A tremendous thanks to the folks at Archival Research Group for their willingness to research this Springfield Research Services hit for me!  The professional letter they provided me with explained information contained in the primary source document, as well as a copy of the document itself, which they located in the National Archives.  If anyone is looking for a letter and documentation on an SRS hit that they may have, I certainly recommend contacting ARG.  They were also incredibly helpful during my follow-up research after receiving their letter, and they graciously answered some additional questions that I had.

Here is a link to ARG - Archival Research Group - they also have a Facebook page.

Before going into the details of the hit there are two things that I'd like to address up front:

1) This serial does not appear in the "digital SRS" being sold online, but it does appear in at least one of the published SRS journals.  Caveat emptor to those who solely rely on the digital version, there are numerous serials that only appear in the books. While it is convenient to have the serials in a digital format, the digital list as it is currently provided is incomplete and you're missing out on potential hits.

2) While this serial is in the range that was duplicated by Colt, I believe the record shown is for the Ithaca, based upon the information below combined with the history initially relayed when the pistol surfaced back in the late summer of 2021.

Enjoy!

---main text/summary from letter

Serial number 856682 was found in a USMC report dated 13 April 1946, and signed by Major F.T. Clarke, Jr., of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1MAW). This report recorded several articles of equipment he had received from the Wing Quartermaster's Guard Company. Within that report were 10 Model 1911 & Model 1911A1 pistols. At that time Major Clarke Jr., was stationed at the Headquarters Squadron 61, Marine Aircraft Group 61, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. The Guard Company acted as the security detail for aircraft wing. You will notice among the articles transferred to Major Clarke are 10 nightsticks and 30 brassards marked "MP" (military police).

---------

While all 10 of the 1911 and 1911A1 serials listed could potentially have been manufactured by Colt (due to Colt's tendency to use serial blocks assigned to other manufacturers), 3 of the serials including this one are just as likely to be Ithaca, and 3 are just as likely to be Remington Rand.





For the photos I assembled Ithaca 856682 (shipped in March 1943) with a Boyt M1916 holster (1942), M1936 belt (Type 1), USMC uniform with 1MAW unit patch on shoulder (Sept 1944), and USMC MP brassard (1937-1948). This brassard is unique to the USMC with dots in "M.P." and is a fancy/deluxe version that is fully embroidered   MP brassards are usually sewn-on patches. Additionally, this brassard is a slightly lighter shade of blue than the dark/navy typically seen. The DFC and Air Medal were awarded in Vietnam to the vet who wore this uniform.














In April of 1946, 1MAW was in northern China participating in Operation Beleaguer.  In this operation US Marines assisted the Republic Of China in the repatriation of nearly 600,000 Japanese and Korean soldiers who remained in northeastern China after the end of WWII.  The combined force of approximately 50,000 USMC and ROC saw several minor combat engagements and skirmishes where the Marines and transports were targeted by the Chinese Communist Party.  US/ROC casualties were 35 killed, 43 wounded, 7 captured, with an unknown number of Communist casualties. Generally the US Marines were well-received by the local Chinese, who were grateful to be liberated from the Japanese.



(From "Hit the Beach! Your Marine Corps in Action" page 359, published by Wise & Co, 1948.)

1MAW bounced around for the next few years, seeing action in the Korean war from 1950-53, defending the Taiwan Straits from 1958-59, and then being deployed to Vietnam from 1965-1971. In 1976 the wing moved to Okinawa, Japan, and it is still located there to this day.



In the late summer of 2021, this pistol was sold to a gun shop in Eastern CT. The gentleman brought it to the shop along with a USGI holster, belt, and magazines, and told the shop owner it was a Vietnam bring-back.  The shop owner purchased the pistol but unfortunately declined to purchase the additional accessories. The very next day a good friend of mine was in the shop, saw the pistol, and being a fan of Ithaca shotguns he inquired about it. The owner of the shop relayed the above but was unclear as to whether it was sold by the vet himself, or his son.

The pistol was favorably priced in line with CMP offerings, so my friend immediately placed a deposit on it, sent me a photo celebrating his new acquisition, and completed the purchase a short time later.  After he brought it home and looked up the serial number he found that it was very early production, making it collectible as an early DuLite-finished Ithaca. Immediately realizing this was a pistol he shouldn't simply load up and carry on his walks in the woods (he had wanted to buy a cheap USGI shooter), he offered it to me, and I was excited to have the opportunity to purchase it.

With the pistol being described to the shop owner as a Vietnam bring-back, and the serial being documented to a USMC unit that went on to see action in Vietnam, I have no reason to believe they are not indeed one and the same.  Attempts to encourage the shop owner to contact the seller regarding any known history of the pistol have been unsuccessful. A requested FOIA on this serial came back with "no records responsive to your request" which rules it out as a CMP purchase. This result also rules out the corresponding serial number Colt being "in the system" after the mid-1970s.

An earlier thread on the pistol that I posted on a different forum, with the shop saying it was a "Vietnam bring-back".

https://www.1911forum.com/threads/ithaca-early-production-dates-serial-numbers.1040808/

(spelling edit)

Pretty sweet

@WWIIWMD because I know how much you love this stuff

Yes, I saw the matched serials up for auction.  At over $6k for the pair and with the Ithaca being refinished I am out.  It would be cool to eventually get an earlier one, though!