Marine reunited with his wartime M1 Garand after 73 years

By Chris Eger

Marine Dick Cowell with his Springfield M1 rifle (Photo: Melanie Bell / Palm Beach Daily News)
Dick Cowell comes from a long line of military veterans, and the WWII Marine recently was able to add the very rifle he carried during the conflict back to his collection.
“It’s my baby,” Cowell said of the rifle, which amazingly his son, Richard, was able to track down on Gunbroker. “I am very appreciative that Richard was able to find it after 73 years.”
Hailing from a line of veterans whose service dates back to the Civil War, Cowell enlisted in the Marines at age 18 and, when issued his Springfield Armory-produced M1, he dutifully noted the serial number– 3594593– on a paper that his son later found, sparking a six-month search for the gun, which turned up in the hands of a collector in New Jersey. Richard successfully won the auction and had the gun shipped to California, where his own son presented it to the senior Cowell.
“The rifle spent two weeks in my room before I gave it to my father,” Richard said. “I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I couldn’t believe it was finally ours.”
Cowell’s story is similar to that of a

Source: Guns.com