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, 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, November 9, the World War 2 Guys were back in the field for a squad patrol through the dreaded Hurtgen Forest. Our Squad Leader for the day was Sergeant Krelle with Matt serving as Assistant Squad Leader.  Bryson was on the Browning Automatic Rifle with Deqlan as his Assistant B.A.R. gunner. Donnie, Davan, and Rhys filled out the squad as riflemen with their M1s. As we continued with our "year in the life" honoring the "Big Red One", we were portraying L Company of the 16th Infantry Regiment, a storied company of the 1st Infantry Division. The 16th Infantry was tasked with some hard fighting in the Hurtgen Forest in mid-November 1944 to take Hill 232 near the town of Hamich. We spent some of our time during the day reading aloud the experiences of the 16th in their bloody struggle against the German defenders. We dug a line of four squad foxholes along a hillside to defend against any German counterattacks that may come our way. We also marched up to the top of our trench outpost to get a better view of the terrain. It was a great fall day to be outdoors and always a pleasure to spend time together as a group.

On Saturday, July 20, the World War 2 Guys jumped forward in time to the year 1967. Our objective for the day was to loosely live a "day in the life" of the 1986 Oliver Stone movie, Platoon. Our squad for the day was comprised of SSgt. Barnes, Sgt. Elias, Taylor, Bunny, Rhah, Lerner, and Crawford. Our guys had been preparing for this for a few months, but it was the first Vietnam event for all of us so there were several little details that we can improve upon for future events. For our location, we chose our favorite site in the beautiful Loess Hills of western Iowa. We spent quite a bit of time clearing out and improving our hilltop outpost which we called Firebase Lightning. After a lunch of C Rations, we did a lengthy Search & Destroy patrol in the afternoon and just had a great time hanging out as a group. After our time in the hills, all seven of us ventured to the Nebraska Vietnam Veterans Memorial where we took some really great group photos which we'll post later. It was such a fun day that we're already planning on doing a follow-up event next year.

On Saturday, February 17, a small group of us honored the anniversary of Nebraska's own 134th Infantry Regiment entering Germany in late February 1945. Joe and I layered up in long johns, wools, sweaters, gloves, and field jackets to tackle the frigid temperatures in the Loess Hills of western Iowa. Our journey took us up and down snow covered hillsides, and in and out of tangled wood lines in search of the elusive enemy. We finally did make contact with a German patrol and reported our findings back to L Company headquarters. It was a quick outing but a great way to spend a day, out in nature among fellow history lovers!

More photos and event After Action Report coming soon!

On Saturday, November 13, the World War 2 Guys were back in action for an event we called the "Push to Luxembourg." Our scenario for the day was set in January 1945 when the 17th Airborne Division was pushing from Belgium into Luxembourg. Joining up for the day were Matt, Will, Mike, Eric and Joe, doing his first ever World War II field event. We used our Loess Hill site for this event and had to deal with a pretty cold and windy day, but with some nice sun early on. We made our way through open fields and up to our hilltop trench where we removed quite a bit of brush and re-fortified our line. We spent quite a bit of time just cleaning up the trench line and extending it a little more to the east. There was hot coffee and some hot chow thanks to Will and Joe and their small fires. Later in the day, Matt, Eric and Joe patrolled another hilltop and some wooded areas which we plan on using in 2022 for another immersion event. With rain starting to spit down on us, we called it a day and made our way back to the vehicles. But it was a great little outing and some fun time with friends in the field!

The night of Saturday, October 9 saw a few of the World War 2 Guys participating in one of the most epic reenactments of all time! The scenario involved a small group of 101st Airborne paratroopers making a river crossing under the cloak of darkness to rescue four stranded British Paras from the 1st Parachute Battalion. At the prescribed meet-up time of 1900 hours, the four Brits who had escaped weeks of grueling battle at Arnhem made their way down toward the river's north shore. As darkness quickly fell upon the scene, and with every ear listening for signs of a rescue, suddenly the scraping sounds of boats upon rock could be heard to the east. With hearts racing and a few more minutes of silence, the sound of paddling oars could be heard approaching from upstream. Suddenly two small boats pulled up on the shoreline and the American paratroopers disembarked. Beams of light from an American flashlight shot toward the British lines, followed by red flashes from a British torch. A Sergeant from the British group rendezvoused with the Americans and quickly the rest of the Brits appeared from the woods beyond. A British Brigadier from the 1st Battalion was a high value asset to the Allied effort and his rescue was of top priority! The two boats loaded with the Brits then paddled furiously back upstream to safety. About halfway across the river the sound of three sharp whistle blows unleashed a fury of machine gun fire from the American lines as well as two red flares being shot into the night sky. The surreal imagery of the rippling river's current highlighted with an eerie red glow and muzzle flashes beyond, will forever be engrained in our memories. Upon reaching the south shore the heavy little boats were pulled into hiding and the troopers all quickly assembled for instruction. The combined group then made their way south, marching through the darkness back to the friendly American lines. Once there, the tired British troopers were given numerous handshakes and congratulatory pats on the back, as well as some warm blankets and a place to rest. The rest of the night was filled with laughter and bottle of liquor as the Americans and Brits celebrated their successful rescue mission, one that will never be forgotten by any of those who were there.

On Saturday, October 10, the World War 2 Guys were back in the field representing the "Blue Devils" of the 88th Infantry Division in Italy. Our understrength squad for the event was SSgt. Krelle, Sgt. Green, Cpl. Hazard, Pfc. Williams, and Pvt. Mason. We began our day winding our way through cornfields and humping it up the Loess Hills which served as Italy for the day. The men spent time clearing out our old hilltop trench while keeping a keen eye out for any Kraut activity in our sector. We got in a few quick firefights with a small German patrol located in a grove of trees below our position. After Sgt. Green had a weapons malfunction, SSgt. Krelle quickly stepped-in and neutralized the enemy patrol with a little back-up from Pvt. Mason. After the fireworks, the squad spent the sunset hour eating some rations and some cooked Spam provided by Pfc. Williams. Everyone agreed that the hot chow was delicious!  After securing our positions for the night the men looked up in awe of the star-filled night sky above. Thankfully, there was no enemy activity during the night which remained relatively warm for an October evening. The squad was up with the sun, scrounging up some rations and some hot coffee from Sgt. Green.  We packed up and left our hilltop position, pushing to the south to keep the pressure on the Germans.  It was quite an event highlighted by some spectacular weather and some amazing fall colors.