According to an included signed letter from William H. Harper LtCol USAF (ret.), grandson of Major General Joseph H. "Bud" Harper, whom inherited the pistol directly from General Harper's estate, and retained the pistol through the 20th century. Hailing from College Park, Georgia, Joseph Harper was the wartime commander of the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment during Operation Market Garden as well as during the Battle of the Bulge. At Bastogne, the 327th was responsible for a large amount of the American perimeter, squaring off against numerically superior German attackers while cut off from supply or support. Two days into the siege, the Germans sent an elegantly worded letter, appealing to the Americans to surrender, saving themselves and sparing any civilians in the area from massive artillery bombardment. The overall American commander, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, woken up from a deep sleep by a messenger bearing a German note about surrender, which in his tired state he took to mean the Germans surrendering to the Americans. When the matter was clarified, he delivered a response that has become an enduring piece of American military history; "aw, nuts!". Not finding a more succinct way to answer, the staff typed it up; "December 22, 1944, To the German Commander, NUTS!, The American Commander". Then-Lieutenant Colonel Harper was the man called upon to deliver this response, and was the one who had to explain to the Germans what it meant, explaining to them that it was "decidedly not affirmative" and that the Americans would not be surrendering. Feeling that the matter wasn't made clear enough, Harper proceeded to collaborate with his translator, a PFC Premetz, on a more official translation; Harper's first suggestion was "go take a flying s**t", though the final translation was "du kannst zum teufel gehen"(you can go to hell). While neither could match the place of "Nuts!" in the history books, they certainly got the point across, and just in case it didn't, Harper told the German messengers that they would "kill every goddamn German that tries to break into this city", which was even less succinct but certainly reflected the mood of the defenders. Holding out against the Germans for over a week, the defenders of Bastogne lived up to the defiant remarks of McAuliffe and Harper, and not only held until relieved, but proceeded to immediately rejoin offensive action as the rest of the Allied line caught back up to them. Later in his career, Harper would command the Infantry School at Fort Benning. The pistol itself is a typical 1942 production 1911A1 pistol, with the standard two-line, two-block address and patent markings on the slide bisected by the Rampant Colt, and a "WB" inspected frame with "40" and "P/VP" on the trigger guard. The slide is numbered "778/103" beneath the firing pin stop plate; while not mentioned in the provenance letter, the extreme closeness of the numbers (a mere 4 off) suggest a period of use replacement, possibly by the factory, or an accidental swap during weapons maintenance by men who had been issued sidearms from a consecutive batch. Fitted with a flat top rear sight, wide knurled hammer, long grip safety, short milled trigger, checkered non-ribbed Colt grips, "S" marked full blue magazine, and a Flannery Bolt "F" barrel. Also included with the pistol is a set of consignor-supplied internet research.

Fine, with 60% of the faded, thin parkerized finish, with a mixed brown patina and long vertical patch of moderate pitting on the front grip strap, bright gray on the high edges and along the underside of the frame, scattered spotting and handling marks, and a takedown line on the frame. The grips are very good, with some dings. Mechanically excellent.