Before and After Photo Restoration

I know very little about my great uncle other than he served in the Philippines. I spent about 25 hours restoring the following photo. M38 is on the front of his hat. Can any of you provide me any history regarding the photo?

 

Great job in restoration of the photo! The rifle is probably a M1903 Springfield rifle so I would guess that this is after WWI but well before WWII.

Here is a link to US insignia and uniforms (its a preview of a book) but might be useful:

Encyclopedia of United States Army ... - Google Book Search

BTW, have you filled out a SF-180 to get his military records??

Military Personnel Records, SF-180

 

That appears to be a Krag, I am going on what appears to be the side-mounted magazine in front of the bolt. Great job on the resto BTW. Our "razin" poster might have a better idea on the rifle, but if it is a Krag it is possibly pre-WW1.

Although it seems that I read that some of the US military shooting teams continued to use the Krag for some time after it was removed from standard issue. Don't quote me on that though.

 

I agree with Clint-that rifle looks like a Krag. I don't have mine here in Houston to compare it with. Also, mine is the Carbine version-this one looks like its a full-sized Krag.

 

Wasn’t the rifle a 30" barrel, and the carbine 22"?

The Krag CARBINE is the most prized piece. with M1896, M1898, and M1899 issue variants. Considering all Krag carbines together total about 5000 pieces, they are quite rare and quite valuable if you find a legitimate carbine. $2500 for a legit carbine in pristine condition is not unexpected. Some can be traced to Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders and their famous charge up San Juan Hill, thus bringing more value. MANY Krag "carbines" are cut down rifles, and determinig a fake from real is getting very, very, very difficult. The NRA converted many rifles to carbine setups for resale to the public in the 20's and 30's, as hunters prefered the shorter carbine length, and many were chopping up the rifles to begin with.


From:

The .30 US/ 30-40 Krag. - Cabela's Talk Forums

pics of the two versions:

 

Thanks for the information guys. I'll be researching his uniform and his military record. The rifle butt in the original photo was beyond repair for me. I shot the butt of a Smith Corona 1903 edited it and edited it in. Had a tough time with the color. Its still not quite right. Unaware of the Krag, I originally thought it was version of the 1903.

I've thought of working some of the recently posted historical site photos defaced with graffiti. With enough time, they should clean up reasonably well.

 

Definitely a Model 1896 or 1898 Krag-Jorgensen rifle. Also has accompanying Model 1892 bayonet and scabbard on his web belt. Sorry I can't add more history.

Nice job on your photo restoration!

 

Yes thats a long rifle krag, you can pick those up for cheap! Great rifles too, shot my first deer with one. caliber is .30-40 bigger than a 30-30 and smaller than a 30-06, one locking lug and the smoothes action you will EVER pull!

 

I am going to say Comapany M of the 3rd Bn 38th Volunteer Infantry, which was mustered during the Spanish American War.

I will even go further and say that he joined somewhere in Kentucky Tennesee (ish)

There seems to be more information on the "Google" description than I was able to quickly ascertain from the site. At least it will get you in the right direction.

And yes that is a 30-40 Krag Jorgensen

Spanish-American War Forum