No doubt one of the most iconic weapons in military history is the Colt 1911 which is an iconic part of Vietnams imagery. The 1911 was a favored pistol among a variety of units in the US armed forces. However, interesting to note is that due to difficulties producing them to meet demands, not every soldier in the US Army was issued one like with primary weapons.
In fact, many infantrymen only had their primary rifles, with .45s being limited to specific MOS's. For instance, M60 gunners were typically issued sidearms, as were officers in infantry units. Medics had the choice of either a rifle or handgun, so you tend to see both. However, medics historically favored rifles due to their larger ammunition capacity.
It should be noted that officers in the US army were typically issued pistols as well. Some specific MOS's were issued pistols, and many special forces units carried sidearms into combat.
Up to this point I have been primarily discussing the US Army with respect to pistols. However, it is important to note that many US Marines utilized sidearms as well, and with greater prevalence. In fact, pistols are much more common among Marine infantrymen than they were Army infantrymen.
With all of this in mind, it is important to take into consideration whether or not the unit and role you wish to portray would have been issued a 1911. For our organization that specializes in reenacting the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, you will see us using the pistol a lot more than are other organizations.
This is because the 11 ACR were issued sidearms at a greater rate than other units during the Vietnam War. Further, many times a 1911 is the only weapon a soldier would carry on their person as to make it easier to get in and out of vehicles.
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