What does the military qualification MKM03Rifle41 on a World War 2 honorable discharge refer to?

Answer 1

The soldier qualified as a Marksman with the Model 1903 Springfield Rifle, under the standards prescribed in 1941. The Springfield was the standard US rifle from 1903 until the M1 Garand was adopted just before WWII. The Springfield was a five shot, internal box magazine, bolt action rifle, a fine weapon, and the official US rifle of WWI (though may troops in WWI were armed with an "American Enfield"). The M1 was adopted after years of development just before WWII, but was not always available to troops in training, who learned to shoot with the older model. The term "thirty ought six" refers to the fact that the .30 caliber cartridge for the 1903 Springfield was redesigned in 1906. This was the cartridge fired by US troops in WWI, WWII and Korea, used in the 1903 Springfield, the M1, and the M14, and also in the .30 caliber machine guns.