Carried one in Viet Nam to open C-rat cans (I can still remember the taste of lima beans and pork, enough to gag a maggot at 1000 yards ) Carried one on my keyring for years after that, still have it I think in a box someplace in the garage.
Best tool in the world. I still have the same P-38 I received at Ft Polk, Basic Training, lion Country, 1975. Also, my wife has the grenade pin-ring I gave her as a momento of the blast I had then.
Having eaten a couple of carloads of C's, I have a bunch of spare p-38's, which, I admit, were a damned good (essential) idea. Having been a constant subscriber to the UCMJ, for duration of service, I will suggest, as I did to my last CO, that the DD 214 is the "Ultimate Invention" of the United States Army. It took 5, but I finally graduated from the grinder!
I carried one with my dogtags from the day I got it in basic training (1972) until the TSA (in 2002) said I couldn't take it on an airplane (I think they thought I might hold it up to a flight attendants neck and tell her to turn around while I operated it.) . They couldn't give me an answer when I asked them about my dogtags (which could be sharpened razor sharp). The P-38 is not just a can opener, I've used it as a screwdriver, with a fire starter, and various and sundry other things. I have several around the house, in the glove boxes of the car and truck and in all my hunting stuff. I would agree it is one of the best inventions.
I stopped carrying mine when I heard from some of my fellow employees they were confiscating them at airports. (we fly alot) My father gave it to me. He carryed it with him in WWII and I carried it when I went in the Army in 1989. I carried it on my keys until I was afraid of losing it to a TSA security guy. O heck I would have missed my plane first and mailed it home before I would have gave it up. I still have it. Locked in my gun safe.
Considering they didn't know what Joe Foss's MH was and tried to take it from him, I could just see some young female TSA agent seeing a P-38 and go running off screaming "BOX CUTTER!" "BOX CUTTER!" and the next thing you know you're in some dark room with a couple of burly dudes who didn't read McCain's "Save-the Terr" Torture Ban....
For those of you who don't know him, Polishshooter was one of the original "Miscreant Refugees from Brand X" who started TFF.
Polish is an expert on Moisin-Nagents, Spanish Pistols, loves the (crappy) P-40 Tomahawk, Kittyhawk, & Warhawk, and thinks he knows something about Military History.
Considering they didn't know what Joe Foss's MH was and tried to take it from him, I could just see some young female TSA agent seeing a P-38 and go running off screaming "BOX CUTTER!" "BOX CUTTER!" and the next thing you know you're in some dark room with a couple of burly dudes who didn't read McCain's "Save-the Terr" Torture Ban....
Geez, X, I know a LITTLE about Mosins and maybe '97 Winchesters, but all I know about the Eibars is that the mainspring from an Astra 600 can KILL you, and what little I remember from Bobin StL's rantings...
(And the P-40 and the Wildcat was the duo that only just happened to just about singlehandedly DESTROY the entire JAAF and JNAF as viable forces in 1942 AND 1943.... ) (OK, we can give a little credit to the P-38, but they KILLED the best Zero pilots the Japs had LONG before the first Corsair, Hellcat, P47 or P-51 set foot in the Pacific...)
Hell, Polish....the best Jap pilots weren't killed by either P-40's or F4F's....they were killed by SBD's.
The cream of Japanese aviation were killed at Midway when the SBD's sunk the Kaga, Akagi, Soryu, and Hiryu.
P-40's were only effective in the CBI Theatre (and a little in SoWestPac), which, while it covered a large area and tied down a lot of Jap troops, really didn't contribute greatly to the defeat of Japan.
It sure is nice to have somebody to argue with again!
I never carry one. I just keep them stashed everywhere. In all three cars, in my shooting box, in my camping box, in two tool boxes and a small tool kit and even one in the kitchen drawer. Why keep only one?
Then of course there's the Warsaw Bloc P-38's on steroids you need to open the Spam cans of ammo...but do not do HALF the clean job the Real one does...If I can cut the crap out of my hand on the jagged edges opening a can and digging out a few packs of x54 in my utility room, I just wonder how the Russkies ever did it under FIRE???
Probably only when they were running away from the German Tigers, Polish!
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