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Donald R. Burgett was a 19-year-old paratrooper who dropped into Normandy in the early morning of June 6, 1944, with an M1 Garand and a U.S. M1911 pistol. Check out part 2 of our American Rifleman TV segment featuring World War II paratrooper and NRA Life member Don R. Burgett.
Great powers have often used smaller conflicts as test beds for new weapon systems, and also as dumping grounds for obsolete machinery. The Spanish Civil War was one such conflict.