than 100 exhibits on constitutional history, and artifacts including a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln and a notorious "butterfly ballot" that confused voters in Florida's Palm Beach County in the disputed 2000 presidential election.

[Kyt]

Was the 38 a regulation sidearm? I thought it was the Colt 45.

[Doc]

It varied by service, time, and weapon availability, but many pilots were issued the .38 colt or S&W. In fact, the US Army pilot's handgun up until at least the 1970s was (officially) the .38 revolver (usually S&W), though many carried other weapons of choice. Doc

[Za Rodinu]

If that was his service sidearm how could he simply give it away? Wasn't it government propety, not his?

[Doc]

Not strictly legal, but it was not uncommon after both WWI and WW2 for people to keep their issued sidearms when they went home. I don't know about the current legal status of that particular weapon, but this long after the war I am sure it is not still on any government property books. Many small arms were sold on the legal civilian market after the war, and were dropped from government property rolls. It is almost impossible to differentiate them from those which were simply kept by the carrier at the end of the war, and dropped from the books as "missing" or "lost in combat"--- Basically, all were dropped from the property books, and are now legal to own (in the USA) as non-government property. I'd be concerned about having a US Property-marked M9 Beretta, but I own several revolvers and colt 1911s which are still marked "US Property"-- perfectly legal. Doc

[Peter Clare]

Would his son have one to give away?

[CTNana]

Hi
Am I missing something here? To me the question is why? Why did he give something that wasn't his, to someone who had saved his life? Hardly an expression of gratitude!!!! Had he had a premonition that one day he would be President?
It just seems like a really odd gesture to me.
Cheers
CTNana

[Doc]

David, actually, it was fairly common. I have read of several rescued U.S. pilots in WW2 who gave their handguns to the rescuers as a thank you. Why not? They could easily get another one, and it was a nice souvenir for the rescuer-- After having been shot down, the pilots probably didn't have much else on them to give away as souvenirs. In the US, that would be seen as a nice gesture and a good souvenir. Your question probably reflects a cultural difference-- to most Americans of that period, the gift would be seen as perfectly normal and appropriate. Doc