My dad served with the 3 Infantry Division (U.S Army) in Sicily and Italy during WWII.  He was a BAR gunner.  On many occasions he told me he was issued the combat knife, that most people know as the Ka-Bar or Marine Corp Fighting knife. 

He said the knife was only stamped "US" and that the sheath was plain but was otherwise the same as the Marine Corps knife.

He said  Army trench knife (M3) wasn’t being issued when he was made a BAR gunner.   He said it came around later  and the priority went to paratroopers who carried the Carbine. He even said everyone called the  M3 a paratrooper dagger or carbine knife.

I know early carbines had no bayonet stud and were issued with an M3 . I also know the knife  like the Carbine went to the Rangers and paratroopers first.  Heck, even the British SAS got the M3 trench knife before front line US infantry men did.

He even said that other soldiers were always trying  to buy the Ka-Bar  off of him because everyone had bayonets.  Only the BAR gunners were issued the Ka-bar.

All this leads me to believe he  knew what he was talking about but I have no official proof.

Sadly, most his personal belongings (including his knife and  a captured Italian Beretta) were stolen on the hospital ship taking him home shortly after Anzio.

My question is this, were Ka-Bar Fighting knives does anyone know if the MK11 fighting knife was ever issued to Army personnel in WWII who served in the European theater of operation?

I’ve tried looking for proof of his recollections in his old copy of the History of the 3ID in WWII but there aren’t many photos of knives in the book. 

Just about every thing he told me about serving in the Mediterranean has proven spot on so I believe him but it would be nice to prove it with another source.