British Motorcycle Gear

Categories: Guns

The 2023 MacManus Award

By Joe Berk

One of the best things that’s happened to me is the MacManus Award, which I received in 1973 (50 years ago this year).  Captain Colin D. MacManus was a Rutgers graduate who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1967.  His memory lives on with this award, and CPT MacManus continues to inspire young Army officers.

US Army Captain Colin D. MacManus, Rutgers University ’63.

Each year the MacManus family presented a Colt 1911 to the graduating Rutgers ROTC cadet who held Captain MacManus’ position in the Corps of Cadets, and in 1973 that cadet was me.  It was quite an honor.  We’ve kept the tradition alive, and I’m happy to report that another graduating cadet has been selected and will receive his Colt 1911 this year.

I still have and I still shoot my MacManus 1911, and 50 years after I received it, I can still hit the target.  I had my MacManus 1911 out just last week.

The groups have grown just a bit over the last half century, but I can still do well with my MacManus 1911.

We’ve reported annually on the MacManus award, and if you’d like to read the earlier posts, here they are:

The Colin D. MacManus Award
The 2020 MacManus Award
The 2021 MacManus Award

Keeping this tradition alive is a good thing.  I’m proud of these young folks.

If you are a 1911 enthusiast, we have a lot more good info on 1911 handguns and loads on our Tales of the Gun page.

Joe Berk

Recent Posts

India 2025: Amritsar and the Golden Temple

By Mike Huber India Part XI As we arrived back in Amritsar my friend’s eyes…

24 hours ago

A Custom Bowie Knife

By Joe Berk It's good to have friends, and it's even better to have friends…

4 days ago

India 2025: Amritsar and the Pakistani Border

By Mike Huber India Part X Shaking off the continual feeling of being around rats,…

1 week ago

Ruger No. 3 .45 70 Loads

By Joe Berk We recently published a blog on my de-Bubba'd .45 70 Ruger No.…

2 weeks ago

India 2025: Karni Mata Temple (the Rat Temple)

By Mike Huber India Part IX After ensuring we didn’t have any tails on us…

2 weeks ago

Undoing Bubba

By Joe Berk Back in the mid 1970s, I was in the Army at Fort…

3 weeks ago