Neat story UB, similar to my own.
I inherited from my late Father a 1911, Colt .45 that belonged to his Uncle Bill, a sailor in WWI who lied about his age and enlisted at 16 but that's another story.
Using the markings I was able to date it from that era and I remembered my Father firing it so I took it to the range after a thorough cleaning and general functionality check. It fired just fine but frequently did not eject the cartridge, so not being any kind of gunsmith, I checked online and found that the return spring was probably fatigued and needed replacement. I ordered one directly from Colt which came with a card to certify its authenticity. The second firing was with a friend who has a Luger from 1940s where it worked flawlessly with target ammo, never failing to eject the spent cartridge.
As we were firing the 1911 and Luger it was very apparent to both of us that the sites SUCK! These were close-quarter personal weapons not meant for any type of aiming.
A family heirloom for sure.