The weekend of September 5-6, members of the World War 2 Guys attended our 12th annual Timeline Weekend at Fort Atkinson State Historical Park. Eric has attended this event every September since its inception in 2015. This year we had Donnie with the 1st Nebraska Volunteer Infantry in the Philippine Insurrection, Davan as a member of the 82nd Airborne in Panama, Dom as an Iraq War Infantryman, Eric as an A-4 Skyhawk pilot with Attack Squadron 164 aboard the USS Oriskany, Joe as a Medical Sergeant with the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam, and Rhys as an U.S. Army Infantryman in Berlin in 1961. Fellow reenactors who we also worked closely with were Steve Cox representing the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II and Andrew Gaghagen who portrayed a Spanish American War soldier. Saturday was terribly hot and humid which made the afternoon hours difficult to get through, but we made it. The reenactor supper was a great time as always, followed by some really fun sunset time among friends. Sunday was more overcast with a fast moving front that blew in just after the 10am flag raising ceremony.  But the skies calmed down and we had a nice afternoon. This remains one of the best events of the calendar year and we're already tossing around ideas for 2027!

On Saturday, August 1 the World War 2 Guys attended our third annual Open House event at the Commemorative Air Force's Great Plains Wing hanger and museum. Rather unexpectedly, the typical hot and humid late summer weather took a turn as we were gifted with light breezes and temps in the 60s. It was an incredible morning to be outdoors! Once again our group happily devoured stacks of golden pancakes with sausages, orange juice and coffee served up by the famous Pancake Man. We had two display tables set-up featuring U.S. Navy items from the USS Oriskany and a table of typical USAAF uniforms and equipment. In one month we'll be back in action at the annual Ft. Atkinson Timeline Weekend so come on out and see all of our amazing impressions!

On Saturday, July 4, the World War 2 Guys helped to celebrate America's 250th birthday at the Annual Field Club Neighborhood 4th of July Parade. To honor America, we proudly marched as paratroopers of H Company 507th PIR wearing the red, white and blue patch of the "All-American" 82nd Airborne Division. We wore the khaki summer service uniform with neck ties, paired with M1936 Pistol Belts and polished Jump Boots. We looked dang sharp!!! The weather was unfortunately rather bleak with gray skies and rain throughout the morning. But the troopers of H Co. put on a great show marching in formation throughout the parade. 

On Saturday, June 20, the World War 2 Guys were back in action for our highly-anticipated summertime Normandy field event. Once again, we proudly wore the "Wagon Wheel" patch of the 35th Infantry Division as we portrayed a squad from L Company of Nebraska's own 134th Infantry Regiment. Our morning started with a patrol through farm fields and some boggy wetlands as we waded through grasses as high as our heads. We took a much-needed breather once we made it back to some higher solid ground. From there we pushed uphill to the east and found a perfect shady lane for a ration break. As he always does, Will made a fire and provided some hot chow and coffee for his fellow squad members. Our group then held a fun training course focused on hand grenade throwing. We set up a target and had each member throw rubber hand grenades from the standing, kneeling, and prone positions. Davan was the champ from the standing position, Sarge was the best from the kneeling position, and Haz was the winner from the prone position. We then made our way back downhill where we were briefly held up by a German recon element. Our squad quickly dispatched of the enemy force with a final push by our maneuver team led by Tech 4 Hazard. We were all able to finally refill our canteens once we made it back to base camp. This was the first field event for our newest member, Oliver, who had an outstanding day with our squad. Our unit's next action will be at the annual 4th of July Parade in a few weeks.

On Monday, May 25, the World War 2 Guys took part in the second annual Memorial Day ceremony hosted by Bill Williams and Patriotic Productions. Once again, the members of our group proudly portrayed a group of local heroes from Omaha and the surrounding heartland who died in the service of our nation. Portrayals from our group included Donnie as Private William Orr who was killed in the Philippine Insurrection in 1899, Rhys as Corporal Russell Hughes who was killed in France in 1918, Cody as Private First Class Anthony Mancuso who was killed in Italy in 1945, Matt as Captain Gordon Shotwell who was killed in Germany in 1945, Don as Private First Class Norman Rosenblatt who was killed in Korea in 1950, Eric as Lieutenant William Roark who was shot down over North Vietnam in 1965, and a representative as Sergeant Lonnie "Calvin" Allen, Jr. who was killed in Iraq in 2006. We marched in to the presentation portion of the program in a new features called "The Walk" which was visually pretty impressive. And of course we all loaded up on pancakes and coffee which is a big draw for this event. We can't thank Bill enough for his inclusion of our group in such an important ceremony to remember all of our fallen on this very special day.

