Bride-to-be seeks family rifle for her fiance

When Megan Stokke considered possible wedding gifts for her fiance, Kalen Abbott, there was only one possible choice, even though that gift may prove impossible to find.

She wanted to give him his grandfather’s rifle – the rifle his grandfather used during the Korean War while serving in the Marine Corps in a Force Recon company.

“Kalen admires his Grandpa Hank more than anyone else,” Stokke said. “Kalen’s parents divorced and he didn’t have a real stable environment growing up, but his grandpa always gave him his support and approval.”

Henrik “Hank” Sallstrom, who died in 2009, was a proud Marine who also served in the Coast Guard Reserves. He worked for Sears for 31 years. While working at the Spokane Valley Mall store, he befriended a gun collector.

Somewhere between 2006 and 2009, Sallstrom sold his M1 Carbine .30-caliber rifle, formally known as the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1, with its accompanying military paperwork, to the collector. The family doesn’t know if the man worked at the mall or was just a frequent visitor or mall-walker.

Sallstrom was unaware of Abbott’s desire to have the rifle or of his longing to keep it in the family.

“Kalen was told not to talk to Grandpa about the war because it might upset him,” Stokke said. “Now he wishes he had. He has such pride and admiration for what Grandpa Hank did for our country.”

Stokke and Abbott met 12 years ago at Warner Pacific College in Portland. Abbott was delighted to introduce her to Grandpa Hank when he attended Abbott’s graduation.

“He was soft-spoken, but so warm and cordial,” she recalled. “Just a fantastic person.”

It was Sallstrom who encouraged Abbott’s drive to succeed.

“He instilled high standards in Kalen and told him, ‘You need to always do the best you can do.’ ”

That work ethic paid off. Abbott recently graduated from medical school and is an ER doctor at the Medical Center of Aurora in Colorado.

The pair moved to Colorado when they both got accepted at grad school at the University of Denver.

“We think it’s a sign that we both got accepted,” said Stokke. “We’re together for a reason bigger than ourselves.”

When Abbott finished his residency they planned an “Oh my gosh, we survived!” trip and spun a globe. Their fingers stopped on Bali and off they went.

After 12 years together, including stints of long-distance dating, Stokke had hoped that during this trip Abbott would finally propose.

“But he never acted nervous and didn’t plan any last-minute activities, so though I was sad, I decided to just enjoy Bali,” she said.

She should have known ER docs rarely display nerves. On their last evening they took a midnight stroll on the beach and Abbott turned to her and said, “Megan Stokke, will you marry me?”

As he slid the ring on her finger, she was overwhelmed and happy; she could hardly take it all in. Knowing that, Abbott insisted they return to the beach right before their flight home.

“He said, ‘I want you to remember the spot you got engaged. Remember the feel of the sand between your toes, the smell of the water, the look of the lights on the boardwalk,’ ” Stokke said.

As their Oct. 13 wedding approaches, she wants to do something equally memorable and meaningful for him. Knowing how much his grandfather meant to him and how sad he was at the loss of the rifle, she’s reached out to gun shops, collectors and newspapers, hoping against hope to return Hank Sallstrom’s rifle to the grandson who so loved and admired him.

She knows without the rifle’s serial number or the buyer’s name, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, but she still holds out hope.

“I know it’s a long shot, but all I need is the story to reach that one person,” Stokke said. “It’s not just about the gun or the gift; it’s about honoring Grandpa Hank.”