Thanks to all of the members of B/502 who attended the annual meeting this weekend at the 356th Fighter Group Restaurant in North Canton, OH. We had quite an agenda but we got through it and had time for lunch.
A few quick highlights:
1. We welcomed new members Roy and Andrew Messing, as well as those not in attendance - Mark Holbrook, Paul and John Baltzer.
2. Investigating reenactor liability coverage for members of the unit.
3. Bylaws draft reviewed and changes made. Chairman Chris Smith to incorporate changes and distribute final version for approval.
4. Elections for the 2013/14 positions were held. Chris Smith was again elected organization Chairman. Nominations were taken and the election held. Bob Penix chose not to accept a nomination for Squad Leader. Thanks to Bob for stepping in to Pat Eddy's boots this past season. Victor Cabrera was elected to be our Squad Leader and Chris Bauer Assistant Squad Leader. Mike Oakley is next in line to fill in where needed.
5. Equipment was discussed. Still have a large amount of ammo in .308. Some members still shooting .30-06. Based on the growth of the unit, we will very likely be up to the size of two squads this year (at least on paper). We discussed tentage to house personnel when in the field. Possibly the purchase of another pyramidal or a wall tent is in the future but we put off this issue and will address when and if needed.
6. The new NCOs are developing a training routine to be instituted at events. We will also host at least one training day for field and tactical problems.
7. Victor Cabrera and Mike Oakley are going to develop an Awards SOP proposal to set a standard on how members of the unit receive ribbons and promotions. A reading list of books and study materials was distributed and suggested for the winter. Members plan to share some of these books between each other to save on costs.
8. The unit Christmas Party will be on 16 DEC at the 356th Fighter Group. Chris Smith reminded everyone to get their money in to him.
9. A number of events were discussed for 2013. Here is the final list the unit will attend.
7-10 MAR – Operation Nordwind, Ft. Indiantown Gap, PA
18-19 MAY – Armed Forces Day Show, Findlay, OH
20-21 JUL – Ride Through History, Alliance, OH
16-17 AUG – D-Day, Conneaut, OH
12-13 OCT – Camp Tuscazoar Tactical, Dover, OH
Again, thanks to all who attended and offered their thoughts and ideas. We little imagined or planned that the unit would grow to where it is now and where it is going. Baker Company is fortunate to have a great group of talented and dedicated living historians.
November 5, 2012
November 2, 2012
WWII carrier pigeon remains found in UK with message
LONDON, NOV 2 – Experts say the skeletal remains of a pigeon discovered in the chimney of a house in southern England carried a mysterious, long-forgotten message from World War II.
Historians at Britain's Second World War-era code breaking headquarters say the bird was almost certainly returning from Nazi-occupied France during the June 1944 D-Day invasion.
Bletchley Park says that a radio blackout imposed on Allied forces at the time meant that messages about the progress of the invasion were dispatched by pigeon across the Channel.
What the message says remains unknown. It was coded, an unusual measure generally reserved for the most sensitive secrets.
Bletchley Park said Thursday that one of its curators is now trying to unravel the message using World War II logbooks.
Associated Press
Historians at Britain's Second World War-era code breaking headquarters say the bird was almost certainly returning from Nazi-occupied France during the June 1944 D-Day invasion.
Bletchley Park says that a radio blackout imposed on Allied forces at the time meant that messages about the progress of the invasion were dispatched by pigeon across the Channel.
What the message says remains unknown. It was coded, an unusual measure generally reserved for the most sensitive secrets.
Bletchley Park said Thursday that one of its curators is now trying to unravel the message using World War II logbooks.
Associated Press
October 1, 2012
Unit information requested for Tuscazoar tactical
Attention reenactors! As you know, the Camp Tuscazoar Tactical is an “invitation only” event. If your unit is interested in attending, we are asking you to send the following information to the appropriate commander ASAP.
- Unit name and impression
- Website address (if you have one)
- Unit commander’s name and email address
Please email this information to either:
Mike Felmlee, Allied Commander - buckshotsgt@83rd.us or,
Max Roth, Axis Commander – panzerman1944@yahoo.com
Online registration will open end of October/beginning of November. To keep up to date, go to http://www.facebook.com/tuscazoar and click the "Like" button.
- Unit name and impression
- Website address (if you have one)
- Unit commander’s name and email address
Please email this information to either:
Mike Felmlee, Allied Commander - buckshotsgt@83rd.us or,
Max Roth, Axis Commander – panzerman1944@yahoo.com
Online registration will open end of October/beginning of November. To keep up to date, go to http://www.facebook.com/tuscazoar and click the "Like" button.
September 25, 2012
One of last surviving WWII 'Merrill's Marauders' finally receives Bronze Star
Associated Press - 9/25/12
MARIETTA, Ga. – One of the last surviving members of the famed World War II guerrilla force known as "Merrill's Marauders," 88-year-old Stanley M. Sasine of Vinings, was presented with the Bronze Star, a Combat Infantry Badge and a Ranger Tab on Monday, decades after he was authorized to receive it.
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who presented the honors, said Sasine was authorized, but never received the Bronze Star Medal.
Sasine earned the decorations, Chambliss said, "during a campaign in 1944, very deep behind Japanese enemy lines, and he was a member of a very select group called Merrill's Marauders that made a huge difference in the campaign in Burma, China and India."
The guerrilla force took its name from its commander, Brig. Gen Frank Merrill. Their mission was to infiltrate Japanese-occupied Burma and cut off Japanese communications and supply lines. The hope was for the force to prepare the way for Gen. Joseph Stillwell's Chinese-American Force to reopen the Burma Road, which was closed in April 1942 by the Japanese in-vaders, and once again allow supplies and war material into China through this route, according to History.com.
The unit consisted of about 3,000 soldiers officially called 5307th Composite Unit, codenamed "Galahad."
Sasine said there are only 18 Merrill's Marauders alive.
A native of Brooklyn, Sasine and his wife, Renee, have four children, 12 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren, several of whom attended Monday's ceremony at Chambliss' Cumberland office.
Sasine said he would have received the award earlier were it not for a fire that burned some of the records detailing his service.
"I've been trying to get this Bronze Star for many, many years, and it was always `no record of your name being a Marauder,"' Sasine said. "Finally we put it together, piece by piece. I'm very happy. I'm very mellow now. Finally, I got my due."
