My father and guns

[fbhjr]

The only time my father had a gun of any kind was when he was in the Army. He hated being in the Army. He tried to dodge the draft in WWII, but didn't manage it as his uncle ran the draft.
When he was shipped out to the Pacific, he was issued a side arm.
All across the Pacific, the other folks on his ship took out their side arms and shot at things. Birds, fish, waves, etc.
Some time between when he left and when he got there, Japan surrendered. So, instead of having to fight, he was part of the military government that took over. He was sent to the section of Korea that Japan had been occupying there.
When he got off the ship, his captain came up to him.
"Hunt! Where is your sidearm?"
"It's in its box," my father said, pointing at the box with his duffle bag.
"Why is it in there?"
"I've been on a ship for a month and I didn't want to have to clean it. So, I left it in its box so it wouldn't rust."
"Hunt that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" the captain yelled. "How do you know you were issued a working fire arm? You don't. Everyone gets leave here in port except Hunt who will stay here, clean his side arm and confirm it works."
That's the only story of the Army my father told that involved guns. And, he had lots of Army stories.