Franklin, Ed

I joined the navy reserve so I would not be drafted into the army, as Korea was getting started. For some reason I got one of the best jobs on base. I was a parachute rigger at Oakland Naval Air Station. Every fifth man got a BAR. The marines had nine BAR's per platoon and the army had three. That was one reason the marines had more fire power than the army. I fired expert with the 45 pistol. An M-1 weighs 9.5 pounds. I carried a BAR in Combat Training and it weighed 20 pounds. Everyone wanted to help with firing it, but no one wanted to help carry it.