American Rifle - Alexander Rose [272]
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91. On Rupertus, White, and the genesis of the Creed, see the USMC History Division briefings, “My Rifle—The Creed of a United States Marine,” online at www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/Frequently_Requested/Marines%27_Rifle_Creed.htm, and “History of Marine Corps Recruit Training,” online at www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/Frequently_Requested/Recruit_Training.htm.
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92. J. N. George, Shots Fired in Anger, quoted in Hatcher, Book of Garand, pp. 141–42.
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93. Personal correspondence, ibid., p. 242.
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94. Personal correspondence, ibid., p. 244.
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95. George, Shots in Anger, pp. 247–62.
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96. In a letter to the chief of Ordnance, quoted in Ezell, Lightweight Rifle, p. 26.
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97. McCarten, “Man Behind the Gun,” p. 22.
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Chapter 10
1. “U.S., Canada and Britain in Standard Arms Pact,” Los Angeles Times, May 20, 1951, p. 21.
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2. E. C. Ezell, The Search for a Lightweight Rifle: The M14 and M16 Rifles (Unpub. Ph.D. diss., Cleveland, Ohio: Case Western Reserve University, 1969), p. 94.
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3. Ibid., pp. 91–92, 95.
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4. Ibid., p. 68n105; B. N. Canfield, “The M14: John Garand’s Final Legacy,” American Rifleman 150, no. 6 (August 2002), p. 50.
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5. On Studler’s background, see Ezell, Lightweight Rifle, pp. 85–88. See also the obituary of Mildred Studler in the Washington Post, June 14, 1957, p. B2.
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6. On Studler’s participation in sports, see “Army to Promote Golf and Tennis at Posts,” Washington Post, April 7, 1925; and www.wbtahorseshows.org/about.htm. The description is from T. McCullough, “Colonel’s Real ‘Man Behind’ All Those Guns,” Washington Post, April 15, 1945, p. B2.
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7. On ball powder, see “9 billion cartridges produced by Western,” New York Times, December 23, 1943, p. 27; Ezell, Lightweight Rifle, pp. 98–100.The Olin companies went through a confusing succession of names. For the sake of clarity, I have generally referred to it as Olin Industries, its name between 1944 and 1954 (when it became Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation). Canfield, “M14,” p. 52.
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8. On Winchester at this time, see H. F. Williamson, Winchester: The Gun That Won the West (Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press, 1952), pp. 345–90. Pugsley contributed the book’s epilogue. After the dry 1930s Pugsley went on to become a director of Western Cartridge and Olin.
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9. Ezell, Lightweight Rifle, pp. 101–11. Ezell interviewed Harvey several times. On Pugsley’s background, see Williamson, Winchester, p. 283.
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10. Much of the following biographical material and weaponry background is based on L. Kahaner’s illuminating AK-47: The Weapon That Changed the Face of War (Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2007), pp. 9–30.
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11. It would be only in 1956 that Moscow was forced to reveal its infantry superweapon to the world when Kalashnikov-armed Red Army soldiers crushed the Hungarian rebellion, leaving some fifty thousand dead. Much to Nikita Khrushchev’s delight, and to Kalashnikov’s no doubt, the AK-47 performed magnificently in the narrow alleys and compact streets of Budapest. With nothing more to hide, the USSR began exporting its propaganda triumph in a metal case to whichever “fraternal countries” asked for it. China, Poland, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and East Germany were among the first beneficiaries, but the weapon, partly because untrained irregulars—even children—could lay down heavy, if unbelievably inaccurate, fire at ranges up to 330 yards, took off among Moscow-backed guerrilla, outlaw, and terrorist outfits in Africa, the Middle East, and South