Pros / Cons, and opinions on Re-enactors

[k5083]

Good point, whilst I can admire the obvious committment of the Corsair re-enactors to portray the pilots of that era, (and I note that the photos have been posted before & since that event with much pride by those people as well), I'm still undecided as to its success.

I'm with you there. Funny how different people can look at the same photos and have very different perceptions of what they show.

In my opinion if you "regulate" which units are represented then many things about the war will be forgotten OR ignored.

Delusions of Grandeur Alert! Re-enacting is far too "fringe" to have any impact on whether anything is forgotten or ignored or not.

August

[RyanShort1]

Agreed, as appropriate for your standing as a Moderator here you had the final say on the matter. BTW Happy Invasion Day to you.

CDF - James is NOT a moderator here. Folks made life real difficult for him while he was, and it's no longer the case. I started the thread here and I didn't think his comments were that far off. There ARE issues with many groups that reenactors might portray.

I think that there are a LOT of shades of reenactors. Some of those shades make me VERY uncomfortable. About four years ago I headed up a program with some reenactors. We had a local professional group involved that does a VERY good job. They include some Germans, but none of the guys that dress up as Germans treat it as anything more than playing the "bad guys" for demonstration purposes. They are not ideological. I DID have an SS group contact me to see if they could come. Guess what. They didn't get to. Would they have added to the event? Probably. I had enough issues to deal with as it was, and I'm not sorry for the choice I made. If the purpose is a choreographed re-telling of history, or a static demonstration, for educational purposes, I'm on board with it. If it's a way to live out a fantasy, I oppose it.

Below are some pictures from the event - "Mediterranean Assault" - that we did. Also, here's a link to the website we put up: http://www.historicbattles.org/


For the first "show" I was flying lead in the L-2 - painted up as an L-4. It's not right, but honestly, from 500 feet, it does look close enough that most people wouldn't know the difference.


For those concerned about authenticity, for this reenactment we did use some non-WW2 radios for communication, but if you knew all that was going on behind the scenes to get the timing right, etc... you'd forgive us. As it was, the morning battle we nearly had a guy injured because a charge went off at the wrong time.


That's me in the picture here - with the Vietnam era radio, and a modern aviation transceiver. I flew the L-2 for the first reenactment, but because things didn't go as planned the first time, they insisted that I had to be on the ground to make sure no-one got hurt. And yes, my uniform was a hodge-podge. It had to be that way so I could take care of all of the comms.


The L-5 landing...


We had a professional pyro guy, and I think he did a good job of creating a semi-realistic atmosphere for the audience. It was incredible to be 20 feet away from those blasts.


Thanks again to our corporate sponsors for helping make it a "go" to honor the veterans.

Ryan

[cco23i]

Looks good Ryan! We are working on getting the HF and VHF radios up for our follow me jeep so we can talk to the B-24 and other WW2 aircraft we bring into the ramp area.

Scott

[L-4Pilot]

I am going to see if I can get these shots to post from a new photobucket acct. These are from Operation Cobra where I flew my L-4 from a 900 ft strip in the middle of the reenactment. This was my first time to be involved in a major reenactment and I really enjoyed it and met some really great people.

These scenes are from the filming of the movie Red Rose of Normandy.

Steve

[Warbird Kid]

BUT, you still need a ground crewman!

Scott

Come on out anytime. Would be glad to have you!

[cco23i]

I'd love to BUT you guys are at the other end of the country! Who knows, we may make it that way!

Scott

[the330thbg]

Ryan is not going to be happy with this.., but.....

I support these re-enactors! "Worth fightin for boys?"







The other type of dressing up to play 'wargames'.., creeps me out a bit. I did that for real several years back and have no desire to ever 'play' that game again. Any veterans participate in this? Or is it mainly for people who wish they had joined up?
What do veterans feel about it?
Any feedback from them?

In regards to Warbirds.., I personally like it when the pilot or crewmen dress in context with their aircraft. It is the running around on the ground and playing war that turns me off. I am not sure why.,. it is the same thing as what the Warbirds are doing above.., but just has an entirely different feel to it. They just look like a bunch of 11 year olds pretending.

Last edited by the330thbg on Wed Jan 26, 2011 4:30 pm, edited 5 times in total.

[Robbie Roberts]

I support this re-enactor!

as the man says- "Mynnagghh, naaggghhhh, mynaagghhhhh!" Woof!

[whistlingdeath77]

can she be my co-pilot!?

[CDF]

CDF - James is NOT a moderator here. Folks made life real difficult for him while he was, and it's no longer the case.

Oh OK sorry, just by the tone of his reply, (Numbered points, addressing me as "Mr", and telling me to leave the matter), I thought he was(italics added) a Moderator

[cco23i]

Ryan is not going to be happy with this.., but.....

I support these re-enactors! "Worth fightin for boys?"







The other type of dressing up to play 'wargames'.., creeps me out a bit. I did that for real several years back and have no desire to ever 'play' that game again. Any veterans participate in this? Or is it mainly for people who wish they had joined up?
What do veterans feel about it?
Any feedback from them?

In regards to Warbirds.., I personally like it when the pilot or crewmen dress in context with their aircraft. It is the running around on the ground and playing war that turns me off. I am not sure why.,. it is the same thing as what the Warbirds are doing above.., but just has an entirely different feel to it. They just look like a bunch of 11 year olds pretending.

The blonde, also known as Miss Amanda Lee has been at shows and displays with us. As a matter a fact we were at the vehicle show from some of these shots. AND YES the vets we have encountered portraying ground crews are EXTREMELY HAPPY that someone is FINALLY showing what the ground crews did in WW2.

Scott

[Obergrafeter]

What's for Ryan to not like?Oh I see..................................... the tramp stamp on the B-29!

[cco23i]

WHAT? What B-29?

Scott

[the330thbg]

What's for Ryan to not like?Oh I see..................................... the tramp stamp on the B-29!

Not quite.., Ryan.,. I kept it clean!

[cco23i]

You should see the "tramp stamp" on the one brunnette!

Scott