Eli and Eric represented the World War 2 Guys at the first annual Heritage Days Timeline Event at Ft. Atkinson on Saturday, September 5. Eli was portraying a soldier of the 2nd Infantry Division in World War II and Eric was representing a U.S. Marine from the Korean War. We set up a small encampment early in the morning near the Council House. We were treated wonderfully by our hosts at Ft. Atkinson who offered us coffee and breakfast as soon as we arrived. My Korean War display had an assortment of U.S. Army field gear and uniform items under a half shelter and I also had a Marine Corps shelter tent I named the "Korea Hilton Hotel". Eli set up an early WWII style shelter tent filled with typical WWII U.S. Army gear. After squaring away our camp we made our way down to the fort where we spoke with a few of the 1820's reenactors as well as members of the public. We met an amazing gentleman named Charlie Money, a 1st Cavalry Division veteran of the Vietnam War. He spoke to us for nearly half an hour recounting story after story from his time in country. After speaking with Charlie, we downed some grub back at our base camp and later took part in a weapons demonstration. Along with our 1820's counterparts, we demonstrated the differences between firing techniques and loading speeds from the 19th century to the 20th century. At the end of the day we were also honored to take part in the flag lowering ceremony for the fort. Eli and I were feed some really good rice and beans for dinner and then we packed up our gear and headed home for the night. It was a great experience and one I know we're both excited to take part in next year.
0 Comments
The World War 2 Guys were given the privilege of taking part in Christ Community Church's "America" celebration the evening of Sunday, June 28. We had great unit participation for the event with Will honoring the US Army Air Corps, Matt the 8th Infantry Division, Bob and Luke the 101st Airborne Division, Eli the 2nd Infantry Division, Cody the US Army Medics, Jeff the US Navy, and Eric the US Marine Corps. Turnout for the event was impressive with hundreds of visitors talking with us about our World War II themed display. The night kicked-off with a patriotic concert honoring our nation's veterans both past and present, followed by an ice cream social and an awesome fireworks display. The highlight of the night was when Technical Sergeant Paul Andreas stopped by our tables. A veteran of the 28th Infantry Division and the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest, Paul was a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient who was captured by the Germans as a POW. He's quite a guy and it was great to have him talk with us for a few minutes. This was a great summertime event and one we'll hopefully be back for next year!
The World War 2 Guys gathered at Cabela's La Vista for our 4th Annual Armed Forces Day display on Saturday, May 16. In attendance were Alexander, Dave and Eli representing the 2nd Infantry Division, Jeff representing the US Navy, and Eric portraying a paratrooper of the 101st Airborne. Because of impended rain, Cabela's had us stage our exhibit indoors this year. Our sized-down display covered a variety of Airborne gear, a 29th Division D-Day grouping, Tanker gear, US Navy gear, a weapons display and some Signal Corps equipment. We had a steady stream of visitors all day long and were very happy to take part in this great event once again!
The World War 2 Guys were invited to be a part of the 2nd Infantry Division Association's 93rd National Reunion which took place at Omaha's Downtown DoubleTree Hotel from September 16-20. Members of our group dressed in military uniforms depicting several eras of the 2nd Infantry Division's proud history. We were also invited to set up display tables to exhibit uniforms, field equipment, weapons, personal effects, insignia, photographs, and printed materials of the division from World War I up through the 1970's. Dave, Will, Jeff, Matt, Eric, Eli and Darrell were all able to attend the event on Friday which quickly turned into one of the most memorable and rewarding days in our unit's history. We spent time throughout the day talking with 2nd Division veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam-era vets who patrolled the dangerous Korean DMZ. We were honored to eat lunch with two veterans who shared stories with us as we ate. Members of our unit were also invited to attend the division's annual Memorial service where the remember all of their comrades who have passed over the course of the past year. It was an unbelievable experience and one that none of us will ever forget. The National Reunion is being held in San Antonio, Texas in 2015... it's a long way from Omaha, but it would be worth the trip to spend some more time with these guys!!!
The men of the 2nd I.D. Living History Association gathered at Omaha's famous Durham Museum on Sunday, June 8. Our purpose for the day was to provide an interpretive display honoring the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. The highlight of the day was seeing Jeff's replica steel hedgehogs for the first time. The two hedgehogs, hand-built by Jeff out of wood, were extremely impressive and really set the stage for our display. As a group we were able to represent the 2nd Infantry Division, the 29th Infantry Division, the 101st Airborne Division, Armored Divisions and the 2nd Ranger Battalion. It was a great chance to interact with the public, to get out ALL of our D-Day gear, and to pay tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on June 6, 1944.
The men of the 2nd I.D. gathered for our 10th Annual Armed Forces Day exhibit at Cabela's LaVista on Saturday, May 17. The weather was sunny and gorgeous but a little cold in the morning - I wore long johns under my jungle fatigues. Jeff, Dave, Will and I displayed a wide variety of uniforms, weapons and equipment from early World War II up through Vietnam. My primary focus this year was portraying a 1970 Marine in Vietnam, so this technically qualifies as my Uniform of the Month for May. It was a great day and my wife and kids even got to come up and hang out for a while. We're all looking forward to our next event which will be D-Day at the Durham Museum on June 8.
|
WELCOMERead all about the great events that the World War 2 Guys take part in throughout the year. CATEGORIES
All
ARCHIVES
March 2024
|