I always wondered why Clemenza was teaching a former Marine, an officer and winner of the Navy Cross, how to shoot.
Lol. Good point. I guess the Marines didn’t teach them how to badda bing badda bang.
Clemenza wasn’t teaching Michael to shoot. He was teaching him what do do and what to expect in the restaurant. Part of that would be hearing an unsilenced .38 indoors (not the same as usmc outdoor rand practice with a 1911). Indoor shooting noise can be painful. But usually the shooter in a life or death situation hears nothing. Not until much later when one notices that one’s ears are ringing.
“I always wondered why Clemenza was teaching a former Marine, an officer and winner of the Navy Cross, how to shoot.”
Even Marine Officers have to re-qualify, annually. At least they did while I was active.
Also, at that stage in the movie, I believe that it was several years since he had been discharged.
Finally, remember, it’s Hollywood.