American Rifle - Alexander Rose [277]
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8. On the Monsanto House of the Future, see R. Chittum, “Castles in the Air,” Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2007, p. R10.
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9. On the M16, see “Aluminum Rifle,” Time; T. L. McNaugher, The M16 Controversies: Military Organizations and Weapons Acquisition (New York: Praeger, 1984), p. 51; 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), pp. 299–302, 424–28; “Historical Review of ArmaLite”; McElrath, “Golden Days.” The Web site www.world.guns.ru/assault/as16-e.htm has much useful information. Melvin Johnson, perhaps questionably given his business connections with the firm (he was the East Coast consultant for ArmaLite), wrote a positive article on the AR-10 for Ordnance magazine in 1955 (though it was not printed until May–June 1957). On Johnson’s article, see Stevens and Ezell, Black Rifle, p. 28.
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10. “Aluminum Rifle,” Time.
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11. Hartt, “Deadly AR-15 Rifle.”
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12. Quoted in W. H. Hallahan, Misfire: The History of How America’s Small Arms Have Failed Our Military (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1994), pp. 446–47.
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13. McNaugher, M16 Controversies, p. 51; Stevens and Ezell, Black Rifle, pp. 36–40.
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14. Stevens and Ezell, Black Rifle, pp. 40, 49–51.
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15. “Gen. Willard Wyman Dies at 71; Led Normandy Invasion Force,” New York Times, March 30, 1969, p. 85.
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16. McNaugher, M16 Controversies, pp. 58–59.
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17. C. B. Hughes, “Virginia’s Festival Foods,” Washington Post, September 27, 1957, p. C1.
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18. “Chicagoan with Trainfire Unit,” Daily Defender, June 13, 1957, p. 5.
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19. These lengthy training films are available for viewing online at www.archive.org/details/Rifle_Marksmanship_with_M1_Rifle_Part_1.
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20. See the description in H. W. Baldwin, “The New Fort Dix,” New York Times, November 12, 1959, p. 14.
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21. D. Liwanag, “Improving Army Marksmanship: Regaining the Initiative in the Infantry’s Half Kilometer,” Infantry Magazine, July/August 2006; W. G. Wyman, “Army Marksmanship Today,” Infantry 48, no. 3 (July–September 1958), pp. 6–14. For discussion of the impact of Trainfire and the place of competitive marksmanship, see the interesting pro and con discussion between Lieutenant Colonel T. J. Sharpe, “Competitive Marksmanship: It Pays Off!” pp. 24–26, 66 and Captain J. R. Semmens, “Competitive Marksmanship: The Price of the Prizes!” pp. 25–27, 67 in Infantry 49, no. 3 (July–September 1959).
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22. Summarized Sergeant Zahm of the Marine Corps School’s Markmanship Training Unit, “I would say in the Marine Corps he [Oswald] is a good shot, slightly above average, and as compared to the average [civilian] male of his age . . . that he is an excellent shot.” Report of the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964), esp. pp. 189–92, 581–82, 586.
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23. McNaugher, M16 Controversies, p. 63; Stevens and Ezell, Black Rifle, p. 66; Hallahan, Misfire, pp. 450–51. On the relative weights, see Table 13, “Comparative Description of the AR-15 and M14 Rifles,” in Ezell, Lightweight Rifles, p. 306.
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24. Stevens and Ezell, Black Rifle, p. 75; Hallahan, Misfire, pp. 458–59.
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25. On the amount of ammunition a soldier could carry, see Hallahan, Misfire, p. 457.
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26. See figure given in “Order of $13,296,923 for New-Type Rifles Reflects Army’s Growing Dislike of M-14,” Wall Street Journal, November 6, 1953, p. 7.
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27. McNaugher, M16 Controversies, pp. 66–67; Ezell, Lightweight Rifle, p. 311.
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28. “Fairchild Engine Reports Layoff of 500; Says Job Rolls Still Top ’57,” Wall Street Journal, February 11, 1958, p. 17; “Fairchild Stock Drops as Loss Is Predicted,” Washington Post, July 19, 1958, p. D6.
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29. “Fairchild