On Saturday, June 7 the Boys of H Company were back in the field in remembrance of the 81st Anniversary of the D-Day invasion. As our event was on June 7 we crafted our scenario around a D+1 patrol to link up with other scattered 507th troopers at "Timmes Orchard". The 2nd Battalion commander Lt. Col. Charles Timmes was famous for leading an ever-growing group of paratroopers in defense of a small orchard north of St. Mere Elise. The orchard was utilized as a fall back position up through June 9 by different groups of paratroopers. So for our event, our leadership group plotted an ambitious plan to patrol up through the Loess Hills of western Iowa and make our way to a small orchard that we found while studying maps of the area. In theory it was a solid idea, but it proved to be too much for our group of heavily ladened troopers in the late morning heat. After reconsidering our plans for the weekend, our squad found a prime spot in an open valley to set up our defensive positions for the night. We dug several two man foxholes, or scrapes depending on how much digging each team wanted to do. Will made us a nice fire to cook rations and coffee on and we had a fun time trying out Hazard's new homemade D Bars. A six man sunset patrol was quite successful as they came back with a German flag, a Zeltbahn, and a few other odds and ends. D+1 came to an end with plenty of liberated French Calvados, cigarettes, captured German chocolate, and lots of laughs and stories!  The overnight proved to be rather uneventful but with pleasant temperatures so that no one froze in their foxholes. On D+2 we packed up early and made our way back home. It was a great overnight event and all of the guys left with plenty of fond memories of an "Orchard Too Far"!

On Saturday, May 24, the World War 2 Guys marched in our fifth annual Memorial Weekend Parade put on by Patriotic Productions. This was a great day for a parade with overcast skies and cooler temperatures for late May. This year our entire group wore the CC2'd M42 Jump Uniforms that the 507th PIR wore for their night drop into Normandy. The troopers of our squad also all carried extra equipment that would have been utilized during the invasion such as Assault Gas Mask Bags, Hawkins Mines, extra Grenades, and the Bazooka of course! We also recently discovered that Colonel Millett made an extra effort to get as much OD7 (darker green) web gear into the hands of his 507th paratroopers as possible before the big jump. He knew the value of having darker colored gear for camouflage purposes. So we are making an effort to sprinkle in some more OD7 items into our D-Day impressions.

On Sunday, April 27, the boys of 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon of H Company 507th PIR were back in action. This was our 10th annual 507th unit training event held at historic Fort Atkinson State Historical Park. We had a great turnout from the unit and lucked out on some great training weather with comfortable temperatures and overcast skies without any rain. Our training was primarily led by Sgt. Krelle and Cpl. Williams with additional instruction provided by Tech 4 Hazard, Pfc. Green, and Pvt. Popelier. We covered the WWII School of the Soldier with and without arms, hand signals, combat formations, a unit update meeting, 507th PIR organization, a uniforms and equipment review, and finished with a squad road march. It was an excellent training event and spirits were high among the squad members. We're very excited for our upcoming D-Day event in June where we will immerse ourselves in the lore of "Times Orchard".

On Sunday, April 13, the World War 2 Guys were back in action at the SAC Aerospace Museum's annual Operation: Easter Egg Hunt. We have a great turnout from our group with 8 members, all dressed in our Normandy M42 Jump Suits. Our mission was to escort the Easter Bunny around the museum and to be available for photos with kids. The museum went through over 3,000 Easter Eggs in just under an hour which was pretty impressive! We also had the opportunity as a group to get inside the C-47 and take some fun photos standing in the door. It was a quick, fun event and a great way to be involved in the community.

On Saturday, February 22, the World War 2 Guys were back in action for our 2025 Winter Tactical. The boys from H Company 507th Parachute Infantry tussled with some battle-hardened Germans from the 272nd Volksgenadier Division. The early morning was especially cold so knit caps, gloves, and plenty of layers were essential items. We set out with three planned scenarios with each side being in both offensive and defensive situations. After our second scenario the entire group ate some hot rations together thanks to Sergeant Green and his foxhole cooking. Spirits were high throughout the day and we really enjoyed getting a chance to do a proper winter battle. The following day, temperatures were up into the 60s, so we definitely capitalized on the last cold, snowy day.

On Saturday, February 1, the World War 2 Guys visited the Durham Museum for a group meeting and a chance to dress up in some "classy" Class A uniforms. In attendance were Joe representing the 87th Infantry of the 10th Mountain Division, Cody representing the 349th Infantry "Kraut Killers" of the 88th Division, Matt representing our own 507th PIR while stationed in Nebraska, Rhys representing the 101st Airborne Division, and Eric representing the 164th Infantry of the American Division that served on Guadalcanal. We had a fun unit meeting on one of the train cars nicknamed "The Cornhusker Club" and had a great conversation with one of the museum volunteers and historians named Raleigh. Unfortunately, our visit was a short one, but we will hopefully add this as a regular unit event in the years to come.

On Thursday, June 6, the World War 2 Guys were honored to be involved with a ceremony to mark and remember the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. The event was quickly put together by Bill Williams of Patriotic Productions the week before the anniversary. Former Omaha mayor, Hal Daub, served as the MC of the early morning event. Four paratroopers jumped on Memorial Park which is always an awe-inspiring experience. World War 2 Guys unit commander, Eric Krelle, served as the keynote speaker and delivered a heart-felt speech about the ways in which D-Day has intersected with his life over the past four decades. It was a beautiful morning and all of us felt very happy to be able to remember the men who jumped from the skies and stormed the beaches 80 years ago on this date.

On Saturday, May 25, the World War 2 Guys were back in action for the 4th Annual Patriotic Productions Memorial Weekend Parade. The weather was glorious this year with full sunshine and perfect temps throughout the morning! In preparation for the parade this year, all of our members put forth a lot of extra effort working on our impressions and our historical authenticity. Four of our guys represented the infantrymen of the 1st Infantry Division "The Big Red One" who landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. The other four guys represented the paratroopers of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment who dropped behind enemy lines into Normandy on June 5, 1944. This was our largest ever group turnout for a parade and everyone looked top notch! Everyone in our group has an amazing passion for keeping alive the memories of our World War II generation and the incredible sacrifices that they made on our nation's behalf.

On Saturday, March 9, the World War 2 Guys were back in action for our second time at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown Omaha. This was the 146th Annual parade put on by the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Omaha. This year we were extremely happy to be basking in full sunlight as opposed to the freezing rain of 2023's parade. Our uniform of the day was typical of what the 507th Parachute Infantry would have been wearing through much of their training in Northern Ireland and Nottingham, England in the spring of 1944. We wore the OD Wool Uniform paired with M41 Field Jackets, Jump Helmets, Jump Boots, and standard field gear. We could only muster four troopers for the day but we had a great time! Following the parade, we journeyed back to the Brazen Head Irish Pub for some delicious food and drinks!

On Tuesday, June 6, Eric was invited to set-up a D-Day themed display at the Omaha Golden K Kiwanis Club weekly meeting. First Sergeant Dan Falcon, who is a big deal in the local Airborne community and a strong supporter of our group, invited me to be a part of his presentation. Dan has been an 82nd Airborne paratrooper since the 1970s and is a tremendous leader both with JROTC and with Airborne veterans. The morning provided another great chance to show off some of the uniforms, equipment, and weapons that the brave men of the 82nd and 101st Airborne took into battle 79 years ago in Normandy.