The squad's heavier responsibility
This GI carries the Browning Automatic Rifle, the squad weapon that could put down automatic fire while remaining mobile enough to accompany the riflemen. It was a demanding assignment: the weapon and its ammunition added weight, and other men depended on its presence.
The BAR and the M1 Garand used the same .30-06 cartridge, yet their roles were quite different. A twenty-round magazine distinguished the BAR from a belt-fed support gun. That combination of mobility and limited magazine capacity is part of what makes the BAR gunner a particular subject, not simply another American rifleman.
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