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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.
After World War II, the French military was left with a hodgepodge of leftover submachine guns. After several years, the army consolidated on a standard service rifle, the MAS-49, and a standard submachine gun: the MAT-49.