It has been over 25 years since congress passed the law making newly manufactured machine guns for individual ownership illegal. In this time we have seen many new designs that are out of legal reach for most of us, while interest in NFA ownership has steadily risen. The ban that put a cap on the number of transferable machine guns still looms over us, but thanks to the creative ingenuity that so many firearms enthusiasts and entrepreneurs possess we are still occasionally surprised by upgrades and modifications. An event ever rarer is when a little known example of legal firearms registered prior to 1986 surfaces and is made available for the first time. It is almost unheard of after all this time for a truly new machine gun to be available, and in numbers greater than a few tool-room prototypes. Thanks to the ingenuity of Utah Conner of Pearl Manufacturing and the relentless desire of Michael Shyne of M6 Management Corporation to bring Conner’s 1981 concept and creation to life, we are proud to introduce the NEW, fully transferable, UC-9 Under Cover Submachine Gun.

In The Beginning

Originally conceived and designed in the early days as the Model 21 and later re-designated as the UC-9 (Under Cover – 9mm), Utah Conner had an idea for a concealable firearm that people who needed the firepower afforded by a submachine gun could carry in plain sight. Completely unknown to him there was a similar, parallel project being developed by Francis Warin and Eugene Stoner at Ares Incorporated called the Ares FMG (Folding Machine Gun). It was also being designed as an undercover submachine gun and was dubbed a “businessman’s personal defense weapon.” While there were many similarities in the design there were also several differences. It was close enough in timeline and design to still cause confusion about who designed what, to this day. Francis Warin and Utah Conner finally met in the mid 1980s and were both amazed at the similarities in their respective systems and the original, foreign guns that inspired both men including the French 9mm Hotchkiss folding SMG, the French CR39 carbine and the MAT49. While the external shape was similar, the firing mechanism was different and the Conner gun had more accessories that made it look more like a radio available at the time including an external, telescoping antenna and carry handle.

During the design phase of the early 1980s Conner partnered up with Tim Bixler of South Central Research Company (SCRC) and the production version of the Model 21 was put into motion. Very few Model 21s were completed prior to the 1986 congressional manufacturing ban and the project was put on hold for several years.

Enter M6 Management Corporation

At a machine gun shoot in New Mexico, Michael Shyne of M6 Management Corporation observed an individual demonstrating a Swiss Model 57 assault rifle he had converted from the original 7.5 Swiss round to fire the much more common 7.62×51 NATO round. During this demonstration the shooter boasted of the low recoil of the Swiss design and in order to make his point he emptied an entire 20-round magazine with the stock of the rifle rested against his groin. Having made an immediate and lasting impression already, this shooter walked the line with a rectangular brown box carried by a strap over his shoulder. Shyne watched in amazement as the man with the brown box turned to the firing line, grabbed the straps and in a quick motion the box transformed into a submachine gun sending rounds down range. It was at that moment that Shyne introduced himself to Utah Conner. Conner let him examine and fire this unique piece and introduced it as the UC-9. Conner told Shyne he had manufactured and registered about 100 receivers prior to the 1986 machine gun ban but these fully transferable machine guns had yet to be completed. Shyne immediately gained interest in the project and tried unsuccessfully, numerous times, to purchase at least one UC-9, but could never get Conner to even mention a price.

Every few years Shyne would track Conner down and talk about the UC-9 but could never get any interest in selling any, only confirming that he still had them all and had no interest in selling them. After trying everything he could, Shyne offered Conner a deal he thought could not be refused. Shyne offered to take possession of all the unfinished receivers, complete them all, and keep only half. Conner’s response was simply, “Michael, you don’t know how much work is involved.” No sale again.

Sadly, after several years of talking with Conner about the UC-9 project, Shyne discovered that Utah Conner had passed away. The project, it seemed, would pass away with him.

A New Beginning

A few more years went by and Shyne heard that before Conner died he gave the receivers to a close friend. When this friend was tracked down and contacted he revealed he had 76 receivers remaining and while he had an original goal of completing the project, none were finished and only a few parts were made from CAD drawings he started based on Conner’s original pencil and paper notes. He was not opposed to talking about selling the project.

Shyne called on the experience of long time friend John Mathis, a retired engineer from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and fellow Emma-Gee. They took a trip to look at the project and were delighted to see the brown, complete UC-9 serial number 2 with all the parts. It looked very much like that original gun Shyne fired during that day in New Mexico the day he met Utah Conner, and in fact, may have been. All 76 receivers and parts were purchased and the completed UC-9 serial number 2 was contracted on loan until the receivers were completed. They estimated that they would need approximately 6 months to complete the project.

A team was immediately assembled including John Mathis, Scott Andrey Machine Works for barrels, Dan King for testing and application work and Byron Starnes for design and fitting of the numerous small parts unique to the design. The parts that were non-proprietary were located and purchased and modifications began.

The New and Improved UC-9

As the project moved ahead it was recognized that some outward aesthetics needed to be employed in order to stay with the original idea of being hidden in plain sight. The earlier “boom box” style radios have been long out of style and anything resembling them at this point would attract more attention than they would blend in. The telescoping antenna would be removed and the large “carry handle” would also have to go. The swivels and studs were removed and the box was given a much more streamlined look. With the loss of the carry handle a new sighting system would need to be designed. Taking advantage of technology that did not exist when Conner developed the first gun, a miniature laser was mounted inside the gun when folded but immediately accessible when deployed. The grip / magazine-well was redesigned so it would automatically close inside the folded configuration and made it easier to close the gun after use. A safety was added to the design and the original “open sear” design was improved as well.

The last outward change that was necessary to redesign was the large exterior latch that secured the rear portion of the buttstock that locks everything together securely when opened for use. An internal latch was designed and had no outward indicators visible.

At times an early design can beat any amount of reengineering and the end cap / dust cover that holds the folded unit together is a perfect example. When the gun is opened for deployment the end cap drops to the ground and it was thought a tether or lanyard of some type would be better than having a part drop to the ground. Before spending too much time on this “improvement” it was discovered that the cap falling to the ground was serving a purpose that could not be retained by stopping it from doing so. As originally designed, when the gun is opened quickly for deployment and the end cap pops off and falls to the ground is serves as a distraction, both visual and in an audible fashion. This momentary distraction can buy the user precious time when it is the most important.

When the 6-month timeline rolled around and things were moving well, but far from completion, Michael Shyne could remember the important statement Utah Conner made during a conversation very early on: “Michael, you don’t know how much work is involved.”

Ready to Roll

Today the UC-9 is finished and in stock. There are several still available and they present an interesting “new” NFA firearm with a long and interesting history. The UC-9 feeds from unmodified UZI magazines, both 25-round and 32-round versions. Since the original “boom box” features have been removed it is wide open to blend in to many modern settings. With a faux, stick-on USB port they resemble an external computer backup drive and hide in plain sight on a desk. With a book spine glued to the top it could be stored in a bookcase and never earn a second glance. A few stickers from a hardware story and it may look like a travel tool kit. It is as open to adaptation as the imagination of the owner.

All UC-9 SMGs are shipped with a LULA magazine loader and a 39-page owner’s manual in a custom fit aluminum case manufactured by Americase.

Open Wide and Say BANG!

With nothing really protruding or obvious as a “release button,” preparing the UC-9 for firing has the outward appearance of solving a puzzle more so than readying a submachine gun. This adds to the beauty of the new, sleek design in respect to it not being identifiable and the process once explained and witnessed is actually a smooth and fluid motion. The instructions to open the UC-9 vary by the strong shooting side. I will give the instructions for a right-handed shooter and you lefties can adjust accordingly.

(1) To open the UC-9, holding it with the dist cover up, place your right hand on the lower portion of the buttstock and left hand on the upper receiver. (2) As you hold tight and extend your arms it will unfold, releasing the dust cover. (3) As it is unfolded and begins to take shape, when the receiver is in line with the stock it will lock in the open position. (4) At this point the magazine well / pistol grip will start to drop into position. (5) Supporting the weight of the UC-9 with the left hand, as you move the stock to the right shoulder, the right hand should wrap around the pistol grip and rotate it rearward until it locks into place. There you have it. From a nondescript rectangular block to a shouldered SMG in seconds, the UC-9 is ready to fire.

If you are indeed ready to fire the UC-9, all that needs to be done is pull the charging handle to the rear locking the bolt back. More often than not the laser directly behind the charging handle will be turned on with this motion and with very little practice it can turn on every time if desired. It is important to know that the charging handle does not pull double duty as a forward pistol grip. If your hand were to stay on the charging handle it would be much too close to the muzzle and also cover the laser sight. The proper place to support the UC-9 with your left hand is in front of the pistol grip, forward of the ejection port

Time for Live Fire

Of course we could never have an article on an NFA firearm as interesting as the UC-9 without firing it and reporting our findings. It is not common enough to have a “new” transferable submachine gun to pass up the opportunity.

Since the design is radically different from most common firearms the first task was an overview of the operation of the UC-9 and a review of the owner’s manual so everyone would be familiar with the use and procedures. After some extensive handling it was obvious that it was as much fun to share with new people and watch their face when deploying it, as it was to fire. There are no machine guns this writer has tested in over 2 decades that were as much fun to handle as they were to shoot so this is a first.

