A family heirloom is now on display at a prestigious Mississippi museum.
by Leon Pantenburg
As a youngster, I had no idea my dad’s World War II memorabilia was particularly unique. In the early 1960s, it seemed like just about every adult male I knew was a veteran. My dad, Charles Pantenburg, was an infantry captain with Patton’s Third Army in Europe, and he later served in the Pacific. He was on a ship, headed for the invasion of mainland Japan, when the war ended. Dad was scheduled to be in Operation Olympic, on an assault team that would establish a beachhead at Osaka. Dad didn’t tell war stories, and he was close-mouthed about anything that had to do with his service. Even a kid could tell there were things he didn’t want to talk about.
Dad’s German K98 Mauser is now part of a WWII display at the Old Court House Museum in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
But he did have a cherished memory of a Sunday dinner during maneuvers in Louisiana. He had been stationed at Camp Shelby, Mississippi near Hattiesburg and liked the south.
As a kid, I was a history nerd and fascinated with World War II. Dad had brought home some really cool stuff. There was a Hitler Youth knife, an SS dagger, and a K-98 Mauser rifle with bayonet. And he had two Samurai swords, a Nambu pistol and a .31-caliber Japanese “Chrysanthemum” infantry rifle, complete with bayonet, from the Pacific theater.
Locked in the gun cabinet was a German Luger pistol, a German custom shotgun and the K98 rifle. Dad’s M-1 carbine was the first centerfire rifle I ever fired. I used dad’s 16-gauge drilling to kill a lot of Iowa pheasants.
TOP: His kids bought dad a brick in the walkway of the Museum of the US Army at Fort Belvoir, VA. Left: My left foot is adjacent to dad’s brick. Museum is in the background. Middle: WWII monument in Washington D.C. Right: The helmet Alvin C. York was wearing on the day he won the Medal of Honor in World War 1.
Anyway, the German rifle resided in the gunsafe on the farm until I inherited it when Dad died. It had never been fired, as best I could tell.
It always bothered me that this artifact was unseen and forgotten.
Why display something from an Iowan in a Mississippi museum?
In 1980, after my Source to Sea Mississippi River canoe trip, I got a newspaper job In Vicksburg. A close friend of mine was Gordon A. Cotton, director of the Old Court Museum. He visited my family in Iowa one Thanksgiving, which lead to a reciprocal Mississippi visit. Gordon gave my family a personalized tour of the museum and the Vicksburg National Military Park. We had a great time, and Gordon went from being a friend to becoming part of the family. I am a life member of the museum and have been a volunteer there for many years.
Dad was wearing this uniform the night he met my mom at a church dance.
Anyway, I was loitering at the museum last February when director Jordon Rushing mentioned he was updating a WWII display. I mentioned dad’s Mississippi connection, and Jordon said he would love to include the Mauser in the display. Shortly afterward, the rifle was integrated into the exhibit. See the exhibit video
As museum researchers are wont to do, Jordon and Old Court House super-researcher Chris Bolm soon knew everything about the rifle. Turns out the rifle is a 1940s-era Czechoslovakian Version 33 Paramilitary force/anti-riot/counter insurgency model. 25,300 were produced, of which 20,011 were issued to Gendarmerie and 4,300 were issued to the Finance Guard.
My siblings were all in favor of donating the artifact. For my part, I was glad to see the rifle finally displayed after 80 years. Now, instead of me examining it every year and wiping it down, the Mauser will be seen by thousands of visitors from all over the world.
I know dad would approve.
For more survival information, check out my book “Bushcraft Basics.”
Leave a Reply