Among those in attendance were LTC Bob O'Brien, 5th Ranger Training Battalion Commander, and his command sergeant major, Frank James, who came from Camp Frank D. Merrill in Dahlonega to honor Sasine.
"We hold a special place of honor for those of you that served in the 5307th Composite in our hearts because our unit, although it's formally known as the 5th Ranger Training Battalion, is affectionately nicknamed the Merrill's Marauders, so we're the legacy of men like this," O'Brien said. "So we came down to honor you and honor your legacy."
Sasine said he was enrolled at Cornell University for a mere two weeks before he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942.
Blocked from flying because he was color-blind, he was trained in intelligence recognizance and learned how to shoot mortars. Originally, he was bound for Europe until he signed up for new clothing.
"And that gave them the right to put me in jungle warfare," Sasine said. "And that's how I became a Marauder. You don't read all this little nonsense that you're signing all the time."
He joined the Marauders in 1943 and remained with them until he was wounded in June of 1944.
Being colorblind turned out to be an asset in the jungle because he could spot camouflaged Japanese snipers, he said.
"When you're in the jungle, you're in a maze of woods and swamp and every kind of bad condition in the world," he said. "You're looking for them. They don't know you're there. And it's a question of hit and run, hit and run, hit and run. And we did that for month after month until this last particular need to capture this airport, to stop the Japanese from being able to receive their ammunition, their food or whatever it was, and to hold that airport because the war was just about over."
The airfield in question was the Myitkyina Airfield in northern Burma.
"A dear friend of mine, a medic and I, he was right beside me, and we were crawling our way forward to get to the airport and a sniper from a tree I didn't see (shot him)," Sasine said.
"You don't stand up or get up on your knees, but I happened to see the Japanese sniper in the tree that shot my friend, took his head off. And the only way I could get on him was to get up a little bit, stand up. And with that as I shot him out of the tree that bullet hit me in the left shoulder. He meant to hit me in the face. Took out my whole wing bone. I was told I'd never be able to move my arm higher than this, and it took many, many years of work and pain and pain and pain, but I play golf. I play at the game. But that's another story."
Sasine said he crawled through the jungle until he was helped into an oxcart and taken to a field hospital.
His fellow Marauders were ultimately successful in seizing the airfield, he said.
For decades Sasine said he had a recurring dream that bothered him, which was the story of his "first kill."
"Crawling through the jungle, (they) were all around us," he said. "We were in their territory, and I was moving north and this young Japanese soldier was moving right, and we met each other at a great big tree. He couldn't see me, and I couldn't see him. And as we sort of just got together, passed each other, we both stood up in fright. My hand and finger was on a Thompson submachine gun . And that bullet just cut him in half. And that memory was with me for 40 years until I told this story."
The reoccurring dream stopped once he talked about the event with his grandson, he said.
"My finger just happened to be on the trigger first," he said. "All of us veterans I don't think ever talked about what we went through and what happened in World War II. We loved it. To us it was a game. We were only 18 years old. And when we came to realize how horrible were the things we did, we never talked about it."
At the same time, it was a matter of kill or be killed, he said, describing the Japanese soldiers as "animals."
"I experienced it amongst themselves some of the things they were doing," he said. "Horrible. They would kill their own wounded because they would slow them down from where they needed to go. They're looking for us, for all of these months, and (Brigadier Gen. Frank Merrill) was brilliant. We all had our exact orders. We would move in a direction north, northeast, south, we all had proper tools to tell us where we were going, for exactly seven minutes and stop and break off a quarter of a mile or a mile away. Thirteen hundred miles of jungle fighting."
After being shot, Sasine was moved to India where he spent nine months in recovery before returning to the U.S.
History.com reports that all surviving Merrill's Marauders had to be evacuated to hospitals to be treated for everything from exhaustion and various tropical diseases to malnutrition or A.O.E. ("Accumulation of Everything"). They were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation in July 1944, which was re-designated the Presidential Unit Citation in 1966. Every member of the commando force also received the Bronze Star.
Sasine married his high school sweetheart, Renee, and pursued a career as a Wall Street broker, and as the owner of a truck equipment company. His luck continued in the 1990s when he won $1 million in a Reader's Digest contest.
But returning home at first was not easy.
"It was difficult," he said. "I always had that want to kill. I recall just days before I was out I was called in with a colonel, went through all my records, and he said, `Stan, I want you to do me a favor. Buy yourself a gun, a rifle. Hunt as much as you can, as often as you can. Shoot birds, shoot anything you can.' And over time my desire to use a weapon went away."
MARIETTA, Ga. – One of the last surviving members of the famed World War II guerrilla force known as "Merrill's Marauders," 88-year-old Stanley M. Sasine of Vinings, was presented with the Bronze Star, a Combat Infantry Badge and a Ranger Tab on Monday, decades after he was authorized to receive it.
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who presented the honors, said Sasine was authorized, but never received the Bronze Star Medal.
Sasine earned the decorations, Chambliss said, "during a campaign in 1944, very deep behind Japanese enemy lines, and he was a member of a very select group called Merrill's Marauders that made a huge difference in the campaign in Burma, China and India."
The guerrilla force took its name from its commander, Brig. Gen Frank Merrill. Their mission was to infiltrate Japanese-occupied Burma and cut off Japanese communications and supply lines. The hope was for the force to prepare the way for Gen. Joseph Stillwell's Chinese-American Force to reopen the Burma Road, which was closed in April 1942 by the Japanese in-vaders, and once again allow supplies and war material into China through this route, according to History.com.
The unit consisted of about 3,000 soldiers officially called 5307th Composite Unit, codenamed "Galahad."
Sasine said there are only 18 Merrill's Marauders alive.
A native of Brooklyn, Sasine and his wife, Renee, have four children, 12 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren, several of whom attended Monday's ceremony at Chambliss' Cumberland office.
Sasine said he would have received the award earlier were it not for a fire that burned some of the records detailing his service.
"I've been trying to get this Bronze Star for many, many years, and it was always `no record of your name being a Marauder,"' Sasine said. "Finally we put it together, piece by piece. I'm very happy. I'm very mellow now. Finally, I got my due."
Among those in attendance were LTC Bob O'Brien, 5th Ranger Training Battalion Commander, and his command sergeant major, Frank James, who came from Camp Frank D. Merrill in Dahlonega to honor Sasine.