The way the UC-9 is manufactured it can safely be carried with a loaded magazine in a “ready to deploy” manner. Even though the magazine is loaded and inserted into the magazine-well, it is folded in a way it is stored parallel to the barrel and doesn’t drop into position until the gun is deployed. In addition, since it is an open-bolt firing mechanism, stored with the bolt closed it is not possible for a round to enter the chamber in a closed position. With this said, all it takes to safely load and fire the UC-9 is to hold the top with one hand, pull the stock with the other (as illustrated in this article), and pull the mag-well to latch. When you pull back the bolt you have a tendency to turn on the laser at the same time, so within seconds this innocuous rectangle transforms into a loaded, laser-sighted SMG, ready to roll. (DISCLAIMER – Even though the UC-9 was designed for undercover, instantaneous use, there is not a manufacturer or lawyer in the United States that would allow an owner’s manual to suggest loading a gun immediately prior to using it. Please remember that we live in a nation that has warning labels on hair-dryers so people swimming in the shallow end of the “good decision making” pool will not use it while taking a bath. Please adhere to all safety rules associated with any other firearm when using the UC-9.)

The live fire portion of the UC-9 testing started with some basic function testing and weapon system familiarity. This consisted of the test shooters firing several magazines using the laser as an aiming device. (You can be certain that since we were to be running rounds through the author’s IR Chronograph Screens to check muzzle velocity later in the day, everyone would be familiar with proper aiming technique in advance.)

After everyone was comfortable with shooting the UC-9 we set up the PACT MK IV Champion Chronograph and Timer and started recording the rate of fire with different types of ammunition. We tested the UC-9 with 4 types of ammo to gather as much data as possible. The average rate of fire was very comfortable and just under 715 rounds per minute. The slowest we recorded was with the new Wolf Performance Ammunition WPA 115-gr at 602 rpm. The complete results are documented in an accompanying chart.

This was also a great time to check practical accuracy. We set up at 10 yards and started firing 20-round bursts at standard silhouette targets. Although it is unlikely that complete mag-dumps on a single target would be a standard procedure, it proved how controllable and comfortable the UC-9 was to shoot. After firing several hundred rounds during this phase at a single target it was apparent how effective the UC-9 can be. Both shoulder firing and hip firing were used, at the shooters discretion, both with remarkable results.

When in bright light conditions where a laser is ineffective and given the absence of sights, the aiming technique is something a little different than most are used to and requires a little practice to master. It is not practical to shoulder the gun and sight down the plane of the receiver because the stock portion of the gun is held well below the muzzle to achieve a proper cheek weld when sighting in this way. If you were to aim the end muzzle end of the receiver so it lined up with the intended target, the plane of the barrel would be rotated up several degrees causing your hits to be VERY high. Based on your distance it could be from several inches to several feet. The cure for this is just practice, practice, and more practice. Holding a proper cheek weld but looking over the top of the muzzle end of the receiver at your target area, you can develop a “point shoot aiming method” that can be surprisingly accurate. By doing this numerous times at a known distance you can train your eyes to triangulate the proper hold with no sight use at all. It will not be an effective “sniper” or “match” gun but these are areas far from the original intention of the designers.

After plenty of practice runs, we ran numerous rounds through the UC-9 to get a good picture of average muzzle velocities. The average muzzle velocity was 1,189 feet per second. The fastest was the Winchester “White Box” 115-gr. FMJ ammo at 1,226 fps. A detailed chart with all data recorded is included elsewhere in this article.

There were two distinct things that all shooters mentioned after firing the UC-9. The first was their amazement at how smooth and controllable it felt during live-fire. The second was that while the charging handle is a non-reciprocating design, it does have a small amount of travel on occasion probably due to a light amount of friction from the vibration that allows it to briefly contact the bolt. It isn’t forceful or painful at all but was a surprise to those not expecting it.

Closed for Business

If you believe that at this point you have mastered the techniques associated with the UC-9 we have one more important part to explore. Now that it is open and looks (sort of) like a submachine gun, we need to fold it back up to its original, nondescript design. This would prove to be a hurdle for all not previously shown the instructions in the previous section.

The easiest way to complete the proper folding sequence is to first examine the placement of the “press point” rather than try to guess or feel around for it. We will make it simple by explaining where it is and providing a clear photo as well. The “press point” is located inside the stock where it connects to the receiver. It is designed so well it will still not be obvious by the previous description alone. To tell it apart from the rest of the stock or receiver you need to look inside the stock against the receiver for a flat surface with 2 rivets. This is the “press point” and depressing it will unlock the stock from being fully extended and start the folding procedure. With this knowledge, please follow along to the next step.

With the UC-9 in a position where it is supported by your left hand and the stock is in the area of your right shoulder (1) you can reach your thumb up past the end of the pistol grip and depress the “press point” with little practice. It is important to hold the UC-9 upright to close it, not upside-down looking into the hollow stock cavity. The next step (2) is to hold the stock with your right hand, and holding it in a position so the now empty dust cover slot is open is up, slowly fold the 2 sides together. The pistol grip will freely swing down (3) if this is being done correctly and you will feel little or no resistance. When completely closed (4) the dust cover can be installed (5) by placing the angled lip on the bottom of the dust cover into the slot on the buttstock and pushing down firmly to lock it in place. It is now ready to be hidden in plain sight again and only seconds from use.

How Hidden is Hidden?

The first test all who were in the writers office at the same time as the UC-9 were subjected to was a simple “pass me that machine gun” statement while pointing to the bookcase. It just sat sideways, across the top of one row of books with nothing to conceal it. Everyone would glance at the bookcase and then start to look around it for something that looked like a submachine gun. Even by doing nothing special it blends in and that is with people looking for a gun. This speaks volumes, no pun intended.

Conclusions

The UC-9 is one of the most interesting pieces this writer has had the opportunity to test and share with the readers of Small Arms Review to date. That is not said lightly either. We have covered several aspects of the gun culture here and they are all equally important. There is a fantastic historical aspect to this gun that has not been completely reported in the past to our knowledge and if we don’t examine our own history in this industry we are doomed to repeat things that may be unnecessary in order to advance. The relationships of those who brought us the UC-9 are fascinating to say the least. It is a story of completely unrelated parallel designs happening at the same time between Utah Conner of Pearl Manufacturing with his Model 21 and Francis Warin of ARES Incorporated with their ARES FMG. Some of the others involved in different areas including Eugene Stoner, Tim Bixler and Dave Boatman are names we recognize from other projects they have been involved in, within the firearms industry and all bring a lot of experience to the end projects. Another interesting aspect of this study is the tie to Hollywood with the RoboCop 2 Radio Gun placement. Never knowing what is fact and what is fiction or special effects in the movies, it is always amazing to find out that something as neat and “far fetched” as a boom-box radio that almost instantly transforms into a submachine gun is in the “fact” category. Another angle that makes this article a little more exciting than a simple historical piece is that these UC-9 submachine guns are actually transferable machine guns and are available for sale at this time. We have reported over the years of several “after the fact” treasures, but this one is a little ahead of the curve for a change. Finally, it just pegs the “neat meter” at 11. I doubt there are many of us, regardless of our specific discipline or area of NFA interest who doesn’t smile a little at the notion of this creative, folding, covert submachine gun.

Aside from all the other important aspects of the UC-9 project previously mentioned, the gun is fun and functions well. It is very well made and looks great. All mechanisms relating to the function and concealment work like they should. This is not a “work in progress” but a final product in full form. The UC-9 SMGs are currently available and the numbers are in the low high 40s to low 50s at the time of this writing. At a cost of $12,500 with owner financing available directly from M6 Management Corporation, those numbers are sure to be dropping at a rapid pace. Whether you may be interested in one as an investment, as a part of history, as a Hollywood film fan or as a closet “super secret squirrel spy gadget” aficionado, the UC-9 is certain to make you smile when you receive yours.

UC-9 SMG Source

Full Auto Classics
Ph: (877) 437-0251
Email: sales@fullautoclassics.com
Website: www.FullAutoClassics.com

It is possible that more 08/15 Maxim machine guns are registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) than any other type machine gun brought back to America from the battlefields of our nation’s history. Their mechanism is ingenious. For the quantity manufactured, their quality of workmanship is unsurpassed. They are a controllable and enjoyable machine gun to shoot. Yet most 08/15 Maxim machine guns are unappreciated, dirty and rusty, resting in some dark space and accumulating more dust from each year of their neglect. It is time to bring these Maxims back to life.

Even if the specific history is lost for most of the Maxim machine guns registered on the NFRTR, they will provide their owners with pride of ownership if given the attention they deserve to bring them back to life.

Restoring a machine gun calls upon the owner’s wisdom to know if it should be restored or left as-is. Restoration requires a commitment of time and patience. If the Maxim is to be reactivated, that process may have legal considerations that must be carefully addressed. Restoring that gun may compromise its value and desirability if the history of the firearm is well documented and significant. It may be better to leave that unique specimen just the way it is. Every war trophy has its own history. Sadly, few veterans documented their war trophy’s history, and even when it was put in writing, time and carelessness have often caused the gun and its history to go separate ways. So it is very likely the dusty, rusty war trophy you have will only be improved with a careful and patient restoration.

It is important to mention that the Maxim machine gun is a complicated piece of firearms technology. This article can only address basic descriptions of parts and assemblies. If you find the mechanism of the Maxim machine gun intriguing, you may thoroughly enjoy the Armorer’s/Operator’s class taught by Long Mountain Outfitters, devoted specifically to Maxim, Vickers and Lewis machine guns. Its instructors have developed their knowledge from decades spent working with these remarkable inventions. You will leave that class with a depth of knowledge articles like this can never provide.

If you are going to move forward with this restoration plan, make certain you have an adequate block of time to complete the project. We all have started a project, disassembled the mechanism, set the project aside before completion due to other priorities and ended up forgetting how to reassemble it, or, worse yet, losing some of its pieces. This author spent 22 hours on the restoration featured in this article. If his specimen had more rust, it would have required substantially more time.

