Weapons Wednesday - Service Smiths

Most of my long time readers (all five of you) know that I have a special affection for the venerable 3rd Gen S&W bottom feeders. I don't know why. They don't anything particularly better than a Glock other than soak up recoil. They're heavy. And expensive. And some of them, like the 4586 have the ergonomics of a box car. But, for a lot of American cops they got them through twenty years on the street. And for those cops, who didn't make it until they put in their papers, they served along side them until the end of the line.

Including a bunch of tough NYPD dudes who woke up one morning and fought the opening battle of the GWOT.

That 59** DAO and J-Frame were recovered from the rubble of the WTC. Serial numbers were able to place their cops. Both tough guys in the ESU who were last seen headed up. And that is following duty hard.

Ask anyone who ever wore a uniform and swore an oath: Why did you do what you did? Duty. All stop.

Just like the guys on Ladder 118. They rode out on their last call and died on the bounce.

And if anyone asks why I swore that oath and signed on the dotted line; I'll tell them because there was a war on and a bunch of guys who I would probably be friends with, who Dad would probably be friends with, who Danny would probably be friends with, and who Pudge would probably be friends with, died doing their duty. And I wanted to make sure those goat fuckers never did it again.

And ten years later, the squids really did shove a boot up that bastard's ass to paraphrase Toby Keith.

Rest easy guys, we won. And when the dudes from 2nd Brigade showed up, I gave my counterpart my NYPD patch.