"We hold a special place of honor for those of you that served in the 5307th Composite in our hearts because our unit, although it's formally known as the 5th Ranger Training Battalion, is affectionately nicknamed the Merrill's Marauders, so we're the legacy of men like this," O'Brien said. "So we came down to honor you and honor your legacy."
Sasine said he was enrolled at Cornell University for a mere two weeks before he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942.
Blocked from flying because he was color-blind, he was trained in intelligence recognizance and learned how to shoot mortars. Originally, he was bound for Europe until he signed up for new clothing.
"And that gave them the right to put me in jungle warfare," Sasine said. "And that's how I became a Marauder. You don't read all this little nonsense that you're signing all the time."
He joined the Marauders in 1943 and remained with them until he was wounded in June of 1944.
Being colorblind turned out to be an asset in the jungle because he could spot camouflaged Japanese snipers, he said.
"When you're in the jungle, you're in a maze of woods and swamp and every kind of bad condition in the world," he said. "You're looking for them. They don't know you're there. And it's a question of hit and run, hit and run, hit and run. And we did that for month after month until this last particular need to capture this airport, to stop the Japanese from being able to receive their ammunition, their food or whatever it was, and to hold that airport because the war was just about over."
The airfield in question was the Myitkyina Airfield in northern Burma.
"A dear friend of mine, a medic and I, he was right beside me, and we were crawling our way forward to get to the airport and a sniper from a tree I didn't see (shot him)," Sasine said.
"You don't stand up or get up on your knees, but I happened to see the Japanese sniper in the tree that shot my friend, took his head off. And the only way I could get on him was to get up a little bit, stand up. And with that as I shot him out of the tree that bullet hit me in the left shoulder. He meant to hit me in the face. Took out my whole wing bone. I was told I'd never be able to move my arm higher than this, and it took many, many years of work and pain and pain and pain, but I play golf. I play at the game. But that's another story."
Sasine said he crawled through the jungle until he was helped into an oxcart and taken to a field hospital.
His fellow Marauders were ultimately successful in seizing the airfield, he said.
For decades Sasine said he had a recurring dream that bothered him, which was the story of his "first kill."
"Crawling through the jungle, (they) were all around us," he said. "We were in their territory, and I was moving north and this young Japanese soldier was moving right, and we met each other at a great big tree. He couldn't see me, and I couldn't see him. And as we sort of just got together, passed each other, we both stood up in fright. My hand and finger was on a Thompson submachine gun . And that bullet just cut him in half. And that memory was with me for 40 years until I told this story."
The reoccurring dream stopped once he talked about the event with his grandson, he said.
"My finger just happened to be on the trigger first," he said. "All of us veterans I don't think ever talked about what we went through and what happened in World War II. We loved it. To us it was a game. We were only 18 years old. And when we came to realize how horrible were the things we did, we never talked about it."
At the same time, it was a matter of kill or be killed, he said, describing the Japanese soldiers as "animals."
"I experienced it amongst themselves some of the things they were doing," he said. "Horrible. They would kill their own wounded because they would slow them down from where they needed to go. They're looking for us, for all of these months, and (Brigadier Gen. Frank Merrill) was brilliant. We all had our exact orders. We would move in a direction north, northeast, south, we all had proper tools to tell us where we were going, for exactly seven minutes and stop and break off a quarter of a mile or a mile away. Thirteen hundred miles of jungle fighting."
After being shot, Sasine was moved to India where he spent nine months in recovery before returning to the U.S.
History.com reports that all surviving Merrill's Marauders had to be evacuated to hospitals to be treated for everything from exhaustion and various tropical diseases to malnutrition or A.O.E. ("Accumulation of Everything"). They were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation in July 1944, which was re-designated the Presidential Unit Citation in 1966. Every member of the commando force also received the Bronze Star.
Sasine married his high school sweetheart, Renee, and pursued a career as a Wall Street broker, and as the owner of a truck equipment company. His luck continued in the 1990s when he won $1 million in a Reader's Digest contest.
But returning home at first was not easy.
"It was difficult," he said. "I always had that want to kill. I recall just days before I was out I was called in with a colonel, went through all my records, and he said, `Stan, I want you to do me a favor. Buy yourself a gun, a rifle. Hunt as much as you can, as often as you can. Shoot birds, shoot anything you can.' And over time my desire to use a weapon went away."
September 21, 2012
British paratrooper's body found in Holland 68 years after battle of Arnhem
The Telegraph, September 18, 2012The body of a British Second World War paratrooper has been recovered in Holland, almost 68 years to the day after he was killed in action during the battle of Arnhem.
The soldier fell at Ginkel Heath on September 18, 1944 as 2,300 paratroopers from the 4th Parachute Brigade of the 1st Airborne Division landed amid fierce fighting between the Germans and the 7th Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers.
The body was recovered from a field grave on Monday after it was discovered by a local man with a metal detector. Two hand grenades were found near the body.
Geert Jonkers, the head of the Dutch Army's "recovery and identification" unit, said the soldier was likely to be a member of the 4th Parachute Brigade and could be identified as early as next year by military dental records.
"There is no doubt that it is a British soldier's remains," he said. "The key to identifying him will be his teeth and he has an almost complete set. But sometimes the dental records were binned and not attached to the service records of missing men. We still need luck."
The unit commanded by warrant officer Jonkers works to identify between 30 to 35 bodies discovered in Second World War field graves every year. Two thirds of the bodies are usually identified as German soldiers. Around 140 British soldiers are still missing from the battle of Arnhem, including the bodies of 12 paratroopers killed in action at Ginkel Heath.
Next week hundreds of parachutists, watched by dozens of veterans, will relive the Ginkel Heath drop as part of the annual Battle of Arnhem remembrance ceremony.
Niall Cherry, the secretary of the Arnhem 1944 Fellowship, an organisation founded to keep alive the memory of the sacrifice made by Allied soldiers and local members of the Dutch resistance during the battle, said the find was a poignant one as veterans travel to Holland for commemoration ceremonies next week.
"It's wonderful news that he has been found at this time of remembrance. Let us hope he can be identified and his next of kin of notified," he said.
The paratroopers and 1st British Airborne Division had received orders to secure the bridge over the River Rhine near Arnhem as part of Operation Market Garden in September 1944, an attack conceived by Field Marshal Montgomery to bring the war to an early close.
