RIP Peter Kokalis

[HCM]

KAC's Facebook page is reporting Peter Kokalis passed away this past week.

If you grew up reading gun magazines like Soldier of Fortune and Small Arms Review in the 70s, 80s and 90s you know who Peter Kokalis is.

A short Biography can be found here: https://www.cameraquest.com/combatph.htm

RIP

[Erick Gelhaus]

Saw that a bit ago. PK was a gentleman & willing to share his knowledge the handful of times I was fortunate to run into him. RIP!

[Al T.]

Damn. :(

[Dagga Boy]

Used to spend a good amount of time with him every year at the various gun shows at the LA County Fairgrounds. He was unique and a real character, but a technical gun nerd of the highest order and I loved spending time with him. I still have every issue of Fighting Firearms on my bookshelf that always proved a great technical gun magazine is not viable. The Milt Sparks holster and magazine pouch for my first bespoke custom 1911 came from Peter and were for his custom LW Commander that was very similar to mine. I got his stuff when he switched to his preferred cross draw. Tough loss for this industry.

[Totem Polar]

If you grew up reading gun magazines like Soldier of Fortune and Small Arms Review in the 70s, 80s and 90s you know who Peter Kokalis is.

RIP
Indeed. RIP.

[Drang]

Goddamnit.

[Wondering Beard]

RIP.

We have a lot to live up to with each passing member of our community.

[SeriousStudent]

I'm very sorry to read this. Back when I toted a belt-fed, we learned a lot from reading his articles on the M-60 platform.

Rest in peace, sir.

[SAWBONES]

Always appreciated his objective evaluations and critiques, which were well-written and typically free of the hyperbole and overused descriptive phrases so frequently used by other "small-arms writers".

[DocGKR]

I first met Mr Kokalis in the late 1980's when he came to visit Dr. Fackler at the Letterman Army Institute of Research Wound Ballistic Lab; in person at that time, Mr. Kokalis displayed a keen technical knowledge and a gentlemanly demeanor. His knowledge and insight will be missed.

[Dave Williams]

Man that sucks. RIP. I also have the old FF issues, and I'd get every Shotgun News when he'd have a 1911 article. He had an interesting life.

[Ed L]

That's a shame.

He wrote great gun reviews in Soldier of Fortune.

I too still have every issue of Fighting Firearms magazine.

[Wendell]

I’ve always loved this:




The searing Salvadoran sun is overhead now and the humidity saps my remaining reserves as I trudge slowly up and down the seeming infinity of volcanic hills. Sporadic fire to the front and flanks constantly reminds me that there’s only one way to hell - north.
As the day drags on, I reflect on the Para FAL I’m carrying. An impressive classic, it would warm the cockles of the heart of any armchair expert. But, to me at this moment, it has become a device of infernal torture. “Pesa” (heavy), the Atlacatls keep telling me. At 8.6 lbs., empty, it’s all that - and much more, with 240 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ball strapped to my web gear. I curse the day I selected it - my final attempt to justify it’s existence on the modern battlefield.
In the last several days, men all around me have fallen - silent for eternity - to the M16, as they have for more than 20 years now. Yet, this does not satisfy those who unload their treasures from the trunk of a car and waddle 10 feet to the firing line to shoot at paper silhouettes. Their sarcasm, fed by the faulty memories of deeds decades past, casts doubt on the manhood of poor wretches unwilling to carry the iron burdens endorsed by the toy soldiers of the popular gun press. A pox on them.

- Peter G. Kokalis, from Section 1 - El Salvador, Weapon Tests and Evaluations - The Best of Soldier of Fortune

[Corey]

Peter was a regular visitor to the gunsmithy and Gunsite when I was there. Always very friendly, very knowledgeable, and regularly brought interesting toys with him for us to try out. Another big loss for us gun geeks.

[John Hearne]

Sad to hear. I first started reading SOF in the fifth grade (early 80's) and he has remained my favorite gun author until I started reading Cooper's books. I saw him around 2001 or so at SHOT and told him that he had "ruined my life" by getting me interested in guns at an early age and ultimately picking a career where I was paid to shoot and drive fast. He was very amused.

[abu fitna]

One of my early mentors fought in El Salvador and crossed paths with Mr Kokalis. Theirs was a different generation to be sure. My mentor first introduced me to Peter's writings. There are too few connections to that unique sort of history, to say nothing of all of the hard learnt practical lessons of those conflicts. And too few again each passing year.

[John Hearne]

A little reading before bed.....

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/ajp3jeh/Misc/kokalis_zpsqevtj2ah.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/ajp3jeh/media/Misc/kokalis_zpsqevtj2ah.jpg.html)

[Malamute]

Sorry to hear of his passing. I too read his work in SOF back in the day.

[TiroFijo]

He was a favorite of mine, back in the day when gun mags had at least some articles that actually made them worth reading...

RIP, Peter Kokalis.