Who Is Andrew Biggio?

My VIP for this week is Andrew Biggio, a Marine veteran who became an author by accident. Biggio purchased a M1 Garand rifle, the most common rifle that was used in World War II, and he thought that his elderly neighbor would appreciate seeing and holding the rifle. 

Biggio described the moment as follows: "When I put that rifle into his hands and he raised it into his shoulder and started waving it around the room and pointing and smiling, and we talked about the Battle of Okinawa for like three hours."

Awed with the stories told by his elderly neighbor, Biggio asked his neighbor to sign the rifle. His reason? Biggio desired to remember the stories that had been shared by his elderly neighbor whose memory of the war experience had been triggered by the rifle.

The experience gave Biggio another idea. He decided to find other veterans from World War II and ask them to sign the M1 Garand rifle. “Today, I have 320 names on that rifle…. You can’t even see the wooden stock. The whole rifle’s full of white ink names.”

The names on the rifle are a wonderful collection that means much to Biggio, but the stories told by the elderly veterans are priceless. Most of the soldiers who signed the rifle described their war stories while holding the rifle. Biggio collected so many stories that he has compiled them into two books. His first book is titled “The Rifle: Combat Stories from America’s Last WWII Veterans, Told Through an M1 Garand” and was released in 2021. His second book was released in September and is titled “The Rifle 2: Back to the Battlefield.”

The books may become more valuable in the future because of the stories they hold. The World War II heroes are elderly and are quickly decreasing in number. All of the veterans from my husband’s family have now graduated to the next life. I wish we had thought of recording their stories.