Despite early successes, the British unexpectedly found themselves up against the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions, leading to one of the most devastating and bloody battles of the war, portrayed in the popular 1977 film "A Bridge Too Far".
After nine days of fighting between 17 and 25 September 1944, and running out of food and ammunition, British forces were overwhelmed and forced to withdraw. An estimated 1,700 British soldiers lost their lives.
September 17, 2012
Vintage clothing seminar this week
I thought some of the gals associated with our groups might enjoy this if they are in the area.
Bulldog
“Caring for Your Vintage Clothing: A Textile Conservator’s View”
If you’re into vintage clothing, fashion, or just a thrift store frequent shopper, this is the program for you!
Join us on Wednesday, September 19 from 6:30-7:30pm in Stan Hywet’s Carriage House Auditorium to hear textile conservator, Jane Hammond from the Intermuseum Conservation Association (ICA) in Cleveland present a program on the care and handling of vintage clothing, including guidelines for assessing the condition of delicate fabric...on older garments. Learn how to make knowledgeable decisions about handling, cleaning, use, display, and storage of items in your own collection.
Stan Hywet Members and ICA member institutions: FREE
Non-Members: $8
Seating is limited. Pre-registration is required. Please sign up by Monday, Sept.17th. To purchase tickets or to register, visit http://www.stanhywet.org or call 330-315-3287.
Bulldog
“Caring for Your Vintage Clothing: A Textile Conservator’s View”
If you’re into vintage clothing, fashion, or just a thrift store frequent shopper, this is the program for you!
Join us on Wednesday, September 19 from 6:30-7:30pm in Stan Hywet’s Carriage House Auditorium to hear textile conservator, Jane Hammond from the Intermuseum Conservation Association (ICA) in Cleveland present a program on the care and handling of vintage clothing, including guidelines for assessing the condition of delicate fabric...on older garments. Learn how to make knowledgeable decisions about handling, cleaning, use, display, and storage of items in your own collection.
Stan Hywet Members and ICA member institutions: FREE
Non-Members: $8
Seating is limited. Pre-registration is required. Please sign up by Monday, Sept.17th. To purchase tickets or to register, visit http://www.stanhywet.org or call 330-315-3287.
September 11, 2012
Great reading for WWII research
While I have been recovering from the "creeping crud" better known as walking pneumonia, I have been trying to get to reading some of the books on my list. With a Kindle Fire it makes acquisition much easier. The recent D-Day Conneaut event really motivated me to do more research into the the every day life of a World War II paratrooper. Talking with veterans and diving into books is just about the only way you can understand how to portray and honor these soldiers.
With that in mind, I thought I would pass on a few recently read book titles for those of you who are looking to get some reading and research done this Fall and Winter.
"Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich" by David Kenyond Webster
I have wanted to read this for a long time and wasn't disappointed. A real down and dirty soldier's look at things. David Webster was a member of Easy Company and his character was featured in the Band of Brothers episode The Last Patrol. A real writer and journalist, Webster's account of his experience as an paratrooper is not only wonderful to read, it is also honest and descriptive in a way that put you in his shoes. His narrative lead-up to the Normandy jump had me so tense that I couldn't sleep well that night. Webster wrote "Parachute Infantry" after the war. As you will recall from the epilogue in the final episode of Band of Brothers, Webster was lost at sea in 1961.
"Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends" by Bill Guarnere, Babe Hefron and Robyn Post
Certainly not as intense as Webster's recounting, this book by another couple of Easy Company men (based on interviews by Robyn Post) is a great read none the less. Often times hilarious. What a couple of characters then and still today. It shows you why the Airborne was able to do what they did. With soldiers like Wild Bill and Babe, you really get to see what made up the backbone of the elite troops of the US Army.
"Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters" by Dick Winters and Cole Kingseed
I wanted to start off my Band of Brothers run of books with this biography from Winters though I had read "Biggest Brother: The Life Of Major Dick Winters" by Larry Alexander some time ago. There wasn't anything new here but it is always great to read the words of Major Winters, especially his take on the popularity of the HBO miniseries and the Easy Company fame that followed. His perspectives on leadership are a must-read.
"Tonight We Die As Men: The Untold Story of Third Battalion 506 Infantry Regiment from Toccoa to D-Day" by Ian Gardner and Roger Day
Often over shadowed by East Company and the 506th, this is a fantastic book on the training and combat life of the American paratrooper. Filled with first had accounts and a great book for a new Airborne reenactor to read. Dale Dye's movie production company has currently optioned this book.
As I said, since D-Day Conneaut, I have been doing a lot of reading and researching. Hopefully some of these titles might be a good suggestion for your book self as well.
With that in mind, I thought I would pass on a few recently read book titles for those of you who are looking to get some reading and research done this Fall and Winter.
"Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich" by David Kenyond Webster
I have wanted to read this for a long time and wasn't disappointed. A real down and dirty soldier's look at things. David Webster was a member of Easy Company and his character was featured in the Band of Brothers episode The Last Patrol. A real writer and journalist, Webster's account of his experience as an paratrooper is not only wonderful to read, it is also honest and descriptive in a way that put you in his shoes. His narrative lead-up to the Normandy jump had me so tense that I couldn't sleep well that night. Webster wrote "Parachute Infantry" after the war. As you will recall from the epilogue in the final episode of Band of Brothers, Webster was lost at sea in 1961.
"Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends" by Bill Guarnere, Babe Hefron and Robyn Post
Certainly not as intense as Webster's recounting, this book by another couple of Easy Company men (based on interviews by Robyn Post) is a great read none the less. Often times hilarious. What a couple of characters then and still today. It shows you why the Airborne was able to do what they did. With soldiers like Wild Bill and Babe, you really get to see what made up the backbone of the elite troops of the US Army.
"Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters" by Dick Winters and Cole Kingseed
I wanted to start off my Band of Brothers run of books with this biography from Winters though I had read "Biggest Brother: The Life Of Major Dick Winters" by Larry Alexander some time ago. There wasn't anything new here but it is always great to read the words of Major Winters, especially his take on the popularity of the HBO miniseries and the Easy Company fame that followed. His perspectives on leadership are a must-read.
