Manufactured in 1942, this is a documented U.S. Colt Model 1903 General Officer's pistol rig, which comes with a general officer's belt and holster, as well as a framed Department of the Army certificate identifying this pistol as having been presented to Brigadier General William Tidwell Junior on 11 July 1967 (this presentation year is verified by Greeley's "Colt U.S. General Officer's Pistol"). Born in Texas in 1918, Tidwell graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1939, joining the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, being assigned to Montevideo in Uruguay. Following World War II he made the transition from the OSS to the Central Intelligence Agency. His expertise was chiefly in photo reconnaissance, and was actively involved with the identification of Viet Cong facilities during the Vietnam War, and the positive identification of Soviet missile positions in Cuba during the lead-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis. At the time of his retirement in 1969, Tidwell was the chairman of the committee on imagery, with authority over U-2 spy plane operations. In civilian life he worked as a senior analyst with the Mitre Corporation, a non-profit that oversaw programs like the Air Force Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (a NORAD-related air defense program that operated the AN/FSQ-7 computer, the largest computer ever built), the still-active National Airspace System, and a scheme to deliberately poison foreign marijuana crops with air-dropped paraquat. In his spare time he wrote two books on the subject of Confederate clandestine action during the Civil War, "Come Retribution" (a National Intelligence Study Center award winner) and "April 65", and also operated a vineyard in Virginia. The pistol itself has the standard Colt two-line address and patent dates on the left side of the slide, the caliber marking on the right, "U.S. PROPERTY" on the right side of the frame and "64" and "VP" on the trigger guard. It is fitted with checkered grips with Colt silver medallions on each side and comes with one all-blued Colt magazine marked on the base: "CAL.32/COLT". It also comes with a black leather General Officer holster and belt, the former unmarked and the latter numbered "42", and an extra full blue magazine.

Very fine, with 98% of the arsenal refurbished parkerized finish, showing some light handling marks and edge wear overall. "JWP" has been lightly scratched into the left side of the frame by an unknown party, and some minor scratches are present on top of the slide. The grips are very good, with some dings and dark spots. The holster and belt show wear appropriate to age and use, with scuffing on the buckle and cracking of the leather. Mechanically excellent.