Thanks for the info and links. I guess being an ex Air Force guy, we never got to go out and "play soldier", go out in the field and shoot a .50 caliber machine gun, drive a tank, throw a hand grenade........heck, in my 4 years in the Air Force, I only got to shoot the M-16 once, and that was at basic training. And we had to shoot .22 shells out of it...........we didn't even get to shoot the real stuff thru them!!!!
So I guess that's where part of the reason why I posted this...........never got to "really" be in the military, and deep down, I feel like I missed out. And to me, the M-1 represents the ultimate in "we're gonna kick your ass".
Thanks again.
vmax84