"Tonight We Die As Men: The Untold Story of Third Battalion 506 Infantry Regiment from Toccoa to D-Day" by Ian Gardner and Roger Day
Often over shadowed by East Company and the 506th, this is a fantastic book on the training and combat life of the American paratrooper. Filled with first had accounts and a great book for a new Airborne reenactor to read. Dale Dye's movie production company has currently optioned this book.
As I said, since D-Day Conneaut, I have been doing a lot of reading and researching. Hopefully some of these titles might be a good suggestion for your book self as well.
August 24, 2012
Baker Company hosts Market Garden tactical in 2013
For several years, there have been discussions between reenactors about organizing a Market Garden World War II reenactment in and around the Ohio village of Zoar. Due to the area's founding by German Separatists in 1817, the geography very much resembles the Germany/Holland/Belgium regions. In cooperation with Camp Tuscazoar, things have finally come together.
The Camp Tuscazoar WWII Tactical will be held on October 12-13, 2013 and hosted by the 1st Allied Airborne Reenactor's Baker Company (502nd, 101st ABN). Camp Tuscazoar is a facility of the Boy Scouts of America built in the 1920s and steeped in history (http://www.tuscazoar.org/tuscazoar_history.htm). The Camp will have all of the amenities we need and provide reenactors with the proper housing, food and other amenities, as well as several hundred acres on which to conduct operations.
This event is specifically a non-spectator tactical. Due to certain limitations, there will be a need to cap the number of participants. If your unit is interested in attending, please email Chris Smith (csmith@firstalliedairborne.com).
At this time, the planning team is developing the details on logistics and registration information. To stay up to date, you can visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/tuscazoar. Make sure to click on the LIKE button. We will also continue to post information at www.firstalliedairborne.com.
August 23, 2012
2012 Baker Company Annual Meeting
3 NOV 2012
1000 hrs - 1300 hrs
356th Fighter Group Restaurant
4919 Mt. Pleasant Rd.
North Canton, OH
www.356fg.com
Troopers:
Please mark your calendars for the 2012 Baker Company Annual Meeting. As you know, we only have one official meeting each year. The purpose is to review the season that we are just ending and to plan for 2013. There will also be nominations and elections for squad NCOs and organization chairman.
We will start promptly at 1000 hrs. The meeting will only be two to three hours long ensuring we cover everything. Following the meeting, we will have lunch at the 356th Fighter Group.
Uniform of the Day for Baker Company members will be M-42s with jump boots and overseas caps (clean, press and polish). Tie with your wool shirt optional.
This meeting is open for all members including those who are brand new or thinking of joining. There is no better way to find out what we do and how we do it.
Please RSVP to csmith@firstalliedairborne.com
1000 hrs - 1300 hrs
356th Fighter Group Restaurant
4919 Mt. Pleasant Rd.
North Canton, OH
www.356fg.com
Troopers:
Please mark your calendars for the 2012 Baker Company Annual Meeting. As you know, we only have one official meeting each year. The purpose is to review the season that we are just ending and to plan for 2013. There will also be nominations and elections for squad NCOs and organization chairman.
We will start promptly at 1000 hrs. The meeting will only be two to three hours long ensuring we cover everything. Following the meeting, we will have lunch at the 356th Fighter Group.
Uniform of the Day for Baker Company members will be M-42s with jump boots and overseas caps (clean, press and polish). Tie with your wool shirt optional.
This meeting is open for all members including those who are brand new or thinking of joining. There is no better way to find out what we do and how we do it.
Please RSVP to csmith@firstalliedairborne.com
August 21, 2012
Photo albums from D-Day Conneaut
What a fantastic weekend in Conneaut, Ohio for the annual D-Day reenactment. Tons of photos and video are being posted but here are a few select sources to wet your appetite.
JBW Photography
http://jbwphotography.smugmug.com/Events/Conneaut-Ohio-D-Day-Saturday/24853735_h6B6fD
Great pics from all of Saturday including a lot of Baker Company in the "Bridge Battle" and as straight-leg infantry on Omaha Beach.
D-Day Conneaut website
http://ddayohio.smugmug.com/2012Photos
Official photos from the event. The first 40 or so are up but nearly 20,000 are being processed. Again, Baker Company and our Omaha alter egos seems to be a camera favorite.
B-25 Fly-By
As close as it gets! The B-25 gives us a very close buzz as the Allies form up at the embarkation point.
JBW Photography
http://jbwphotography.smugmug.com/Events/Conneaut-Ohio-D-Day-Saturday/24853735_h6B6fD
 |
| Mike Oakley |
D-Day Conneaut website
http://ddayohio.smugmug.com/2012Photos
 |
| Mark Gaynor and Chris Bauer |
B-25 Fly-By
As close as it gets! The B-25 gives us a very close buzz as the Allies form up at the embarkation point.
August 13, 2012
WARNING ORDER - D-Day Conneaut
TO: All personnel, B/502
SUBJ: Unit details for D-Day Conneaut
SUBMITTED:
Pvt. Christopher L. Smith
Company B, 502nd PIR - 101st ABN
csmith@firstalliedairborne.com
SUBJ: Unit details for D-Day Conneaut
- We currently have 8 personnel from Baker Company attending the event this weekend. There will be an advanced party (Penix and Gaynor) going up Thursday afternoon. Please let me know if anyone else is planning to join them. The rest of the squad will be going over Friday morning and evening.
- The squad will have the pyramidal set up in the Allied camp. Please bring your cot. If you have a period wooden folding chair, please bring it. There will be a few extras.
- Check-in and on site registration will begin on Thursday 1000 hrs. to 2100 hrs. and continue Friday 1000 hrs. to 2200 hrs. If you have NOT pre-registered, there will be a $10 walk-on fee.
- There will be plenty of food on-site. Bring your mess kit!
- Our standard impression for the weekend will be M42s in D-Day configuration (jump boots, helmet nets with scrim). This will also be our normal impression in camp. Covers to be overseas caps. We will however have a different impression for the beach scenario only (more on that in a moment).
- For those of you who will be there early FRIDAY, at 1700 hrs. will be the "Battle for Foucarville" (hopefully by the end of the battle, you will be able to drive all of those German Fourcars out of there). Our impression for this scenario will be 101st Airborne.
- SATURDAY at 1100 hrs will be "The Battle for La Fier Bridge". This will also be an Airborne scenario.