The author’s specimen was a Deactivated War Trophy commonly called a “Dewat.” Since the goal of this project was to restore the gun to shooting condition, doing so will require a change in the status of its registration on the NFRTR. Study the registration papers of your machine gun. If it is described as a “live” machine gun, it is not a Dewat. If your registration form asks “Is the firearm unserviceable?” the “yes” or “no” answers this question. If the registration describes how a part of the gun was welded up, it is a Dewat. If you’re specimen is a Dewat and you intend to reactivate it to shoot, the first question you need to ask is “does the state, county and municipality I live in allow me to own a live machine gun?” Consult a class three dealer in your state and research the question on the web to confirm what the dealer told you. The answer to this question affords no room for error.

Although most readers of this article may not own a 08/15 Maxim machine gun or any other war trophy machine gun, these treasures are more plentiful than you may think. The author chose the 08/15 Maxim because of this model’s abundance. The United States government returned a huge quantity of Maxims to America during and after World War I, possibly intending to convert them to 30-06. Kent Lomont, well known machine gun expert and owner of Lomont Precision Bullets, has told the author he had documented evidence that during the war, examples of the 08/15 Maxim were given to donors making substantial contributions to the war effort. After the war they were distributed to VFW’s and American Legion posts. The Amnesty of 1968 legalized thousands of war trophies when they were registered on the NFRTR.

This article addresses the 08/15 Maxim. However, the procedure is applicable to any other machine gun or Title I firearm that can benefit from restoration. The word “restoration” has many degrees of definition. The firearms industry includes restoration experts able to restore a derelict firearm into an example that looks like it just left the factory. The degree of restoration addressed in this article can be achieved by individuals with reasonable mechanical skill, using readily available tools. The intent of this restoration is to clean up and highlight the firearm’s basic condition. No attempt will be made to address firearms rebluing. The author welcomes someone with more expertise to share his secrets for cold and hot rebluing.

Using the correct tools will make this project easier. Fortunately, only simple tools are required. To disassemble the machine gun, the author used a good set of screwdrivers, a pair of standard pliers and a pair of needle nose pliers, a brass punch and a small brass hammer. Brass tools are used to impact gun parts because brass is softer than steel and will allow the tool to deform before the gun part is damaged. To clean the gun, the author used large and small brass bristled brushes, toothbrushes, a sharp pointed tool to remove grease from tight spaces, number 400 steel wool and a one inch wide putty knife. A clean pair of safety goggles is necessary to keep chemicals and small particles of rust and dirt out of your eyes. Some people experience skin irritation from various cleaning chemicals, so a good pair of rubber gloves is important as well. Avoid breathing the fumes of these chemicals by working in a ventilated area. Bright lighting will be helpful when inspecting parts and evaluating the degree of success of your work on the metal surfaces.

Specific chemicals are necessary for removing grease and oil, lifting rust and lubricating the final product. You may already have your preferences. Carburetor and choke cleaner, available at automobile parts stores, is effective for removing grease and oil. To lift rust, the author used Kano Kroil. However Hoppe’s #9 Powder Solvent, Liquid Wrench, Marvel Mystery Oil and even kerosene will also work well. Never use gasoline, camp stove fuel or white gas. Although everyone has their favorite product, the author used Break Free to lubricate parts and give metal surfaces a protective coating after they were cleaned.

The last and possibly most useful “tool” is good reference material. In the case of the 08/15 Maxim machine gun, the best source of information known to the author is Dolf Goldsmith’s fine book: The Devil’s Paintbrush-Sir Hiram Maxim’s Gun, published by Collector Grade Publications. If you are restoring a different firearm, find the appropriate reference material. Disassembly and reassembly of the firearm creates the possibility of breaking old and sometimes irreplaceable parts of the gun, particularly if you are even slightly unfamiliar with the firearm at hand. The author has owned eight Maxim machine guns and still managed to break a part! Consider the cost to purchase reference material as an insurance policy, much more economical than the damage possible from inexperience. Although some Maxim parts have multiple names, this article will use nomenclature consistent with The Devil’s Paintbrush.

Once you have set aside adequate time, located an appropriate place to do the work, assembled the tools, chemicals and the lighting, studied the reference material and assured yourself you have adequate patience, the project is ready to start. The obvious first step is disassembly of the machine gun. Remembering how the small parts of machine guns go back together seems do-able while you are taking them apart. Don’t count on it! Today’s technological advancements make for improved “memory.” Digitally photograph every component and parts group before disassembly. Some parts fit back together in more than one configuration, but only work one way.

The machine guns registered on the NFRTR fall under one of two categories of operability: live or deactivated. If you’re machine gun is registered as a live or serviceable firearm, move on in this process. If it is registered as deactivated or unserviceable and you intend to leave it that way, move on. However, if it is unserviceable, registered as a deactivated war trophy – a Dewat – and you intend to make it into a live machine gun, BATF&E laws and regulations must be complied with before reactivation of the firearm.

The first step of the reactivation process is to conclusively establish if you can legally own a live machine gun in your state, county and municipality. If the answer is “yes,” you have two choices. You can employ a licensed machine gun manufacturer in your state to reactivate your machine gun or you can do it yourself.

If you chose to employ a licensed machine gun manufacturer, ATF Form 5 (Application for Tax Exempt Transfer and Registration of Firearm) must be filed and approved by ATF prior to delivering the machine gun to the manufacturer. This is a tax exempt transfer because at this point, the machine gun is unserviceable. Upon receipt of the approved Form 5, the machine gun can be delivered to the manufacturer. The licensed manufacturer will then complete the reactivation and file ATF Form 2 (Notice of Firearms Manufactured or Imported) to re-register the machine gun as a live machine gun. After approval of Form 2, the manufacturer will submit ATF Form 4 (Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of Firearm) plus the required $200 tax, re-conveying the live machine gun back to you, its owner. Delivery of the machine gun to you may take place only after receipt of approval of this final Form 4. The machine gun manufacturer you work with should be willing to prepare all forms and other paperwork you will need to complete this process.

The alternative to employing a licensed manufacturer to re-register your machine gun as a live machine gun is for you, as its registered owner, to do it yourself. You must file ATF Form 1, (Application to Make and Register a Firearm) and perform the physical reactivation of the gun yourself. Form 1 plus a $200 registration tax must be submitted to BATF&E, and its approval received, prior to performing the reactivation process.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive’s website www.atf.gov is a helpful source for required documents.

If you are reactivating your machine gun yourself, only after receiving ATF Form 1 approval may you start the physical reactivation process. If you have not yet received an approved ATF Form 1, do not tempt fate with your impatience. The consequences can mean jail time. Likewise, if you are filing ATF Form 1 to reactivate your machine gun, YOU MUST DO THE WORK ON YOUR MACHINE GUN YOURSELF, ON YOUR PREMISES. Do not contract out the work to someone else. Doing so has legal consequences far beyond the scope of this article. Just do it right!

When your machine gun was deactivated, the legal requirements called for a steel plug to be welded into the barrel chamber and for the barrel to be welded to the receiver so that it could not be readily removed and replaced with an operational barrel. Welding the chamber solid to prevent it from accepting a cartridge was a straightforward process. However, the means of securing the barrel to the receiver so that it could not be readily replaced, may have been completed in a variety of ways. Generally, the barrel was welded to the receiver. In the case of the 08/15 Maxim, this was achieved with more than one technique. Sometimes the barrel was welded to one of the barrel extension plates and that plate was welded to the receiver. An alternative was to braze the barrel’s threaded brass buffer ring to the receiver’s trunnion. (The trunnion is the complex part positioned between the receiver and the water jacket). An ingenious method the author witnessed was simply welding the feed block to the receiver. This prevented the barrel from being removed because the lower feed arm of the feed block prevented movement of the barrel extension. The point of describing multiple ways your machine gun could have originally been deactivated is to explain why this article can not specifically detail how to remove the welded impediment that prevents your barrel from being removed from the machine gun. You will have to study your example in order to ascertain what was originally done to deactivate it. Only then will you be able to decide what to do to reactivate it and what specific tools will be required. At this point you may want to reconsider employing a licensed manufacturer to reactivate your war trophy in order to have this sometimes-delicate step completed correctly.

One of the useful tools in this process is a Dremel tool, which can be purchased at many hardware stores. It may remind you of the tools dentists have used on us, although not quite as small. Selecting the appropriate carbide bit will make a big difference in ease of completion. Metal filings can be propelled into your eyes so always wear safety goggles when using a Dremel tool. Muster maximum patience and remove the slightest amount of metal weld with each stroke of the Dremel tool’s bit on the weld, until you have removed just enough of the weld to remove the barrel. Once the weld is removed, the Maxim crank handle assembly can be withdrawn from the receiver, removing the barrel with it. You can more neatly finish dressing down the remaining weld on the parts and the receiver after their disassembly when you have easier access to the critical areas.

If you do not feel comfortable performing this work yourself, worried that you may damage the gun more than the cost of the alternative, figure this out in advance of filing your ATF Form 1 and contract a licensed manufacturer capable of professionally completing the reactivation. The paperwork approval process may take more time, but you may be much more content with the finished product.

Now that the barrel is free, study how its chamber has been welded. You can measure the length of the internal chamber plug by inserting a cleaning rod into the muzzle of the barrel, marking its inserted length to reach the chamber plug. Then withdraw the cleaning rod from the barrel and compare that length to the overall length of the barrel. The difference is the length of the chamber plug. At this time, original Maxim barrels are available. The 08 Maxim and the 08/15 Maxim use the same basic barrel, with the exception that a muzzle sleeve is attached to the threads on the muzzle of the barrel when used in the 08/15 Maxim. Thus, an 08 Maxim barrel can be used by simply removing the muzzle sleeve from your welded-up 08/15 barrel and securely attaching it to the 08 barrel.