The weekend of May 2-3 saw the World War 2 Guys participate in our first ever "Spring" Timeline Weekend. Working with Superintendent Jason Grof as our coordinator, we were able to do a slightly smaller scale version of our big September Timeline which is a favorite unit event. For this event we had Donnie representing the 507th PIR during its training period in Alliance, Nebraska. Dom was representing the 507th PIR in Normandy wearing the iconic M42 Jump Suit. Eric was representing the U.S. Marine Corps in Korea at the 1951 Battle of the Punchbowl. Rhys was representing the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam. Once again Joe brought out his excellent 5th Special Force Group impression for Vietnam. And to round out our group, Davan was representing the 82nd Airborne in the early 2000's. The weather was fantastic the entire weekend with sunny skies and light breezes. We took part in the 3:00 afternoon whiskey ration on Saturday and were invited to the reenactors' supper in the early evening. We gathered around the big tent at sunset to talk about all things history and the day's events. Sunday saw fewer visitors to the fort but our group still had a fun time hanging out and talking history. We're already excited to get back to the fort in September for the much larger Fall Timeline!

On Saturday, April 4, the World War 2 Guys held our highly anticipated annual Spring Training Day at Ft. Atkinson State Historical Park. The weather for the day was far from springlike with ominous clouds, temperatures in the 30s, and a biting wind all day long. But as always, our group knows how to bundle up and manage the cold. This was our inaugural event representing L Company of Nebraska's own 134th Infantry Regiment. We were all very excited to once again don the "Wagon Wheel" patch of the 35th "Santa Fe" Infantry Division. Our day started with a study of an Infantry Regiment's squad structure and organization. On the parade ground, we then went through the School of the Soldier without Arms, and then the Manual of Arms for the Rifle. We then had a unit break where we discussed various unit topics while eating K-Rations and Bryson's birthday cupcakes! Our afternoon consisted of classes on the history and organization of the 134th Infantry and a uniforms and equipment overview with demonstrations by Pfc. Green. We ended the day with a spirited road march and simulated attacks on scores of ill-fated Germans. It was such a fun day for all of us and an honor to represent our local heroes of the 134th! As the regimental motto defiantly declares, "All Hell Can't Stop Us!"

On Saturday, March 28 the World War 2 Guys held our first field event of 2026 with an Operation Varsity road march. Representing the boys of H Company 507th PIR were Will, Bryson, Donnie, Davan, Rhys, and the Sarge dressed in our M43 Field Uniforms with Jump Boots and a good amount of late war OD7 web gear. Our objective for the day was a road march headed east toward the Rhine River, practicing our field maneuvering as well as hand signals all along the route. When we finally reached our destination, we nestled into a tree line to try to avoid the wind-blown dust and sand. We weren't able to get a fire going because of the high winds, but Donnie read us a letter from home which helped in boosting our unit morale. It was a beautiful day to be together working as a squad in the field once again. Next weekend we will hold our annual spring training day which is always a highly anticipated event!

On Saturday, March 14, the World War 2 Guys marched in the 148th Annual Omaha St. Patrick's Day Parade. The parade, which is organized by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, started a new chapter this year with an all new parade route. The new route begins on 16th & Capitol and finishes at 12th & Mike Fahey St. We were blessed with sunny skies and temperatures in the 40s which isn't bad for a March morning in Nebraska. This year we honored the brave paratroopers of the 17th Airborne Division and their epic jump as part of Operation Varsity. The March 24, 1945 jump involved more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft, making it the largest airborne operation ever conducted on a single day and in one location. After the parade we met at Brazen Head Irish Pub which is our traditional St. Patty's lunch favorite. In two weeks, we will be doing an Operation Varsity field event which will be an exciting continuation of our 17th Airborne studies. Stay tuned!

On Saturday, February 7, the World War 2 Guys kicked off the 2026 season with our annual Winter Muster at Omaha's Union Station, now home of the Durham Museum. This is a fun event every year as we dress up in Class A uniforms of various World War II units. In attendance this time were Will representing the 23rd Infantry of the 2nd Infantry Division, Eric representing the 355th Infantry of the 89th Infantry Division, Donnie representing the 134th Infantry of the 35th Infantry Division, Davan representing the 507th PIR of the 17th Airborne Division, and Rhys representing the 502nd PIR of the 101st Airborne Division. We held our annual meeting in the "Cornhusker Club" train car and spent some time walking around the museum. On the way to lunch, I drove right past the old Federal Building on 15th & Dodge St. which served as the headquarters of the 89th Infantry Division and the 355th Infantry Regiment from 1934 up until their mobilization in 1942. Our lunch at the Brazenhead was excellent as always and we were joined by Matt wearing an awesome B-10 Jacket with a 701st Bomb Squadron leather patch. We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead in 2026 and will next be in action at Omaha's St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 14.