- After the above scenario, we need to beat boots back to camp for those who are also participating in the beach landing. This will require a change out of some equipment and uniforms to portray regular infantry. Please see a previous email from Mark Gaynor about uniforms and equipment. If you are still missing anything, there will be a HUGE number of vendors at the event including At The Front.
- The beach landing scenario begins at 1500 hrs (embarkation formation at 1430 hrs). We have been invited to fall in under Lt. Rob Guinta (of "Ride Through History" fame) and members of the 78th Infantry Division).
- As a final note, there will be a USO dance Saturday evening (2000 hrs.). Please wear your dress uniform or at least wool shirt with tie.
- As with all scenarios, we will be provided with information on our roll by Sgt Penix once he has received the details.
- The unit will pack up and depart Sunday morning after breakfast. Please let me know if you have any questions. If you would like to see a detailed schedule, please go to http://www.ddayohio.us/schedule.htm
SUBMITTED:
Pvt. Christopher L. Smith
Company B, 502nd PIR - 101st ABN
csmith@firstalliedairborne.com
August 2, 2012
Roll call for D-Day
Hello troopers,
It is already August and the D-Day event in Conneaut, OH August 17-18 is almost upon us. The unit plans to set up Friday the 17th, participate on the 18th, and stay over till Sunday morning. A warning order will be coming out with more details. The plan is to set up the pyramidal.
At this time I need to get a head count from members of Baker Company, 101st so I can report this information to Sgt. Penix. Therefore, please answer the following questions in an email to: csmith@firstalliedairborne.com
Thanks,
Bulldog
It is already August and the D-Day event in Conneaut, OH August 17-18 is almost upon us. The unit plans to set up Friday the 17th, participate on the 18th, and stay over till Sunday morning. A warning order will be coming out with more details. The plan is to set up the pyramidal.
At this time I need to get a head count from members of Baker Company, 101st so I can report this information to Sgt. Penix. Therefore, please answer the following questions in an email to: csmith@firstalliedairborne.com
- Will you be attending?
- When will you arrive and depart (i.e. are you coming Friday night and staying until Sunday morning).
- Are you firing .30-06 or .308 ammo.
- In addition to the Airborne scenario on Saturday morning, are you also equip to participate in the beach landing Saturday afternoon as regular infantry.
Thanks,
Bulldog
July 30, 2012
Atlantic Wall Blanks launches new website
Exciting news! Atlantic Wall Blanks has just officially launched their NEW website featuring a full range of blank ammunition and accessories for reenactors, law enforcement training, and film production. The biggest part of this new website is that you can finally place orders online using AWB's secure shopping cart! Get what you need before the next event with just a few mouse clicks.
Check it out at http://www.atlanticwallblanks.com
Check it out at http://www.atlanticwallblanks.com
July 11, 2012
Follow the MVPA Convoy on Facebook
For those of you want to follow posts from the participants driving the 2012 MVPA Convoy through Alaska, visit the MVPA Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MilitaryVehiclePreservationAssociation. Anyone can read the posts BUT, if you a Facebook member, you can also join the Convoy Facebook Group at the following link: http://www.facebook.com/groups/AlaskaConvoy.
Don’t forget to read Wendy’s Convoy Blog posts at http://www.mvpa.org/ too!
June 29, 2012
Movie prop auction includes SPR gear
If you just happened to have $4,000 to $6,000 laying around, you can start bidding on either Tom Hanks' "Captain Miller" uniform, or Matt Damon's "Private Ryan" M42s.
Check out the entire auction catalog: http://issuu.com/profilesinhistory/docs/dreiercollection/1
June 25, 2012
More on D-Day in Conneaut
Good afternoon Baker Company.
I wanted to follow up on the email from this morning. I spoke to Rob Giunta with the 78th ID. He will be brevetted to 2Lt for the weekend and command a group made up of members from the 78th and 83rd. This will also include our group as straight leg infantry during the beach landing scenario. So essentially, we will be working with the same people we usually work with. Funny how that always seems to happen!
The combined unit will be portraying part of the 4th Infantry Division. He will be in touch with Sgt Penix when there are more details.
Rob also passed along that he has a lot of extra equipment and uniforms. If you are having trouble finding whatyou need for this scenario, he said please get in touch with him at the10one23@gmail.com.
Also, please be advised, there is an additional short Airborne battle at the bridge at 1100 hrs at the bridge on Saturday at the event.
Cheers,
Bulldog
I wanted to follow up on the email from this morning. I spoke to Rob Giunta with the 78th ID. He will be brevetted to 2Lt for the weekend and command a group made up of members from the 78th and 83rd. This will also include our group as straight leg infantry during the beach landing scenario. So essentially, we will be working with the same people we usually work with. Funny how that always seems to happen!
The combined unit will be portraying part of the 4th Infantry Division. He will be in touch with Sgt Penix when there are more details.
Rob also passed along that he has a lot of extra equipment and uniforms. If you are having trouble finding whatyou need for this scenario, he said please get in touch with him at the10one23@gmail.com.
Also, please be advised, there is an additional short Airborne battle at the bridge at 1100 hrs at the bridge on Saturday at the event.
Cheers,
Bulldog
Follow up from Sunday's squad meeting and training
Thanks to everyone from Baker who turned out to the drill in Zoar, Ohio yesterday. The squad is looking sharp and we were happy to have two of our newest members (Chris Bauer and Adam Schiavone) with us.
During the lunch break, we had a short meeting to catch up on a few things. Here is a recap:
1. Mark Gaynor will be coordinating the squad participation at the "Ride Through History" July 21-22 in Alliance, OH. If you are planning to participate, please email Mark at Mark@ddayquartermaster.com.
2. The squad will be attending the D-Day event in Conneaut, Ohio on August 17-18.
a. The Airborne-based battle is planned for 1700 hrs on Friday. Some of you have indicated that you would like to participate. We would need a headcount as soon as possible.
b. Our setup in the military camp will take place on Friday evening. Some members are staying in the modern camping area.
c. We will ALSO be portraying standard infantry and participating in the beach landing. At the meeting we discussed what we will need to modify our uniforms for standard infantry ONLY for this one scenario. Here are the items to focus on.
Wool or HBT trousers.
Wool or HBT shirt OR M41 field jacket.
Leggings to go over your jump boots.
