Description

Maker: Colt
Type/Model: Government Model
Caliber: .45 ACP
Year: 1941
Markings: Non-factory slide inscription to Maj. Gen. Henry J. F. Miller; officer number O-444080
Grips: Checkered walnut
Condition: About 50% blue
Bore: Excellent
Included: Colt Archive letter, historical information on Maj. Gen. Miller, copy of Ritchie Boy Secrets

This Ritchie Boys Colt is a Government Model in .45 ACP, manufactured in 1941 and shipped to the Department of Defense in Mexico. The forward portion of the slide bears the non-factory inscription “1st Lt. Albert Wertheim—A.U.S.—To—Maj. Gen. Henry J. F. Miller,” while the rear portion is inscribed “O-444080,” Albert Wertheim’s U.S. Army officer number.

This pistol is fitted with checkered walnut grips and retains all of its correct small parts. It retains approximately 50% of its blue finish, and the bore is excellent. Included are a Colt Archive letter, historical information concerning Major General Henry J. F. Miller, and a copy of Ritchie Boy Secrets. The accompanying provenance identifies First Lieutenant Albert Wertheim as a member of the Ritchie Boys, the military intelligence soldiers trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, many of them German-speaking refugees from Nazi Europe.

Major General Henry Jervis Friese Miller was a career U.S. Army Air Forces officer who commanded the IX Air Force Service Command during World War II.

Fun fact: General Miller is remembered for one of the war’s most famous security breaches. At a dinner at Claridge’s Hotel in London, he told those present that the invasion would come before June 15. When Eisenhower learned of it in May 1944, he demoted Miller to his permanent rank of lieutenant colonel and sent him home. Eisenhower did so even though Miller was his West Point classmate.

This pistol is more than 50 years old and is eligible for Curio & Relic (C&R) transfer.

SKU: 13181