I have a question and/or statement that I wish to pose here. This is my situation. I was contacted yesterday about a firearm which had came into my possession about ten years ago. Here is the story... When I first started working at the department which I serve, I got to know one of the old timers who was getting ready to retire. I was just out of the Army and had been an MP for six years. The older officer showed me a Remington Rand 1911-A1 which he had purchased many years prior and asked me if I knew anything about them and I told him that it was just like the ones that I had carried as an MP. He asked that I check it out and shoot it then clean it up for him. Several years later this officer passed away and his wife called me knowing that I was into firearms and she wanted to get values for what he had left behind. I went to the house with a price guide and did my best to assign what I believed to be fair values to each gun that he had and then at the end told her that if she really wanted to get the most for them that she should put them up for auction.
At this time she asked me if I were to pick which guns that I would like to have to point them out to her. I told her that I couldn't really afford any of them at that time as it was hard enough to just make ends meet. She insisted and I pointed out a few that I wouldn't mind having and one of them was the Remington. She told me to give her $500.00 for the ones I had picked out which if memory served was a Colt Official Police and a Ruger 10/22 as well as a muzzle loader and the Remington. I told her that this was not fair and I couldn't do it. She again insisted saying that her husband had thought a lot of me and she was happy to know that I would take care of them. I told her that the only one that I would probably never want rid of was the Remington and that she was not being treated fairly by this sort of deal and again she said that she wanted them out of the house and I needed to take them. In the end I did.
Fast forward to the current time. Over the years things were traded off and so on but the Remington stayed. I have been promoted several times and when obtaining a higher administrative rank got my own office. The Remington had been placed in a display case along with my Army things and now resides on the wall of my office. I was contacted by a girl who ironically my wife knows, who had been searching for this gun for the past several years. This is her story...
Her grandfather, who is now 90 years old, has lamented about his days during WWII to her as well as other grandchildren. He served in an infantry company during the "Battle of the Bulge" and from what I'm told lost most of his company during this action. She told me that Grandpa had told of the time he had been in dire straights and had used an old Army .45 to keep himself alive and when he finally made it out of the service the old .45 had came home with him as he felt he had earned it. She said that as time had gone by he had decided that he should get the gun out of the house because of kids, grandchildren and so on and he has aways regretted doing so as this was a link to his past and that pistol had made it possible for him to have a family and grandchildren.
So began her quest which ended up with me. She wants to give Grandpa his gun back for Christmas.
In speaking with her I told her of my attachment to the gun and the reasons for being attached. I also told her that I could fully understand that Grandpa would be more attached and justifiably so. She wants to buy the gun and give it to Grandpa and seemingly is willing for pay far more than it is worth in dollars and cents. I, on the other hand, do not really want to sell it and although money is always nice, I don't really need it. This was my offer to her and I have yet to get a response. I told her that I would give the gun back to Grandpa as it is, in the display case that I made minus my Military Police items. I said that I really did not wish to sell it but Grandpa could keep it as long as he remains on this earth and when he passes then I would like the gun back. She did not seem to be comfortable with this but did not give me an answer yesterday when I spoke with her. She seemed to want to buy the gun with no strings attached but did say that she could not believe that I would be so generous as to just turn the gun over like that. I told her that I know from past expierience what something like that would mean to me and this is why I made this offer. I told her that if I sold the gun I would have no guarantee that if Grandpa passed that it wouldn't be auctioned off to the highest bidder and then this piece of history would be gone forever.
What would you do it this situation? My wife thinks I'm nuts for even making the offer although she understands why I did. Should I sell the gun? Should I just say "no" and keep it? I'm at a loss at this point and although even after more than twenty years of law enforcement I have seemingly not learned that "No good deed goes unpunished" and if I turn this over without payment then I will probably get screwed I still feel compelled to make this gun available to this girls Grandpa but again I want it back when he's gone.
Sorry for the rant. Just needed to tell this.
Best,
Wolfgang