The quantity of available original Maxim barrels is diminishing, so you may choose to restore your welded-up barrel. Since only the receiver of a war-trophy machinegun is the registered part, restoring the barrel can be handled by a third party, a competent gunsmith/machinist. (Not all gunsmiths have machinist skills and equipment to perform lathe work). The best way for him to perform this is for you to provide him with the welded-up barrel and an original un-welded barrel to use as an example. The author chose to restore the welded-up barrel removed from his Dewat because it was the original barrel serial numbered to the gun. It was too important to discard and justified the gunsmith/machinist’s cost, which may exceed today’s cost of an original replacement barrel. With a serviceable example of a Maxim barrel in hand, the gunsmith/machinist will understand that the least amount of metal should be removed in order to remove the plug which was welded into the chamber. Depending upon the exuberance of the welder when the plug was welded into the chamber, the barrel’s chamber may be restored to shootable specifications without the need of a chamber reamer. In the case of the author’s barrel, significant metal had to be removed from the chamber and back surface of the barrel trunnion (the square block of steel forming the rear surface of the barrel) in order to remove the welded plug. After the plug was removed, the barrel was taken to an experienced welder and additional weld was applied to its rear surface. With the help of an 8x57mm Mauser finishing chamber reamer, the gunsmith/machinist was then able to restore the chamber to shootable condition and re-machine the rear surface of the barrel trunnion to match the un-welded example provided. Restoring a welded-up barrel may seem to be a lot of work and extra trouble. Eventually, original barrels will no longer be available and there will be no alternative.

When using the Dremel tool, you may have removed too much metal when grinding away the original weld, resulting in an unsightly gouge to the interior of the receiver. Please note that the receiver of this machine gun is the “registered part” and it is registered to you. It must always be in your possession or securely stored under lock and key to which only you have access. Speaking practically, it may be more prudent to overlook the damage you did to the receiver. Just dress it up the best you can and move on in the process. Do not ask others to work on your machine gun receiver. They are probably not knowledgeable of the legal aspects of machine gun ownership. Doing so is foolish and may have stiff legal consequences you are not ready to address.

In the likelihood that you are reading this article without having acquired and studied the additional reference material, in this case The Devils Paintbrush-Sir Hiram Maxim’s Gun, you may not be familiar with the nomenclature of Maxim machine gun parts. To learn the most from this article, understanding terminology is essential. The time and effort you put into building that understanding translates into the quality of workmanship your finished product will exhibit. The information and wisdom in Chapters 14 and 15 of The Devil’s Paintbrush are worth its purchase price.

Several of the 08/15 Maxim machine guns acquired by the author have suffered from the same flaw: a broken lower feed arm on the feed block. The lower feed arm is positioned on the bottom of the feed block. A protrusion on the end of the lower feed arm fits into a notch on the left barrel extension plate, causing the feed block to advance the cartridge belt one cartridge each time the barrel extension cycles. For some reason, the end of the lower feed arm and its protrusion had been cleanly broken off on each of these three machine guns. Again, Kent Lomont provided an explanation. When our government returned a large number of Maxim machine guns to the United States after World War I, gifting them to appropriate civilian recipients, this part of the lower feed arms was broken off in order to prevent the machine guns from functioning as machine guns. Although this damage did not fulfill ATF requirements to become a Dewat machine gun, the lower feed arm will have to be repaired or replaced in order to allow the gun to function. If you are fortunate, you might locate an original replacement part. The alternative is to find someone knowledgeable enough to repair the broken lower feed arm. Periodically an advertisement has appeared offering the service. We all should have retained a copy of that ad.

In order to thoroughly clean the Maxim machine gun, it needs to be disassembled. Chapter 14 of Dolf Goldsmith’s book The Devils Paintbrush describes the procedure to follow to field strip the MG 08 Maxim. The same procedure applies to the 08/15 Maxim.

In this restoration, for the reasons given, the author chose not to completely disassemble five component assemblies, the feed block, sights, crank handle assembly, steam tube assembly and the lock. The feed block was left intact because its main component is still a complex shape with many irregular surfaces, so little was to be gained by disassembling this unit. In addition, after some tapping, the upper feed arm did not want to release the lower feed arm shaft and the author was reluctant to use more force on these 90-year-old parts. The sights are easy to clean in place.

The crank handle assembly includes the barrel extension plates with cross head, the connecting rod and the crank handle plus the somewhat delicate linked arm that attaches to the fusee spring. Forcing its disassembly could damage parts that are hard to replace, so this assembly was cleaned as a single unit.

Inside the water jacket, running its full length and positioned above and parallel to the barrel, is the brass steam tube assembly. It is basically a sliding tube positioned around a smaller stationary tube. The steam tube assembly permits the steam buildup to escape from within the water jacket when the muzzle is elevated or depressed, without allowing the boiling water to also escape. Test your gun by pointing the muzzle upward and then pointing it downward. If you hear a “loose” part inside the water jacket, the sliding tube is functioning properly and the assembly does not have to be removed. However, if the sliding tube is not “loose”, the assembly will have to be removed to clean it. This can be done by unscrewing the small lock screw, and then unscrewing the steam tube disassembly plug, located on the back of the trunnion and visible when the top cover is removed from the receiver.

The final part the author did not intend to disassemble is the lock assembly. Its disassembly and reassembly are more complicated than disassembling and reassembling the entire gun. It can be cleaned and lubricated reasonably well without disassembly. Two main parts need to be checked, the firing pin and the firing pin spring. Doing so can be physically painful so exercise extreme care. To remove the lock from the receiver, retract the crank handle. This action moves the lock rearward and allows it to be tilted up and lifted out of the receiver. Rotating it 45° on its shaft allows it to be removed from the gun. Please note that at this point, the lock is cocked. Pressing the “trigger” on the lock will release its hammer, seriously squeezing any part of your hand which may be located at the point of the impact of the hammer. Hold the lock so that you can activate its trigger and keep clear of the hammer’s point of impact. While doing so, listen to the firing pin spring when the firing pin is released. If the spring sounds strong, the spring is probably in good condition. If it sounds weak, the lock was probably left in its cocked position for years and the spring needs to be replaced. After the hammer has been released, the tip of the firing pin should protrude through the firing pin hole. If it does not, as was the case with the author’s Maxim, it is broken and the firing pin needs to be replaced. If parts replacement is necessary, you have the option of searching for replacement parts and installing them following Mr. Goldsmith’s instructions, or purchasing a complete original lock, still available when you can find one.

To this point, you have been confirming details of the law in your place of residence, making choices, handling legal issues, photographically documenting the original placement of parts and disassembling your gun. It is finally time to start the slow but rewarding process of restoring your Maxim’s metal surfaces. The easiest part to start with is the receiver, the boxy part attached to the water jacket. It’s large, flat surfaces are ideal for you to use to develop your technique. Most Maxims have remained in dirty but reasonably dry storage for decades. Their original deep blue surfaces may have turned brown from age and humidity. But this light rust has not pitted the metal surface. Inspect your receiver carefully, under a bright light. One of the 08/15 Maxims the author owned appeared to have been an outdoor exhibit for many years. The bottom surface of the inside of the receiver had deep rust pitting from water standing within the receiver. The exterior of the receiver had thick rust but no pitting. In spite of the condition of the inside of the receiver, this gun cleaned up nicely and functioned well. The exterior surface of the Maxim the author is currently addressing was covered with light rust. Under dirt and grime, the inside of the receiver still retained much of its original blued finish.

Arrange your receiver on your work area so that one of its large flat surfaces is horizontal. You will be putting pressure on the receiver, so make certain its underside is well supported with small boards or similar material. Apply the Kroil, or other product you may be using, to the surface and rub it in with the fine 400 steel wool. All you are trying to do is remove a light coat of surface rust. After working an area, wipe it clean with a dry rag and inspect the area under a bright light. With the penetrating oil, the light rust on the surface will lift and the steel wool will clean it away, exposing the clean metal surface of the receiver. In many cases, the original bluing will be visible. Be careful to avoid working an area too much as your effort can actually wear through the original bluing, providing that finish still exists on your gun beneath the surface rust. Always have a thick coating of Kroil on the metal before working it with steel wool. Work one small area at a time. Metal edges and irregular surfaces will require additional attention. Brass bristled brushes are useful in working corners, cracks and irregular surfaces. But they, too, should only be used when a liberal coat of penetrating oil has been applied to the surface of the metal. As the rust disappears and the original surface of the metal is again exposed, this process starts to become exciting and rewarding. Take your time and finish all the details of the exterior of the receiver before working on its interior.

Although the Dremel tool, previously used to remove welding, frequently includes brass brushes, the author discourages their use. The speed of the Dremel tool will rapidly and unintentionally erode any original finish remaining under the rust. Time you may save using a Dremel tool will be offset by your disappointment in the finished product.

If your Maxim has a much thicker coat of rust, two options exist. You may choose to let the Kroil “soak into the rust” by letting the heavily rusted areas sit for 24 hours in a bath of penetrating oil. Then use the steel wool and see if the rust lifts. If fine steel wool has no effect, use a heavier grade steel wool. Some rust conditions justified the use of number one steel wool, with a substantial coating of oil.