M28 Knapsack or just wear suspenders with pistol belt.
Unit may be producing gas bassard. Check with Sgt Penix.
If you are in need of any items for this impression, please let somebody know so we can help!
d. Please register for the event online. It is free but if you register AT the event, it is $10.00. Remember to fill these items out when you register online as soon as possible:
http://www.ddayohio.us/registration.aspx
Unit Commander: Sgt Bob Penix
Website: www.firstalliedairborne.com
Parent Organization: First Allied Airborne WWII Reenactors
Branch of Service: Army - Airborne
Impression: Infantry
Unit Designation: Other (fill in "101st ABN, 502nd Regiment, Comapny B")
Tent Type: Check "staying in unit tent" and pyramidal (1) if this applies to you.
If you have any questions, please email Sgt Penix (nubbin54@yahoo.com) or Pvt Smith (csmith@firstalliedairborne.com).
3. Dennison - At this time, our participation is up in the air. More details will be provided as we have further news.
During the lunch break, we had a short meeting to catch up on a few things. Here is a recap:
1. Mark Gaynor will be coordinating the squad participation at the "Ride Through History" July 21-22 in Alliance, OH. If you are planning to participate, please email Mark at Mark@ddayquartermaster.com.
2. The squad will be attending the D-Day event in Conneaut, Ohio on August 17-18.
a. The Airborne-based battle is planned for 1700 hrs on Friday. Some of you have indicated that you would like to participate. We would need a headcount as soon as possible.
b. Our setup in the military camp will take place on Friday evening. Some members are staying in the modern camping area.
c. We will ALSO be portraying standard infantry and participating in the beach landing. At the meeting we discussed what we will need to modify our uniforms for standard infantry ONLY for this one scenario. Here are the items to focus on.
Wool or HBT trousers.
Wool or HBT shirt OR M41 field jacket.
Leggings to go over your jump boots.
M28 Knapsack or just wear suspenders with pistol belt.
Unit may be producing gas bassard. Check with Sgt Penix.
If you are in need of any items for this impression, please let somebody know so we can help!
d. Please register for the event online. It is free but if you register AT the event, it is $10.00. Remember to fill these items out when you register online as soon as possible:
http://www.ddayohio.us/registration.aspx
Unit Commander: Sgt Bob Penix
Website: www.firstalliedairborne.com
Parent Organization: First Allied Airborne WWII Reenactors
Branch of Service: Army - Airborne
Impression: Infantry
Unit Designation: Other (fill in "101st ABN, 502nd Regiment, Comapny B")
Tent Type: Check "staying in unit tent" and pyramidal (1) if this applies to you.
If you have any questions, please email Sgt Penix (nubbin54@yahoo.com) or Pvt Smith (csmith@firstalliedairborne.com).
3. Dennison - At this time, our participation is up in the air. More details will be provided as we have further news.
June 6, 2012
On 68th anniversary of D-Day, 102-year-old Army veteran recalls watching Allied planes
Lee Ross - Fox News
Anyone who lives long enough is all but certain to witness something significant, and for centenarian Bea Cohen of Los Angeles, not only did she see air strikes during World War II--Cohen watched the Allied airplanes en route to the shores of Normandy in support of the D-Day invasion, 68 years ago today.
It's a life experience for the 102-year-old veteran that is as sharp in her mind today as it was in front of her face that early morning in England.
"Imagine all of those planes and gliders," Cohen recently recalled. "Loads of them!" She was a U.S. Army private on a train towards her new post when the dark sky erupted with the thunderous roar of motors.
"It was top secret. Nobody knew even aboard ship nobody knew when or where or what. And there were the planes--the sky was filled with planes and gliders. The Normandy invasion we knew that was the beginning of the end of World War II."
The war in Europe would end eleven months later and Cohen would soon return to her adopted home in Southern California. After the war she married a Marine named Ray Cohen, who was a prisoner of war in the Philippines. They spent the subsequent decades, as she does now, helping fellow veterans.
"Are you ready? You may not need it now. But you're going to need it later," Cohen exclaims to a wheelchair-bound visitor while presenting him with a hand-sewed blanket. It's a passion of hers to make sure that veterans--especially those with missing limbs--have blankets to help keep them warm. "At first I said, 'would you like to have a blanket?' They thought I was selling it. Now, I've got to say, 'I have a gift for you,'” Cohen explained from the state veterans facility she regularly visits. She still lives on her own.
The former Bea Abrams was born in Romania in 1910 and readily recalls the time planes flew into her hometown to bomb the local factories. It was World War I. She says the adults around her were surprised at how low the planes were flying. "And we stood there and waved. And the pilot waved back to me. He had a moustache."
Cohen immigrated to the U.S. in 1920, settling first in Fort Worth, Texas before moving to Southern California. At the start of World War II, she took a job with Douglas Aircraft helping to crank out planes. She was a real-life Rosie the Riveter. "I went to school in Inglewood to learn all about rivets. Roundhead rivets, little rivets, big rivets, flathead rivets [and] how to use a gun. And they sent me to work at Douglas in Santa Monica."
All of these years later, Cohen can still sing the refrain of "Over There," which was a popular American tune during both world wars. She'd sing with her fellow riveters to help pass the time. But the call to serve her country led Cohen to join the Army even though Douglas offered her a nickel an hour raise to stay home. She went through basic training, learned how to use a rifle and even did a stint on the task that no soldier likes--kitchen patrol. That prepared Cohen for her assignment in England and the unlikely position to witness history.
Over the years each would find ways to help their fellow veterans. "[T]here's a Jewish word called mitzvah m-i-t-z-v-a-h, which means always do a good deed every day," Cohen explained. "There's always someone who needs a little more than you do. So you share."
For many years that meant teaching upholstery to veterans and then using the leftover material to create the blankets that she'd then pass out. Cohen taught the classes until last year when her failing eyesight finally caught up to her. But she still makes the blankets and can't pass up the chance to let her hands examine a chair to judge the quality of its covering.
Always looking to help in any way she can, Cohen is a regular volunteer at a weekly bingo game calling out numbers. She is also an unapologetic advocate for her fellow veterans. "I come from a country where there wasn't anything like [peace and freedom]. And I know the difference. And veterans are doing it....What I don't want people to forget--our men and women veterans; they've given a lot. Why forget it?"
