Dear j3rdinf,
Thank you for giving us Liberty!
The rifle wasn't send home because it stayed in Luxembourg where I live, the men who sold it to me told me that he got it from his Father who found it on the battle fields.
I has been told by peoples who lived through that time and I have read in Lux. books that after the battle of the bulge there were a lot of military items left over by the germans and the Us. Even today you can still find rusty guns, grenades in our woods.
Some time ago I has been in a shooting contest with military rifles organized by the Lux. army and I know some soldiers and after the shooting was over we small talked about guns and one of the Soldiers told us that they were called by the police to drive to a house to remove some guns where the owner died some time ago.
When they came there the spouse told them she will sell the house but she didn't know what to do with her late husband guns so she called the police to help her.
They removed over 90 Garands over 30 M1carbines, sten sub machine guns, german submg's german mg's and so on.
I wish she had called me because all those guns who the army removed were destroyed shortly after that 
Martin from Lux.
Ps.Sorry for my faults 