I’ve got a friend who is also a fellow Marine. He’s about 10 years older than me.
Believe it or not, he liked the M1 over the M14. He had a situation where he had to hit the ground. The darn stock on the M14 actually broke!
The mag sticking out looks cool but sucks in real life.
I could see your friend preferring the M1, although I think .308 is the way to go.
I think the old M1 En~clip is pretty cool, except for that bit about the bolt slamming on your thumb.