At the December 19th meeting of the Wagner American Legion there was quite a sight to behold.

Displayed on one of the large tables in the front of the meeting hall was a M2 HB Browning 50 caliber machine gun metal replica.

Several members of the Wagner American Legion at one time had discussed how neat it would be as well as the presence it would give the Wagner American Legion in parades if their Jeep were to have a mounted machine gun attached to it as it originally did before it was decommissioned.

This initial conversation had a lasting impact on Wagner American Legion member, Mark Wiechmann. A simple conversation between two Veterans turned into a three-year project for Mark. The M2HB Browning 50 Caliber machine gun was originally commissioned for use after WWI. It was first used in WWII and is continued to be used presently. These machine guns were built to last just needing to be rebuilt over time. These guns were mounted to various different military vehicles and was one that would have originally been mounted to the Wagner American Legion’s M38 Jeep.

The night of the initial conversation, Mark went home and he and his wife, Barb, did some internet research about the machine gun and what the possibil-ities could be to obtain one. Mark started out by having Charles-Mix County Veteran Service Officer, Jerry Seiner send in an application for the American Legion to qualify for a decommissioned machine gun. The application was accepted and the Wagner American Legion qualified for one, but unfortunately there were none actually available. Since that avenue was unavailable, Mark and Barb searched for other options including potentially buying one from a private owner or company. What they found were plastic ones available starting at $300 ranging up to $5000. There were also original non-useable machine guns available for purchase with a price tag of $20,000 - $30,000 and a mountain of paperwork needed in order to be obtained. After exhausting all of those potential avenues as they were not feasible or not what he had in mind, Mark and Barb were finally able to find plans for the building of a replica. After receiving the replica plans, Mark reached out to Parkston Precision Machining LLC to see if they could use their precision CNC machine to cut the pieces for the replica. As time went on, Parkston Precision Machining became too busy to assist Mark in his endeavors. Mark was very persistent and continued to look for ways to complete the project. He was able to find Dallas at the Lakeview Colony who had the skills that were needed to cut the main components (top, bottom, and sides) of the gun. On Dallas’ first try, he was able to cut the components, but because of the difference in metric to empirical measurements, the replica pieces came out 20% bigger than the original. Dallas gave the project a second try, this time hitting the nail on its head with the correct sizing and fit.

The project was finally in Mark’s hands to complete. With the main components cut and ready, Mark was able to cut the rest of the needed pieces and hand welded it all together as the replica blue-prints instructed. All together Mark figured that even though the project spanned over the course of three years, it took him in total approximately a month’s worth of time and a total cost of $450 - $500 in machine work. Mark was very thankful for the Wagner unit of the National Guard for their knowledgeable assistance with the building of the machine gun. What kept Mark wanting to see this project to completion was the challenge of getting to assemble something new in his workshop as well as the connection it holds between Mark and his son, Erik. Mark was a member of the South Dakota Army National Guard 137th Engineer Battalion in Wagner as a field airman. Erik was a member of the Army National Guard 153rd Engineer Battalion in Wagner that was deployed to Iraq where he used the same machine gun.

The next step is to mount the gun to the Jeep. Mark plans to do some research on how to properly mount the gun to the M38 Jeep. A post will need to be built in order for the gun to be mounted properly. Mark has high hopes that by this coming Fish Days, the gun will be mounted and ready to be displayed in the various local parades. Mark and Barb have generously donated the machine gun replica to the Wagner American Legion.