Great memory for details. I try to recall this sort of detail of my experiences and can’t come anywhere close.
I, too, stuck with the M-14 though later in the War when they were really hard to find.
It’s also hard to put in perspective how much time has passed. I tweak younger vets by telling them, when they ask when I was in, that ‘my war was four back’, or, ‘that was half-a-century ago’.
Glad you made it.
Semper Fi