This may be a little different, under the circumstances. When I was a member of the Guantanamo Bay Rifle team, we had match grade M1s. Each of us was responsible for a particular weapon. We always shot that weapon and kept it clean and in good repair. When we went to the Atlantic Fleet Matches in Dam Neck, Virginia, in 1958 our weapons went with us. (I was the 36th best shot in the fleet. LOL) I went on leave after the match, and had to insure that someone on the team was responsible for my rifle getting back to Cuba. When I was transferred, my rifle stayed with the team to be issued to another shooter. It was years before I forgot the serial number.

I suspect soldiers in combat might have been attached to their weapon. After the war, units kept their weapons in racks in the barracks. Each soldier selected his assigned weapon when they were drawn for use. That is why it is so common for company numbers to be marked on the weapon, as in "C 105". The man in Company C assigned that rifle drew it each time. Stan