The other option to remove heavy rust calls for the use of a putty knife. Choose a 1 inch wide putty knife. A well-worn putty knife is preferable, with its sharp corners worn into rounded edges. If you only have a new putty knife, use a sharpening stone or sander to dress off the square edges. You want the working edge to be pointed and the corners of the blade to be rounded off so they do not gouge the metal. Apply the penetrating oil and let it soak in overnight to soften the rust. Hold the putty knife at a low angle to the surface of the receiver. Work the blade of the putty knife back and forth to scrape away the rust. As you push it along gently, it will remove rust encrustations. Work a very small area at a time. As you see results, you may choose to apply more pressure to the putty knife, taking advantage of its spring blade. Initially practice on an area that is less visible, until you develop your technique. With patient working of an area, keeping it well oiled, heavy rust can be removed. Generally, with heavy rusting the original bluing is long gone. But the removal of the rust substantially improves the beauty of the gun.

The water jacket on Maxim machine guns, as well as on other water-cooled machine guns, can be the one item that presents philosophical issues. Two of the Maxims I’ve restored still had substantial original green paint on the water jacket. Many of the scratches in that painted surface took place while the guns were being used in action. Do I want to remove that storybook of history? In both cases I did, concluding that the many scratches on the paint would be more of a distraction than an asset. However one grime-covered 08/15 Maxim I spotted years ago in the corner of a machine shop had its water jacket hand painted in the original camouflage used by the Germans in World War I. No matter what condition that painted surface was in, it presented a remarkable opportunity to preserve the story of the gun.

If you choose to remove the painted surface, it generally comes off quite easily by applying carburetor cleaner and wiping the saturated paint off with a clean white rag. Then save this rag in case you choose to match the original German green paint at a later date. Frequently, the blue surface of the water jacket beneath the paint has been protected and remains quite beautiful. If your water jacket is rusty, treat it with the same care you applied to your receiver. Use the brass bristled brush and carburetor cleaner or Kroil as appropriate to clean the detailed corners and fitting attachments. In the process of inspecting and cleaning the entire surface, you will locate manufacturer’s markings and proof marks which can be cleaned with the brass brush for highlighting with white paint as described later in this article.

While you are working on the receiver, an area that is easily overlooked needs your attention. The barrel slides into the rear of the trunnion and forms a water-tight seal in this area when appropriate packing material is used. However the first 3 inches of the trunnion’s interior surface must be very smooth or the water seal will fail. The author has used a 12 gauge shotgun brass cleaning brush on a cleaning rod, rotated with an electric drill. Applying Kroil to the area and working the rotating cleaning brush back and forth will clean and smooth out the surface, allowing a tight water seal.

One part of the Maxim that seems to attract rust is the fusee spring cover. Even Maxims with a lot of original bluing remaining on the other parts, have browned fusee spring covers. In part this is because the covers are made of sheet metal. Plus, they protrude from the gun and probably received a lot more rough treatment. Frequently these covers have dents which can be easily removed. Remove the spring from the inside of the cover, leaving the indicator mechanism in place. Rest that dented surface on a hard flat surface like a piece of iron. Place a smaller piece of flat steel or iron over the dent on the inside, tapping it gently with a hammer. With patience, most of the dents can be removed. However you may find that some are not worth risking damage to the overall cover and are best left alone. Use your brass bristled brush to clean the serial number and spring tension indicator markings.

After the rapid progress you made cleaning the water jacket, the feed block will seem very tedious. Its many details create numerous surfaces to catch grime and accumulate rust. So don’t be surprised if you spend an entire evening on this part alone. As mentioned earlier, I chose not to disassemble the feed block out of concern for breaking a part. If your feed block has a broken lower feed arm, the feed block assembly will have to be disassembled to replace that part. So tap the retaining pin out of the lower feed arm shaft using a properly-size punch, and carefully work to separate the upper feed arm from the lower feed arm shaft. Kroil is excellent penetrating oil and may loosen the parts after they have been soaked in it overnight.

To clean the feed block assembly, you may have to soak it in a solvent like paint thinner if it is seriously encrusted with dried grease. Brass brushes of various sizes, toothbrushes and a pointed tool made of a soft material like a piece of brass welding rod (not an ice pick or screwdriver which will scratch the surface) will help in reaching into the many recesses of the feed block. As I cleaned this part, I realized how many hours it took highly-skilled German machinists to make this one assembly. I believe more man hours of competent machinists’ time went into making each Maxim feed block than are required of five M-16s. And certainly more skill.

I treated the lock assembly like the feed block, soaking it in a solvent and then cleaning it intact, rather than disassembling this complicated mechanism. As mentioned before, if you want to disassemble the lock assembly, carefully read that portion of Dolf Goldsmith’s book or enroll in the instructive class offered by Long Mountain Outfitters.

By now you have a good idea how to clean the remainder of your Maxim’s parts. Remove the wood parts from the steel assemblies to which they are attached. Try to remove cotter keys so they can be reused. But if they break, you can obtain new ones at the hardware store. New cotter keys will be longer than needed and will have a modern zinc finish. Choose the appropriate diameter cotter key and cut it to the proper length. You can remove the unsightly zinc finish in one of two ways. The zinc finish will disappear if soaked in a mild solution of muriatic acid for a couple minutes. Use gloves and eye protection. Afterwards, thoroughly wash off the part before oiling it to prevent rust from forming. The second approach is to simply burn it off using the flame of a small torch. Both of these processes create dangerous fumes so avoid breathing the fumes and perform the process outdoors.

Restoring a machine gun is an organized process. By now you have disassembled the complete firearm, degreased each part, removed rust as appropriate and cleaned all of the manufacturer’s markings. Before rushing to reassemble the gun, arrange all the parts in an organized fashion on the clean surface. Reinspect them under a bright light to make sure you did not miss details that will become disappointments after the gun is assembled.

Now is the time to address the missing and the broken parts. You may have been fortunate to have a 100% complete Maxim machine gun. Mine had several deficiencies. It did not have a bipod, so I purchased a reproduction from International Military Antiques, a frequent advertiser in Small Arms Review. My Maxim had lost its muzzle booster/flash hider. The pair of flat springs riveted to the inside of the top cover were broken off. The top cover hinge pin had been replaced with a long bolt and nut. The firing pin was broken. One of the screws holding the steam port cover seal in place had also been broken off. I chose to ignore the broken off screw and found my missing parts on the Internet. I also needed the steam hose and purchased a reproduction from IMA.

The identification marks on a firearm are frequently the only link we have to its personal history. So I chose to highlight these markings. Since I already cleaned each of the markings using the brass brush, I now applied carburetor cleaner and wiped each marking with a clean rag. White enamel paint from a hobby shop was then applied to each marking and the excess wiped off with a rag and a flexible plastic implement. It took several tries to start to get the touch needed to make the end product appear satisfactory. Carburetor cleaner worked well to remove my mistakes so I could try again. The serial number etched into the fusee spring cover was so shallow that it did not take the paint well. Likewise, I was not successful with the most important markings of the gun, those on the top cover. I trust you will develop a better technique than I employed.

Your next decision concerns the water jacket: do you want to paint it or leave it unpainted? I chose to paint my water jacket and use the same color to paint the bipod. I had saved the rag used to remove the original German green paint from the water jacket. The best match I found for that color was an aerosol spray paint manufactured by Aervoe-Pacific Company of Gardnerville, NV and designated “Camouflage Paint 987 Olive Drab 34087.” Before painting the water jacket, clean it once again with carburetor cleaner and a clean rag. Then use masking tape to mask off the trunnion and receiver as well as the front sight. Spray painting it was the easy part.

The most rewarding step of this entire process is the reassembly of the gun. First oil the surfaces of all of the pieces before you reassemble them. As the pieces come together, you will feel rewarded for all of your hours of patience. If you do not remember how parts were to be reassembled, consult the digital photographs you took as you disassembled your machine gun or study The Devil’s Paintbrush. If you have to force the reassembly of pieces, you are probably doing it incorrectly.

Your completely assembled 08/15 Maxim machine gun is now a piece of beauty.

In financially prosperous times businesses and collectors knew the value of their money and purchased inventory or added to their collection based on each item’s value. We all understood that common currency. Today, we are more conservative with our money. We have had to reduce our spending to only those basic inventory items or “must have” collectables. Current economic conditions present an opportunity to change our way of thinking in order to maintain or improve our businesses and personal collections.

Our economy has changed the way we do business. Some of us dealers no longer speculate on inventory, even when we know the opportunity may not be there for us in the future. Many collectors no longer have the available cash to expand their collections. Dealers are seeing the consequences of this economy at the bottom line of their monthly Profit and Loss Statements.

When we dealers have stale inventory or we collectors have duplicate items in our collections and cannot succeed in selling them, we may be able to improve our successes by changing our thinking from selling to exchanging our merchandise for more useable commodities.

Today, when collectors want to acquire new treasures for their collections, but find themselves lacking cash, they may chose to reevaluate their position, which is not as bleak as it seems. The lack of cash does not mean collectors are without available assets with which to use to expand their collections, as long as we dealers are willing to expand our thinking as well.

Exchanges – “trading” as we called it as kids, only work when information is successfully assembled and conveyed. The seller of that treasure, that you want to add to your collection, is trying to sell it because he has no other way of placing a value on his merchandise without using the common denominator of dollars. But a monetary price does not mean he will only accept dollars for his merchandise. And when you ask “will you trade”, he is most likely going to decline, because he can not imagine his excitement over something you own. This is because he lacks clear knowledge of what you have to exchange. In fact, when asked, most collectors interested in using an exchange in lieu of cash can not readily say what items they have available to trade.

