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.

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.

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.