(Photo by Joe Kurtenbach)
There’s an Old West adage that says, “God made man, Samuel Colt made them equal.” If that’s the case, John Browning should get credit for putting his thumb on the scales in favor of American service members. The 1911 pistol, the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), the .30-caliber 1917 water-cooled and 1919 air-cooled machine guns, and the big .50 caliber M2 machine gun were all World War-era designs that remained in service with the U.S. military through the Vietnam War. Of those, the single-action, hammer-fired 1911 remained the standard service sidearm until 1985 — and beyond in specialized roles — and the “Ma Deuce” heavy machine gun is...