If you are interested in this new age – and old world – means of expanding your collection, start by considering everything you own. EVERYTHING. Now that information can be transmitted so easily on the internet, assemble your List of Trading Material. Ask yourself these questions:

* What duplicates do you have in your collection? Would you rather have two of one thing or add something to your collection that you don’t yet have?

* Has the focus of your collection changed? What items have you collected that no longer excite you? What’s now available for trade that may not have been in the past?

* What accessories and small parts have you accumulated over the years? Rare parts and accessories have a collectors market of their own and everyone needs spare parts.

Your new list of Trading Material seemed important when you first acquired the items. Now they are boxed away in storage, out of sight and not even thought of as a valuable asset. Yet they are of value to someone and if you do not list them, the sellers you work with will unknowingly miss the opportunity to offer you more than you expected for what you valued the least.

Finally, what treasures in your collection would you consider exchanging for something better? This is a hard question to answer. But the person on the other end of this transaction may decide to extract a similarly rare item from his – or her – personal collection to entice you into a trade.

Remember, merely listing the items on your List of Trading Material does not mean you are surrendering them. You are only telling the world you will consider letting go of them if the world comes up with something even more exciting to you.

That being said, your list may be an even more valuable tool for others if you include a description of what you collect. You may just remind a seller of something he forgot he had – to trade.

This list should not become such a massive project that it never gets done! Your written descriptions should be brief. But if your treasure has unique history, tell that too. If the other party is interested, he will ask you for more information. A group of parts does not have to be methodically inventoried at this point. “Thirty miscellaneous 1919A4 Browning parts” is a sufficient initial description. If the seller is interested, he will tell you. Photographs are effective tools to incite interest and desire. If you can include a photo of each item or group of items with each description, you will have an effective tool to convey what you have for trade. If you do not know how to attach pictures to your list, mention that you have photos available to email to interested parties.

Since we are addressing exchanges, realize that the person you are trying to strike a transaction with may have other interests, as you do. You may be able to turn that dusty Harley Davidson in the back of your garage into a very rare firearm for your collection. So be brave and include everything of value you are willing to part with. List the other items under separate headings so your customer can quickly scan your Trading List.

The authors of this article intend for it to become a catalyst for you to find ways to transact business with other interested people even though available cash may be in short supply in today’s economy. For some exchangers, an exchange becomes a taxable transaction. For others, there is no federal tax consequence due the IRS. The authors are not tax counselors. But generally, individual collectors can make “like kind” exchanges without creating a tax liability on the “gain” received. Gain is the difference between what you paid for the items you are trading away and the value of what you receive. The IRS evaluates dealers differently. Dealers can not enjoy the benefit of ‘like kind” exchanges of their business inventory. Dealers must declare the gain on exchanges. That may discourage some dealers. However, in this economy, most dealers have reduced income and increased expenses, so the addition of exchange revenue may not create much of a tax burden. And, when the dealer resells the items received in a tax paid exchange, the cost basis in the exchanged items is greater, reducing the future taxable gain when the eventual cash sale takes place. Consult your tax accountant for the answers to your questions.

Cash sales and purchases were simple, and they still are when cash is available. For exchanges between two collectors or between a collector and a dealer, the inconvenience of this more complicated transaction will be quickly offset by the joy of completing a transaction without cash. This avenue of trading inventory and collectables could be taken even further. If we all could post our Lists of Trading Material in “Trades Only” sections of our favorite websites, perusing those lists may be great fun! And remember the wise insight we all have heard: “One Man’s Junk Is Another Man’s Treasure.”

Mankind has been making exchanges since the beginning of time. Collecting must go on – lets all work together to make it happen.

Harry Scarlett and Robert Blankenship, of Spencer Gun Company in Portland, TN, do remarkable work on Browning .50 caliber machine guns. Recently, Robert was returning a World War II Hi-Standard to me and brought along one of his experiments. I want to be clear in this brief article. This is not intended to be instruction, nor encouragement for anyone to do the experimental research Robert Blankenship is pursuing. That caveat noted, Robert told me he was bringing a Winchester Model 71 and a Chinese Dragunov re-worked to handle a smokeless powder version of the .50-110 cartridge. When he told me this, I figured I misinterpreted something he was saying and thought I’d wait until he arrived to see what he was really talking about.

Shooting a smokeless version of the old .50-110 buffalo hunters’ cartridge in a Winchester Model 71 is outlandish. Shooting it in a Chinese Dragunov sniper rifle is extreme. Needless to say, the recoil would be stout if it wasn’t for an extraordinary muzzle break Robert designed and installed on both rifles. Yevgeniy Dragunov would be impressed!

Spencer Rifle Company
145 CB&L Lane
Portland, TN 37148
Phone: 615-325-3551

Lead Photo: The remains of a chopper mounted Mini-Gun.

Imagine entering a military museum and being greeted by a statement like this: “Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to the future generations to explain why.” Robert S. McNamara.

Thus began the welcome to Vietnam’s War Remnants Museum. “Remnants” of war much different from the “remnants”, what remains, what is left over, which we are used to contemplating. Yet, that is the purpose for which this museum in Communist Vietnam was established, to contain what remains, to keep anti-American memories alive, to justify the actions of North Vietnam during the war and to support the Communist government of Vietnam.

SAR visited Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Cu Chi and the Mekong. The evidence is clear; Vietnam is looking to the future. Since its Communist government’s amazing move in 1985 to convert this country’s economy to a free market economy, Vietnam is accelerating into the 21st century. A middle class is developing from its citizens’ unprecedented post-war economic opportunities. Yet, although the government’s focus is on building future international relations and a strong internal economy, memories of the war are preserved, manipulated and promoted.

Thoi Som Island on the Mekong River, once a heavily bombed Vietcong stronghold, is now a resort known for its tropical fruit. The unconquerable tunnels of Cu Chi are now accessible to the public, complete with booby trap displays, a souvenir shop and a Vietnam-era weapons live fire shooting range. But the most graphic display of a one-sided preservation of the Vietnam War encountered by this writer was the War Remnants Museum.

The museum grounds included equipment displays featuring examples of some of America’s more exotic bombs, a 15,000 pound “seismic bomb” claimed to be effective over a 3 kilometer area and a CBU-55B designed to “destroy all the oxygen within a radius of 500 meters”. U.S. light and heavy artillery were on display as well as attack-equipped T-33 and F-5 jet aircraft. Nearby, a UH1 Huey sported a somewhat cannibalized Minigun.

The Communist counterbalance to all of this sophisticated weaponry is a twelve foot tall portable guillotine. This is the very guillotine the Communists carted from province to province, from hamlet to hamlet, executing citizens who had shown a partiality towards the South Vietnamese or the Americans. The contradiction in technology was profound.

The Communist government’s intent of this museum is to demonstrate the brutality and senselessness of U.S. actions. Statistics were given comparing the number of tons of bombs dropped over Vietnam by the U.S., versus our similar contribution to World War II. The statistics included the number of schools, hospitals and religious buildings destroyed in North Vietnam and the comparison of the nearly 3 million Vietnamese casualties to the 58,000 American casualties.

The War Remnants Museum bore a close similarity to the many holocaust museums existing in America today. The Jewish statement “Never Again” is not unlike the Vietnamese equivalent: “In retrospect, it is not for inciting hatred, just for learning lessons from history: human beings will not tolerate such a disaster happening again, neither in Vietnam nor anywhere on our planet”.

Interior displays included poster-sized photographs of American soldiers involved in the destruction of Vietnam and its citizenry. Many of the photographs are horrendously graphic. That is the purpose of this museum: to show “America’s war abuse”. Expectedly, the other side of the coin is conspicuously absent: the equally disgusting Communist atrocities. What this museum is unintentionally displaying is Communist Vietnam’s inability to be self-critical. America’s Democracy creates a safe environment to present and debate mistakes we may have committed. But Communism has no such mirror to reflect its shames along with its pride. Vietnam’s War Remnants Museum is an unmistakable demonstration of its national shortcoming.

Today, sixty percent of Vietnam’s population is younger than twenty-five years of age! Sixty percent of the country’s population does not have personal experience in the war. Possibly for this demographic reason, the War Remnants Museum is oriented towards retaining the memory of the war and American violence against the Vietnamese. Exhibits are in both Vietnamese and English. Yet, coincidentally, during this writer’s visit to the Museum, the majority of the visitors were non-Vietnamese, primarily American and a few Europeans. Some of the Americans had a hard time digesting the graphic illustrations of the war. One photo depicted a body being thrown from a Huey a thousand feet above the ground with the caption “Refusing to answer interrogations, a man is being thrown from a flying helicopter”. A visitor’s comment this author overheard was “That’s a bald-faced distortion”. Yet the photograph was claimed to have been taken from a specific issue of Life Magazine, a fact easily documented. I saw no need to document it, having heard duplicate stories directly from Americans on the scene when such events took place. Ironically, most of the photographs appeared to have been taken by U.S. GIs or newsmen.

It is difficult for the majority of us, living a life secure and distant from the reality of human conflict, to understand the distortions of “sanity” such conflicts create. Criticism is easy, but by “walking in their shoes,” would we have acted differently?

The photo gallery was strictly a one-sided representation of the atrocities of war, showing nothing of the butchery which took place at the hands of the North Vietnamese and Vietcong. Thus, it is doubtful the sixty percent of the country’s population with no war experience, will ever see similar examples of the atrocities committed by their countrymen. They may never learn that their government’s intent is to indoctrinate them in the one-sided picture of atrocities inflicted upon their nation by the invading Americans. This may be an example of their government’s struggling attempt to counterbalance the peaceful evolution taking place in Vietnam today. Vietnam’s Communist government has much to fear, for this is an evolution from Communism to free enterprise, economic independence and eventually Democracy.

