Members of Groesbeck’s American Legion Post 288 give a 21-gun salute at the Veterans Day event held in 2019 on the south side of the Limestone County Courthouse. Currently four M-1 Garand ceremonial rifles belonging to American Legion Post 288 are still
Information wanted on theft of ceremonial rifles
During the first days of the pandemic, an unauthorized person gained possession of five M-1 Garand ceremonial rifles belonging to American Legion Post 288.
The Groesbeck Police Department received the report of the stolen ceremonial rifles in June 2020. During the course of the investigation, it was determined Police Chief Chris Henson had recovered one of the ceremonial rifles during a traffic stop arrest that occurred prior to the rifles being reported stolen.
American Legion Post 288 commander, Russ Foster, positively identified the rifle as one that was stolen from their facility. While the department has recovered one, four are still unaccounted for.
These rifles have been specially de-commissioned for ceremonial use. Any attempt to fire live ammunition with these rifles will cause a life-threatening failure to occur.
The rifles are property of the United States Army, are registered in a national database, and will be seized if found by law enforcement or pawned.
Post 288 had to borrow rifles from the Mexia VFW post to be able to honor our veterans at this year’s Veteran’s Day observance.
If you have come into possession of one of the rifles, or have any information that will help in their recovery, please contact Post 288 commander, Russ Foster, at 254-729-6102.
Anyone with any additional information can contact the Groesbeck Police Department at (254) 729-3497, if you wish to remain anonymous you can contact the PD through the tip411 app. The case is still ongoing.