NEW DONATION TO THE VMM
VMM President Larry Callahan and Sgt. Greg Grim
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Minnesota Veteran Donates Captured Weapon to the VMMThe Veterans Memorial Museum was recently the recipient of a very generous donation by a Vietnam War veteran from Minneapolis, MN. Mr. Greg Grim read about the VMM in a featured article that was published in the May edition of FIREARMS NEWS magazine. After reading the article about the museum, he decided that the VMM was where he wanted to donate his French MAS 36 7.5mm rifle that he captured from a North Vietnamese soldier.
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During his service in Vietnam, Greg was an E-4 RTO (radio telephone operator) for an FO (forward observer) that was assigned to an Army RECON unit. One day on patrol, Greg’s unit happened upon a lone North Vietnamese soldier guarding a large cache of weapons, explosives, and food. The enemy soldier, who happened to be enjoying a bowl of rice (which he did not get to finish), was wounded, but managed to escape. When he fled, he left his rifle and bowl of rice behind.
The patrol captured dozens of different types of rifles and Greg secured the French MAS 36 for himself as a souvenir. Along with the donated rifle, Greg also provided the museum with all of the proper documentation (framed) that allowed a service member to carry home a war souvenir. Greg is hoping to make a return trip to Laurel at a later date and bring the bowl of rice and chopsticks the soldier was eating with, which, unfortunately, he was unable to locate prior to this trip down south.