The peaceful evolution of Vietnam will take place, in part from the growing interest in establishing English as a second language. Surprisingly, one of the most popular prime time television shows is not Baywatch, the world-wide hit elsewhere on this planet, it is an English lesson!

The small arms exhibits were somewhat less propagandized, giving a good representation of the weaponry used on both sides of the war. On display were many fine small arms, including a variety of Colt M-16s, M-14s in several configurations and an interesting selection of .45 Thompsons and 9mm subguns used by our soldiers.

Grenade launchers were well represented, along with gas guns, all considered equal in this museum display. Several of the belt-fed grenade launchers appeared to be early prototypes of contemporary weaponry. But this author’s favorite was the display of miniguns and the unique feed system attached to one of the examples.

Next to the recoilless rifle in the center of the display was a single shot weapon bearing no similarity to anything with which this author is familiar. Photos are enclosed, hoping readers can identify this weapon.

Don’t worry, these small arms will be around for years, well protected from the intense monsoon humidity in Vietnam. The number of coats of varnish applied to these firearms will preserve them for posterity; hopefully, for Class 3 collectors once America’s laws are amended to again allow such imports for dedicated collectors of war history.

Propaganda was not absent in the small arms displays, though it was almost comical to a Reasonably Knowledgeable Individual (RKI). Colt and Smith and Wesson 357 Magnum revolvers were classified as “excessive”. 1918 A-2 Browning automatic rifles were referred to with disgust of their potential for overkill. Yet, displayed alongside them was the world’s foremost assault rifle, the Kalashnikov AK-47 and its Chinese counterparts, as well as the lethal belt-fed and highly mobile RPD. Conspicuously absent were examples of the feared booby traps which impaled too many American soldiers.

Possibly the envy of the display were the 4 miniguns. Yes, 4 complete miniguns, causing this author to ponder opportunities for post-86 imports!

The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City is communist Vietnam’s one-sided representation of the atrocities of the war. Yet, who could expect otherwise. A visit to this museum is a valuable experience. Not only are the small arms and heavy equipment displays of interest and sometimes unique, but the visit reminds us of the pain and misery, of the profound sacrifice the war in Vietnam exacted from everyone involved, directly and indirectly.

The easy road is the road of blame, undoubtedly present in the minds of some of the readers of this article. It is much easier to cast blame and remain entrenched in the past, not unlike those members of our nation who are still refighting the Civil War. The much more difficult approach is that taken by many Americans and many Vietnamese. Theirs is the choice to look forward, a courageous choice in view of the suffering inflicted on all participants of battle. As one Vietnamese government official told me, “We have chosen to look forward to a new relationship between Vietnam and America”.

May we all choose to change our angle of view from looking back at the past, as former enemies, to a view of the future with a new cooperation and partnership between the United States of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

This article appeared in part in SAR Volume 1 Number 1, but it is so poignant to the subject, that we decided to present it again, updated and revised, in our Small Arms of Vietnam issue- Dan

By Michael Shyne

Thirty five thousand American troops and over one-half million Republic of Korea troops, focusing on the joint security area at Panmunjom, face-to-face with the sharp edge of the one million man army of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. Panmunjom, the middle of the demilitarized zone separating South and North Korea, the most heavily armed, heavily mined area of the world. Today, it is still one of the world’s hot spots, after 5,000 years of civilization on the Korean peninsula, after 5,000 years of conflict.

Equal to the magnitude of the arms buildup at Panmunjom, one of the world’s largest military museums, War Memorial in Seoul, Republic of Korea (South Korea) covers the history of life and combat for five millennia. The War Memorial, appropriately located face-to-face with the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, is beyond the scope of the concept of a military museum, as we Americans know it. For a country no bigger than Indiana, war, ceremony and honor given to warriors, and the national recognition of the importance of a strong national defense, justifies a museum of this size.

As I approached the War Memorial, I could not believe the magnitude of the architecture. A marble structure of over 100,000 square yards. Quickly I converted that measurement into meaningful numbers. Imagine, a museum of 1 million square feet! Its size is a warning to you. It is not to be visited as a brief stop between breakfast and shopping.

War Memorial is composed of 7 major exhibition halls, honoring the 5,000-year history of the people of this peninsula, as they defended their country from over 900 invasions by neighbors. America’s involvement in Korea since 1866, and our sacrifice of 54,000 American soldiers during the Korean War, as profound and consequential as it was, suddenly shrinks in significance when visiting War Memorial.

A well-planned visit to War Memorial begins in Memorial Hall, architecturally designed to honor and remember the great spirit and the achievement of this nation’s national heroes. Symbolism in Korea is deeply rooted in tradition and carried forward into contemporary architecture, well beyond the accomplishment of American architects. Memorial Hall greets visitors with a circular marble room enclosed with a concave ceiling, honoring a Star Trek-like blue light descending from the ceiling’s apex onto a magnificent hemisphere of marble, the focal point of the room. Nearby, more traditional black marble monuments list the names of Korean officers and soldiers killed in action during the Korean War, South Korea’s proud involvement in the Vietnam War and even in Somalia. As one begins to tour War Memorial, the philosophy of the nation becomes clear: solidarity among its people, and their determination to defend their homeland, is all that separates prosperity and true democracy from communist North Korea’s (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) attempt to invade and communize the entire Korean peninsula. The Republic of Korea’s strong national defense is founded on unity and this single-minded focus by its national leadership.

The War History Room includes reproductions of fortresses and dioramas of Korean combat not only with the Japanese and the Chinese in recent times, but in wars that date back to before the Tang Dynasty. Some of Korea’s implements of war are most unique. In fact, they may cause you to realize that modern weapons designers are doing nothing more than “modernizing” the developments of weapon designers of ages past. A model of a Shin Ki-Jon, a multiple rocket launcher is on display. Practically little different than the German Nebelwerfer Portable Rocket Launcher of World War II, this portable, wheeled, multiple launcher sends a cloud of arrows towards its enemy. In the same area cannon are on display. Nearby, are examples of traditional cannon ball, as we are used to seeing in our Civil War battlefields. Yet protruding from the barrels of these ancient cast-bronze cannons are giant Sabot-looking projectiles with fins little different from the air-to-air missiles deployed by America’s contemporary fighter aircraft!

The first exhilarating display of small arms is in the Korean War Room. Keep in mind, the noun “room” is used very differently at War Memorial. For the Korean War Room contains more than a dozen rooms on two floors of this mammoth building. The Korean War resulted in 4.4 million Koreans dead or wounded and 10 million separated from their families. The entire country was devastated. The degree of that devastation is easy for Americans to grasp, for we have many living Korean War veterans. Ask them about their memories of Korea. Ask them if they want to return. Most will tell you the experience was horrible and the nation ugly. Yet today, a visit to South Korea is a visit to a beautiful nation, with 45 million people eagerly wanting to welcome Americans! There are few places on this planet Americans can visit, where one will experience the welcome received in South Korea. The citizens of South Korea clearly recognize their country exists today as a free nation because of the prompt and forceful actions of President Truman and the United States, when North Korean forces, armed and trained by the Soviets, launched an unprovoked, all-out invasion on June 25, 1950, just two years after U.N.-observed elections created Korea’s first democratic government. During my visit to Korea, I was fortunate to be accompanied by a former Korean soldier. This man’s father fought in the Korean War. As explained to me, like virtually all other Korean children of his generation, he was raised with a continued reminder that America and its soldiers (as well as soldiers from 53 U.N. countries) saved South Korea from being overrun by innumerable Chinese troops. My guide’s grandparents suffered the cruelty of the 4-decade long Japanese occupation of Korea. His father fought to save Korea from North Korean dominance. As he explained his family’s history to me, he reached the time of the Vietnam War. He told me there was absolutely no doubt in his mind, and in his family members’ hearts that he would represent his nation, supporting America’s involvement in Vietnam. He explained that military action was an opportunity for South Koreans to attempt to give back to America, as America had so generously given to South Korea between 1950 and 1953.

I have heard from American soldiers who fought with Korean KATUSA (Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army) troops in Vietnam, describing the Koreans as ultimate warriors. Previously I had thought that their motivation was simply their training. Now I understood that the motivation of Korean soldiers in Vietnam was much deeper, it was rooted in the family tradition of repaying debts owed, even on a global scale. He then told me about the next generation by describing his son’s dilemma. His son was ready to go to college, with a chosen career path and the money to attend college. Yet his father’s challenge was explaining to the son how that plan would have to be put off for a couple of years, while he receives a token monthly payment, serving in the ROK army, meeting the military requirement and fulfilling family tradition.

The Korean War Room is a must-see experience. Along with firearms exhibits are action-filled bronze sculptures and dioramas that allow one to glimpse the struggles of the millions of refugees of that war. I visited this museum with several U.S. Korean War veterans. As we passed a diorama of Chinese soldiers running into battle, one of my friends, almost ashamed, told of how hundreds of unarmed Chinese soldiers descended on them, armed with nothing but pots and pans, hoping to kill Americans and requisition their guns. This Korean War veteran was a youngster when armed Americans were fighting armed Germans in World War II. His understanding of combat was torn apart when he was forced to fire on a swarm of Chinese soldiers coming to beat him to death with kitchen utensils.

