Despite the obligatory rain on Friday, the weather was quite nice for the rest of the weekend for this event. There were several more reenactors than last year and for many of those who had been there before, the displays were bigger and better than ever. Especially impressive was the camp of the U.S. Navy Seabees. Those guys had a lot of stuff! If they had only had a bulldozer, Rowlesburg could have had a landing strip that would have accommodated Corsairs!
The Red Army was also well represented with a larger than ever turnout of comrades. Thanks to Bruce and Christian Oppenhagen, the entire Momot family, Mark Tennant, Art and Carolyn Helmick and Don and Ericka Hongell who represented and assisted the 193rd in this effort.
Also serving the motherland at this event were Tom Plaininshek and John Shook of Pyerviy Vzvod a strictly early war group. Thanks for coming Comrades!
Additionally, there were a couple of German groups, mostly Gebirgs and SS as well as the occasional Luftwaffe and Volkssturman who wandered by. Of course, the biggest contingent consisted of GI groups, including one portraying an Alaskan unit! They must have been doing a good job, as no Japanese were seen over the weekend. The 28th Infantry, Co. K were very much in evidence with several tents and vehicles, as well as a shelter made from a parachute thoughtfully donated by the 82nd Airborne.
There were a couple of quality vendors (Jason Cobb and Sterling Queen) selling period items during the weekend and a number of good buys could be had.
Saturday featured beautiful weather and one of the highpoints of the event, the annual fashion show, which was hosted by Bill and Linda Donegan this year. There was a decent turnout of spectators and several WWII veterans, some of whom made the rounds of the exhibits and talked to reenactors. Late in the day, the sponsors served the reenactors a fine spagetti dinner, which left yours truly fairly immobilized.
Due to low ticket sales, the sponsors, Jef and Maggie Verswyvel, had to cancel the Bobby Menear band dance. Despite this setback, the dance floor in the Szilagyi Center was made available to the reenactors and beer and refreshments were furnished. While the music was recorded rather than live, there was a fair amount of dancing.
Sunday morning, the reenactors were once again treated to another huge meal – this time it was the all-you-can eat breakfast at the local VFW. This alone makes the trip to Rowlesburg worthwhile. Another worthwhile aspect of the trip is the WWII museum. This was previously located at the Verswyvel’s business location, but has been moved to the Szilagyi and expanded. It is a small, but impressive and moving display.
Sadly, immediately after breakfast, many of the reenactors began packing up, effectively ending the event. Perhaps a classic case of ‘eat and run.’Â Admittedly some folks (not all) had a long drive, but it seems a bid callous to me to accept this much hospitality and then bug out so quickly. Just my opinion.
Overall, this was once again, a very pleasant event, offering a maximum amount of consideration for the reenactors who attended. While some improvements can be made (as they can to any event) I always enjoy this one and I hope it continues for years to come.
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