by Jim Barnes
The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s WWII weekend is one of the two biggest events that I attend annually. There aren’t a lot of shows that offer such a combination of lot’s of WWII aircraft, reenactors and militaria vendors. Unfortunately, the show has been increasingly mired in complaints from the reenactors about their treatment at the hands of the organizers and volunteers. As a result there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of reenacting groups that are attending. It was obvious last year and more so this year.
To be fair, some of the folks at the organization level seem to have realized that this is a problem and are making some efforts to smooth things over. Getting Richelle Savant to coordinate the reenactor registration was a good move. She is a very nice lady and seemed to genuinely want to be helpful. I don’t think anyone blamed her for any snafus that occurred.
One issue that affected our group, the 193rd Rifle Division, in particular was location. The Pacific theater was expanded this year, so we lost the area that we have had for the last three or four years. The 9th SS, who are usually our neighbors were also moved. At first, we were told that we were to be moved next door to Grossdeutschland, near the French Village, but at the last minute, we were moved to the very farthest reaches of the grounds – out past the end of the vendors by the firing range.
The following is a review of last weekend’s Reading Airshow by our correspondent, Mike Momot: Hello all, Richelle did a wonderful job with the registration process. I felt this worked quite nicely. It certainly would have been better to have later registration hours Thursday and Friday nights for those coming from far away...
The following is a post from our correspondent, Matt Gillespie: The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Buckhannon Camp #49 organized a dedication ceremony for the newly erected tombstone of Brevet General George R. Latham at Heavner Cemetery on Memorial Day. Latham was a prominate officer during the Civil War and a prominate citize...
The following is a report filed by our correspondent, Matt Gillespie: Saturday I traveled to Weston, WV to take part in the Mountaineer Military Museum’s Memorial Weekend Vet-together. There were several reenactors and veterans present who took part in the cook-out in front of the museum. The cook-out was sponsored by the VFW Auxil...
Here is Nick Korolev’s report on the Civil War doin’s in Clarksburg last week: MAY 13-15TH Despite a weekend of scattered showers, the Harrison County Civil War Sesquicentennial 150th Anniversary went off with hardly a hitch May 13 -15th. Funded by the state and sponsored by local historical societies and business as the kick ......
The WVRA held it’s annual School of the Soldier at Prickett’s Fort, near Fairmont, WV over the weekend of April 30, 2011. The weekend was well attended and the weather was pleasant. The fort is a good location for this sort of event for a number of reasons. There are numerous historical connections to the ... ...
The last combat veteran of WWI, Claude Choules, who served on the British Battleship, HMS Revenge in WWI, died in a nursing home in Australia at the age of 110. According to the BBC news release, Mr. Choules witnessed the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet in 1918 and its subsequent scuttling at Scapa ... ...
It’s spring, 1918 and on the killing fields of France, the armies are stirring in the mud and filth of the trenches. The Kaiser’s forces prepare for an offensive that will strike a decisive blow and divide the allied lines. The western allies including the new American troops and the hardened veterans of the Russian ... ...
Here is Nick Korolev’s report on the latest installment of ‘The Long Road Home’ event series: The weekend of April 8-10th Clover Hill Village, Appomatox, VA had the first installment of a special series of events titled “The Long Road Home” which will follow Civil War soldiers on the final campaign leadin...
One of the neat things about doing a 20th Century impression, is the availability of items from that time period, pretty much under our noses. Antique shopping can provide a wealth of useful material and be fun as well. The Donegans recently scored big. Here is Bill’s account: Here is a shopping tale about ... ...
This year, I attended my third ‘Military Through the Ages’ at Jamestown Settlement. For those of you who have not attended this event, it is a high-quality, prestigious time-line event. Since it takes place in the environs of the reconstructed Jamestown Settlement and museum, it is doubly interesting. As usual, there were a wide variety...
William Donegan The following was submitted by our correspondent, Bill Donegan: This was the 14th annual reenactment of two early Civil War battles here in West Virginia: the battle of Hurricane Bridge and Scary Creek. I have attended all of them. There are always a lot to do at this event: The Hurricane ... ...
On March 11-12, 2011, the 193rd Rifles and the German WWI group, Fusilier Regiment Nr 90, sponsored what has become an annual event at the GWA site at Newville. This time, it was a spring 1945 scenario. For those of you have never been there, the GWA site is an amazing place. No other reenacting ... ...
We received the following poems from Diane Watson, whom the Donegans met at the U.S. Christian Commission Chapel service in Gettysburg a few weeks ago. Anywhere Close I’m wearing Blue, my Brother’s in Gray He left when the conflict arose I love the Union, he disagrees We’ll talk when he’s anywhere close. Saw .....
Last month, on February 27, Frank Buckles of Charlestown, WV , the last Doughboy, passed away. He recently celebrated his 110th birthday. According to the Memphis Commerical Appeal, “Sixteen years old, he lied about his age to get into the Army and badgered his superiors until they sent him to the French front with an ... ...
The following is a report from Nick Korolev on a unique series of Civil War events taking place over the next 5 years: Clover Hill Village, Appomatox, VA over the next five years will be having a special series of events titled The Long Road Home which will follow Civil War soldiers on the final ... ...
The 2nd Gebirgs once again hosted their Elbe River event at Old Bedford Village on the weekend of February 19, 2011. This is always a well-run and fun event and this year was no exception. The event commemorates the meeting of Soviet and American troops at the Elbe River near Torgau, Germany in April, 1945. ... ...
If you are passing by the local newstand this week, you might check out the latest issue of “America in WWII” magazine. Our intrepid traveling correspondent, Bill Donegan has an article published in the latest Issue. Titled “Luck Was On Our Side,” the article recounts the adventures of his uncle, Lester L. Call, who served...
The following is Bill Donegan’s report on this year’s FIG event from the perspective of the German chaplin: Report from FIG/GAP 2011 I was glad to have been at the GAP again this year. I am glad also that it was not too cold. I wish to thank Pete and Kate Gentry, and Brad and ... ...
Things have been slow on the blog for the last month or so, due to real-life job responsibilities and a lack of events to cover. Hopefully that will be changing now. With FIG over, the reenacting season is starting to crank up. Here are some events coming up in the next couple of months: February ... ...
January 25th through the 28th saw me once again trekking up to Fort Indiantown Gap for the annual Battle of the Bulge reenactment/ living history extravaganza/militaria vendor mall. As usual, it was a large affair with a lot of activities for the WWII living historian. This year, for the first time, I got there on ... ...
Tuesday, February 1, is the birthday of Frank Buckles, the last surviving American veteran of WWI. According to Wikipedia, today Mr. Buckles “lives at Gap View Farm, in Charles Town, West Virginia, and is the Honorary Chairman of the World War I Memorial Foundation. During World War II, Buckles was taken prisoner by the Japanese ... ...
It’s that time of year when the holidays are over and the reenacting season hasn’t really started. Winter doldrums are upon us. Living Historians are typically making repairs or additions to their kits and getting ready for the upcoming season. WWII reenactors have the Battle of the Bulge Reenactment at Fort Indiantown Gap, coming up ...
It is always cool when knowledgeable living historians get to work with a film project and are able to help the producers ‘get it right.’ The following is a conversation that Bill Donegan had with Reenactor par excellence, Jenna Onuska on the Wehrmacht forum regarding a film project in Maryland: Jenna: My 15 minute claim ... ...
The annual Fall Eastern Front event was held at Old Bedford Village on the weekend of November 12-14. This year offered an interesting change from the usual format. Rather than just a series of firefights between the combatants, this year involved a day-long scenario in which German units (in this case, Grossdeutschland and 11th Panzer) ... ...