As visitors to the War Memorial immerse themselves into the Korean War, a dark doorway awaits them. Beyond that doorway is something seldom experienced in military museums. Beyond that doorway is something two of the Korean War veterans I was with were unwilling to re-experience, for beyond that doorway is the Combat Experience Room. Intellectually described as a place where visitors are able to experience the atmosphere of the real battlefield at night, the Combat Experience Room was much more to the Korean War veterans choosing to accompany me into that darkened environment. We were standing in a foxhole. In front of us were mannequin soldiers crouching down in the heat of battle. Some of the soldiers in front of us were firing M-1 Garands. To our right were two men on a 1919A-4 Browning. Nearby others were firing 60mm mortars into the distance. Separating all of us from the enemy were the battle-scarred remnants of vegetation, entwined with barbwire and destruction. In the distant hills the flash of gunfire pointing our way was constant, as was the roar of automatic weapons fire around us, and the flashes from ordnance exploding nearby. The Combat Experience Room proved too graphic for one of my Korean War friends. Faster than a psychiatrist’s couch, this experience was resurrecting memories he wanted to remain buried. Yet War Memorial’s Combat Experience Room is a great success. It helps successive generations of Koreans feel, on a soul level, the sacrifices made by their parents and their grandparents to create the freedom they unintentionally take for granted.

Ten times in Korean history its troops were sent abroad for participation in other nations’ wars. The Expeditionary Forces Room honors those ten events with particular attention to Korea’s proud participation in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the Somalia conflict. In terms of the length and scale of involvement and the role played, its participation in the Vietnam War was the most significant among all ten expeditionary dispatches. Through its participation in the Vietnam War, Korean armed forces displayed their strong might to the world. Its 8-year participation in that war demonstrated to the world that Korean armed forces, which used to receive support from other countries, were now able to provide help to an ally of the free world. Koreans are confident that their involvement in the Vietnam War enhanced the status of the Republic of Korea in the world community by proving to the world that Korea is able to keep its own peace and to contribute towards the peace of the world as well.

We readers of Small Arms Review love to look at guns. But War Memorial carries us beyond that interest, offering us a much deeper understanding of the dangers posed by the enemy. A diorama of Vietcong mines and booby traps, and another of the Vietcong tunnel system, start to reveal the scope of the challenge American and ROK troops experienced during the Vietnam War.

The Armed Forces Room includes halls dedicated to the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, portraying how the Constabulary, which was activated after the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonial rule, transformed itself into the Korean armed forces. With the help of other nations, it ultimately repelled North Korea’s invasion. That trial by fire, just two years after the Republic of Korea was established, began the evolution of the ROK armed forces into today’s military might utilizing up-to-date armament and intensive training of its 600,000 troops.

The next visit is to the Large Equipment Room. In this context, “equipment” fulfills SAR readers’ dreams: helicopters, U.S. and Russian aircraft, tanks, anti-aircraft guns, the big equipment is all here, well preserved in this immense indoor exhibition room.

The final chapter in the statement made by War Memorial is the Korean Defense Industries Room. Here, actual examples and miniature models of weapons and armament currently manufactured in Korea are on display. This exhibit includes small arms, ammunition, electronics and even power plants, all demonstrating the Republic of Korea’s military might and its ability to supply and equip its army and the armies of the world.

One million square feet makes an immense museum. Yet your tour is not over! Leaving the building one enters the next phase of exhibits. The outdoor exhibition area at War Memorial is a grand experience by itself. Imagine Korean, Russian and American aircraft on the grounds surrounding this mammoth marble structure. Would you expect a B52 bomber to be parked in the middle of urban Seoul, Korea? Yet here it is, along with rockets, tanks, and examples of every type of stationary, portable, tracked and naval artillery that one could imagine. I was delighted to be able to photograph the missing pieces to my 90mm anti-aircraft gun. You will find something equally meaningful if you take the trip to South Korea and visit the nation that is eternally extending its hand of friendship and thanks to America.

“Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to the future generations to explain why.” Robert S. McNamara. In Retrospect-The Tragedy And Lessons Of Vietnam. Preface XVI-Times Books, NY, April 1995

Thus began the welcome to Vietnam’s War Remnants Museum. “Remnants” of war much different from the “remnants”, what remains, what is left over, which we are used to contemplating. Yet, that is the purpose for which this museum in Communist Vietnam was established, to contain what remains, to keep memories alive, to support the communist government of Vietnam.

SAR recently visited Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Cu Chi and the Mekong. The evidence is clear; Vietnam is looking to the future. Since its communist government’s amazing move in 1985 to convert this country’s economy to a free The grounds included equipment displays featuring examples of some of America’s more exotic bombs, a 15,000 pound “seismic bomb” claimed to be effective over a 3 kilometer area and a CBU-55B designed to destroy all the oxygen within a radius of 500 meters. U.S. light and heavy artillery were on display as well as attack-equipped T-33 and F-5 jet aircraft. Nearby, a UH1 Huey sported a somewhat cannibalized minigun.

To counterbalance all of this sophisticated weaponry, a twelve foot tall portable guillotine was on display, the very guillotine the communists carted from province to province, from hamlet to hamlet, executing those citizens who had shown a partiality towards the South Vietnamese or the Americans. The contradiction in technology was profound.

The communist government’s intent of this museum is to demonstrate the brutality and senselessness of U.S. actions. Statistics were given comparing the number of tons of bombs dropped over Vietnam by the U.S. versus our similar contribution to World War II. The statistics included the number of schools, hospitals and religious buildings destroyed in North Vietnam and the comparison of the nearly 3 million Vietnamese casualties with the 58,000 American casualties.

The War Remnants Museum bore a close similarity to the many holocaust museums existing in America today. The Jewish statement “Never Again” is not unlike the Vietnamese equivalent: “In retrospect, it is not for inciting hatred, just for learning lessons from history: human beings will not tolerate such a disaster happening again, neither in Vietnam nor anywhere on our planet”.

Interior displays included many poster-sized photographs of American soldiers involved in the destruction of Vietnam and its citizenry. Many of the photographs are horrendously graphic. That is the purpose of this museum: to show “America’s war abuse”. Expectedly, the other side of the coin is conspicuously absent: the equally disgusting communist atrocities.

Today, sixty percent of Vietnam’s population is younger than twenty five years of age! Sixty percent of the country’s population does not have personal experience in the war. Therefore, the War Remnants Museum appears to be oriented towards retaining the memory of the war and American violence against the Vietnamese. Exhibits are in both Vietnamese and English. Yet, coincidentally, during this writer’s visit to the Museum, the majority of the visitors were non-Vietnamese, primarily Americans with a few Europeans. And some of the Americans had a hard time digesting the graphic illustrations of the war. One photo depicted a body being thrown from a Huey a thousand feet above the ground with the caption “Refusing to answer interrogations, a man is being thrown from a flying helicopter”. The comment overheard was “That’s a bald-faced distortion”. Yet the photograph was claimed to have been taken from a specific issue of Life Magazine, a fact easily documented. I saw no need to document it, having heard duplicate stories directly from Americans on the scene when such events took place. Ironically, most of the photographs appeared to have been taken by U.S. GIs or newsmen.

It is difficult for the majority of us, living a life secure and distant from the reality of human conflict, to understand the distortions of “sanity” such conflicts create. Criticism is easy, but, “without walking in their shoes,” would we have acted differently?

The photo gallery was strictly a one-sided representation of the atrocities of war, showing nothing of the butchery which took place at the hands of the Vietcong. Thus, it is doubtful the sixty percent of the country’s population with no experience The small arms exhibits were somewhat less propagandized, giving a good representation of the weaponry used on both sides of the war. On display were many fine small arms. Including a variety of Colt M-16s, M-14s in several configuration and an interesting selection of .45 Thompsons and 9mm subguns used by our soldiers.

Grenade launchers were well represented, along with gas guns, all considered equal in this museum. Several of the belt-fed grenade launchers appeared to be early prototypes of contemporary weaponry. But this author’s favorite was the display of miniguns and the unique feed system attached to one of the examples.

Next to the recoilless rifle in the center of the display was a single shot weapon bearing no similarity to anything with which this author is familiar. Photos are enclosed, hoping readers can identify this weapon.

Don’t worry, these small arms will be around for years, no matter the degree of humidity in Vietnam. The number of coats of varnish applied to these firearms will preserve them for posterity, hopefully, for Class 3 collectors once America’s laws are amended to again allow such imports for dedicated collectors of war history.

Propaganda was not absent in the small arms displays, though it was almost comical to a Reasonably Knowledgeable Individual. Colt and Smith and Wesson 357 Magnum revolvers were classified as “excessive”. 1918 A-2 Browning automatic rifles were referred to with disgust of their potential for overkill. Yet, alongside them was the world’s foremost assault rifle, the Kalishnikov AK-47 and its Chinese counterparts, as well as the lethal belt-fed but highly mobile RPD. Absent were the feared booby traps which impaled too many American soldiers.

Possibly the envy of the display were the 4 miniguns. Yes, 4 complete miniguns, causing this author to ponder opportunities for post-86 imports!

The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, is communist Vietnam’s one-sided representation of the atrocities of the war. Yet, who could expect otherwise. A visit to this museum is a valuable experience. Not only are the small arms and heavy equipment displays of interest and sometimes unique, but the visit reminds us of the pain and misery, of the profound sacrifice the war in Vietnam exacted from everyone involved, directly and indirectly. The easy road is the road of blame, undoubtedly present in the minds of some of the readers of this article. It is much easier to cast blame and remain entrenched in the past, not unlike those of our nation who are still refighting the Civil War. The much more difficult approach is that taken by many Americans and many Vietnamese. Theirs is the choice to look forward, a courageous choice, in view of the suffering inflicted on all participants of battle. “We have chosen to look forward to a new relationship between Vietnam and America”.

May we all choose to change our angle of view from looking back at the past, as former enemies, to a view of the future with new cooperation and partnership between the United States of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.