Taiwanese M1 Garand

M1 Garand of a Taiwanese Navy Guard

Finding ourselves suddenly meeting-free this afternoon, we took an el-cheapo tour of Taipei. One of the attractions was the National Revolutionary Martyr's Shrine. We arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard, and as I'm watching it I realize the guards are carrying M1 Garands. Of course, these Garands are nickel plated and the stocks are ding-free and deeply stained with high polish.

But look closely and you'll see rust underneath the rear site and in the channel for the charging handle. That wasn't all, because I wasn't able to snap a picture of the bolt which also had clear signs of rust.

I was told by our guide that the white uniforms meant these guards were from the Navy.

The changing of the guard.

Later in the tour we wound up at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial, which is quite impressive. There the guards were dressed in blue, our guide informing us that they were Air Force.

An Air Force Guard

While the Air Force guards had the same M1 Garands, theirs were spotless. I could not find a single sign of rust on them. Ok, its not like they let me handle the guns to inspect them, but I couldn't see any visible rust as I did with the other guards.

Shiny!