[Milsurplus] Restriced articles of war (apparently)

[Hue Miller]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Barry Hauser" <barry at hausernet.com>

> There's a scene after they prematurely dug in and gave Kesselring an 
> opportunity to move troops in and surround the beachhead.  Initial foray of 
> Rangers gets wiped out and Mitchum, a journalist with seven survivors, 
> radios into HQ on what looks like a BC-1000, working intermittently.  The 
> group is so aggravated, one of them grabbed the radio, smashed it and most 
> of the others join in stomping on the thing.  Someone points out that it 
> wasn't a good idea to take it out on the radio.

I point out here that this is  another example of how inauthentic
movies are. Do you ever wonder how screenwriters think? They work in 
another world.  They are fantasists, fantasists.

> Moral of the story -- I have no idea -- maybe this:  That BC-1000 might be 
> safer in Japan -- just don't sell to a movie company or GI's invading Italy. 
> I dunno.
> 
> Barry

Rest of the story: BC-1000 did not go to Japan, it went to a re-enactor in
California, USA. I had upgraded the package to include new accessories,
and while it isn't as good as my other one was, which was "picture book
perfect", it is quite good, and  is NOT an Italy remanufacture. Now lest
any one from an allied country get miffed, again, i say, i would not have minded 
if it had gone to a re-enactor or radio collector  in one of "our"countries. Maybe 
even Japan, if i was convinced it was going to a military communications collector.
So yass, i did have the last word :-) My crack about Japanese wearing US WW2 
flight jackets  to collector shows has basis in fact - that fact published by Manion's
Auction a few years back - the auction house of course was very happy to see
that development.  Anyway, i figure some Japanese buyer need not turn blue
without my BC-1000; he can always buy one from Italy in couple weeks or so.

BTW, now re the opposite polarity on destroying gov't equipment: a few years
back i was reading some German novel, written in the 1950s. Some Landser on 
the Ostfront had abandoned his heavy pack radio to carry  a wounded soldier back
with him as they retreated. The wounded soldier dies, and the officer threatens to
have this soldier shot - because the wounded man had  already looked hopeless, 
and the radio was the only one they had. I think this is "almost" as fantastical
as the above movie scene, unless the German officer had at the scene ordered
the soldier to drop the wounded man and take the radio - but that wasn't the
way it was. Still, the Wehr wouldn't have shot the man for this, in reality, worst
cast they would have sent him to a penitential battalion, to do the most dangerous
suicidal missions. I think the novel was titled something like "Ein Tausend Schritte".

I can think of a couple other novels, maybe 3, where there are references to military
radio communications, and big misunderstanding  of how the things work and are
used. But, that's for another time. -Hue Miller