Name/Title
Raymond J. Caprin mess kitEntry/Object ID
Gear2022.5Description
Tech 5 Raymond J. Caprin
42028333
“B” Company, 300 Combat Engineers BN
Gunned down by an unknown male in theater.
Here is an excerpt from the 300th’s website recounting Caprin’s last moments.
“Kenneth "Cowboy" Morris recalls "Pop" [Tech 5 Raymond J. Caprin]:
When the war was over in Germany before it was in Japan, HQ and everybody got drunk. Pop had come over to us from B Company and was helping haul dirt to the railroad to rebuild the station. He volunteered. He was a lot older than we were. We were in our 20's and he was in his 30's when he came to us. Pop got pretty drunk and I talked to him. I said, "Pop, you go over to B Company with me and you drive my truck tomorrow and I'll take your truck down to HQ and have some work done on it." He said, "My truck don't need work. You think I'm drunk." He started in, "Hell, I can drink you under the table" and he kept on this for about a minute. So I said, "I'll just leave ya."
He started off in the direction of B Company and in a little town he hit a woman on a bicycle. Of course they had him charged. Pop had a mustache and red hair. So a few days later they were going to have his trial. In the meantime, the companies started transferring people in and out. They transferred our company commander out and we got a young man for a company commander who was born and raised in Germany. He spoke perfect German. He got the company together and said, "I want you boys to find me 10 men that look as much like Pop as you can." So they did. I didn't find anyone but they did. They lined them up and the people in town that saw this happen said all of them looked like Pop. They asked the townspeople to ID the man that ran over the girl and of course they couldn't. So they dismissed the trial. He came back to the company and we were getting ready to go home.
I believe it was in Reims, France, and was waiting over there on a boat. A boy come by and says, "Let's go get a show Pop." Pop says, "No, I've been in enough trouble. I just want to go home." The boy says, "We're not going to do any drinking tonight. Just gonna have a show and say good night." So Pop says, "I'll go with you." So they went to the show and it was dark when they came back.
They met a soldier on the side of the road and Pop says, "Hello GI Joe" and this guy got out his gun and killed him for no reason. They got the guy that killed him, they found him. They took him back and had his trial. We left and I don't know what happened with the trial. He killed Pop for no reason. Pop had five kids at home.Made/Created
Manufacturer
M.A. CompanyDate made
1943Time Period
20th CenturyInscription/Signature/Marks
Top of mess kit stamped with ASN 42028333 which belonged to T/5 Caprin.Parts
Count
6Parts
Fork, spoon, knife, mess kit upper and lower, mess kit bagCondition
Overall Condition
ExcellentDate Examined
Aug 9, 2022Notes
No issuesProvenance
Notes
Established with stamped serial number on mess kit top. Can’t say for certain, no way of knowing if rest of mess kit and items belonged to him.Create Date
August 9, 2022Update Date
July 23, 2025
