A battered relic of Saipan
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Japanese Arisaka Type 99 7.7x58mm bolt action rifle with grenade damage and inscribed presentation plaque captured at Saipan 16 June 1944. The “mum” is present on the receiver, a rarity in an of itself. This rifle recently came up at auction with an estimated price of $1,500.
The right side of the buttstock has a small brass plaque that reads “AT 0440 ON THE MORNING OF 16 JUNE 1944,/AN AMERICAN INFANTRYMAN JUST LANDING/ON THE SHORES OF CHARAN-KANOA BEACH,/SAIPAN, THREW A HAND GRENADE AT A/JAPANESE SNIPER, KILLING HIM INSTANTLY./THE FORWARD STOCK OF THE RIFLE/WAS DAMAGED BY THE EXPLOSION./PRESENTED BY/COMMANDER WALTER BANTAU, USNR”.
