Hello, a friend has had this sword in his closet for 20 years. He inherited it from his father-in-law who had owned a bar and a WWII vet used this sword to pay off his bar tab. We know nothing about swords and were hoping somebody could provide any info. I know that this sword and its handle is missing its decorations, but we managed to remove the sword from the handle to look for a signature, and we are unable to interpret the writing. I hope that these photos are clear enough. Thank you so much for looking!
http://s619.photobucket.com/albums/tt273/kc1967/