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kilimanjaro · February 5, 2014, 07:50 PM

That is a US Marine Corp Corpsman's knife from WWII. Also used in Korea and Vietnam, but none made after WWII. Entered service in 1943, I believe, and enough were made by 1945 no more were ever needed. We're still drawing on stocks of Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals made for the invasion of Japan, to this day.

They come with a heavy sheath and belt hooks to hang on the pistol belt.

It was not a fighting knife. It was issued to the Navy Corpsmen with the Marine platoons in the Pacific, and used for the cutting of emergency stretcher poles and for cutting a path out of the brush for stretcher bearers to remove the wounded and dead from where they were shot in the heavy brush and creeper vegetation on the islands.

The usual story is that USMC stands for US Medical Corps, and it was used for amputations. That's poppycock, although it could certainly have and probably did occur where a limb was literally hanging by a sinew or two, but it was issued for a brush cutting tool.

You can get a real nice one with sheath for anywhere from $100 and up. Some folks price them around $250 or more, but not many buyers at those prices. Look for a sheath at yard sales and gun shows, pick it up if you can snag one.

February 5, 2014, 07:50 PM	#8
kilimanjaro Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2009 Posts: 3,963	That is a US Marine Corp Corpsman's knife from WWII. Also used in Korea and Vietnam, but none made after WWII. Entered service in 1943, I believe, and enough were made by 1945 no more were ever needed. We're still drawing on stocks of Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals made for the invasion of Japan, to this day. They come with a heavy sheath and belt hooks to hang on the pistol belt. It was not a fighting knife. It was issued to the Navy Corpsmen with the Marine platoons in the Pacific, and used for the cutting of emergency stretcher poles and for cutting a path out of the brush for stretcher bearers to remove the wounded and dead from where they were shot in the heavy brush and creeper vegetation on the islands. The usual story is that USMC stands for US Medical Corps, and it was used for amputations. That's poppycock, although it could certainly have and probably did occur where a limb was literally hanging by a sinew or two, but it was issued for a brush cutting tool. You can get a real nice one with sheath for anywhere from $100 and up. Some folks price them around $250 or more, but not many buyers at those prices. Look for a sheath at yard sales and gun shows, pick it up if you can snag one.