Anyone who lives long enough is all but certain to witness something significant, and for centenarian Bea Cohen of Los Angeles, not only did she see air strikes during World War II--Cohen watched the Allied airplanes en route to the shores of Normandy in support of the D-Day invasion, 68 years ago today.
It's a life experience for the 102-year-old veteran that is as sharp in her mind today as it was in front of her face that early morning in England.
"Imagine all of those planes and gliders," Cohen recently recalled. "Loads of them!" She was a U.S. Army private on a train towards her new post when the dark sky erupted with the thunderous roar of motors.
"It was top secret. Nobody knew even aboard ship nobody knew when or where or what. And there were the planes--the sky was filled with planes and gliders. The Normandy invasion we knew that was the beginning of the end of World War II."
The war in Europe would end eleven months later and Cohen would soon return to her adopted home in Southern California. After the war she married a Marine named Ray Cohen, who was a prisoner of war in the Philippines. They spent the subsequent decades, as she does now, helping fellow veterans.
"Are you ready? You may not need it now. But you're going to need it later," Cohen exclaims to a wheelchair-bound visitor while presenting him with a hand-sewed blanket. It's a passion of hers to make sure that veterans--especially those with missing limbs--have blankets to help keep them warm. "At first I said, 'would you like to have a blanket?' They thought I was selling it. Now, I've got to say, 'I have a gift for you,'” Cohen explained from the state veterans facility she regularly visits. She still lives on her own.
The former Bea Abrams was born in Romania in 1910 and readily recalls the time planes flew into her hometown to bomb the local factories. It was World War I. She says the adults around her were surprised at how low the planes were flying. "And we stood there and waved. And the pilot waved back to me. He had a moustache."
Cohen immigrated to the U.S. in 1920, settling first in Fort Worth, Texas before moving to Southern California. At the start of World War II, she took a job with Douglas Aircraft helping to crank out planes. She was a real-life Rosie the Riveter. "I went to school in Inglewood to learn all about rivets. Roundhead rivets, little rivets, big rivets, flathead rivets [and] how to use a gun. And they sent me to work at Douglas in Santa Monica."
All of these years later, Cohen can still sing the refrain of "Over There," which was a popular American tune during both world wars. She'd sing with her fellow riveters to help pass the time. But the call to serve her country led Cohen to join the Army even though Douglas offered her a nickel an hour raise to stay home. She went through basic training, learned how to use a rifle and even did a stint on the task that no soldier likes--kitchen patrol. That prepared Cohen for her assignment in England and the unlikely position to witness history.
Over the years each would find ways to help their fellow veterans. "[T]here's a Jewish word called mitzvah m-i-t-z-v-a-h, which means always do a good deed every day," Cohen explained. "There's always someone who needs a little more than you do. So you share."
For many years that meant teaching upholstery to veterans and then using the leftover material to create the blankets that she'd then pass out. Cohen taught the classes until last year when her failing eyesight finally caught up to her. But she still makes the blankets and can't pass up the chance to let her hands examine a chair to judge the quality of its covering.
Always looking to help in any way she can, Cohen is a regular volunteer at a weekly bingo game calling out numbers. She is also an unapologetic advocate for her fellow veterans. "I come from a country where there wasn't anything like [peace and freedom]. And I know the difference. And veterans are doing it....What I don't want people to forget--our men and women veterans; they've given a lot. Why forget it?"
February 27, 2012
Buck Compton passes
During World War II, he was a commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army. Compton was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Neal McDonough.
February 7, 2012
Last known WWI veteran dies at 110
Associated Press --LONDON -- Florence Green, the world's last known veteran of World War I, has died at the age of 110, the care home where she lived said Tuesday.
Briar House Care Home in King's Lynn, England, said Green died Saturday, two weeks before her 111th birthday.
Born Florence Beatrice Patterson in London on Feb. 19, 1901, she joined the Women's Royal Air Force in September 1918 at the age of 17.
She went to work as a waitress in the officers' mess at RAF Marham in eastern England, and was serving there when the war ended in November 1918.
Green remembered her wartime service with affection.
"I met dozens of pilots and would go on dates," she said in an interview in 2008. "I had the opportunity to go up in one of the planes but I was scared of flying. I would work every hour God sent. But I had dozens of friends on the base and we had a great deal of fun in our spare time. In many ways, I had the time of my life."
She was officially recognized as a veteran when a researcher found her service record in the National Archives.
The RAF marked her 110th birthday in February 2011 with a cake.
Asked what it was like to be 110, Green said "It's not much different to being 109."
The war's last known combatant, Royal Navy veteran Claude Choules, died in Australia in May.
After his death, Green became the war's last known surviving service member from the war, according to the Order of the First World War, a U.S.-based group that tracks veterans.
Briar House Care Home in King's Lynn, England, said Green died Saturday, two weeks before her 111th birthday.
Born Florence Beatrice Patterson in London on Feb. 19, 1901, she joined the Women's Royal Air Force in September 1918 at the age of 17.
She went to work as a waitress in the officers' mess at RAF Marham in eastern England, and was serving there when the war ended in November 1918.
Green remembered her wartime service with affection.
"I met dozens of pilots and would go on dates," she said in an interview in 2008. "I had the opportunity to go up in one of the planes but I was scared of flying. I would work every hour God sent. But I had dozens of friends on the base and we had a great deal of fun in our spare time. In many ways, I had the time of my life."
She was officially recognized as a veteran when a researcher found her service record in the National Archives.
The RAF marked her 110th birthday in February 2011 with a cake.
Asked what it was like to be 110, Green said "It's not much different to being 109."
The war's last known combatant, Royal Navy veteran Claude Choules, died in Australia in May.
After his death, Green became the war's last known surviving service member from the war, according to the Order of the First World War, a U.S.-based group that tracks veterans.
January 9, 2012
Discovery's "Combat Cash" in Ohio
Discovery Channel's new series "Combat Cash" follows Bob Chatt and Owen Thornton as they serach for military collectibles. Think of it as an "American Pickers" for people like us.The episode on January 11th was partially shot at the D-Day event in Conneaut, Ohio which some of us will be attending this year. Here is the episode outline.
Bob and Owen source and fire some WWII guns to add authentic sound to a video game project. They head to a D-Day event to deliver a rare helmet and negotiate a "DUCK" amphibious vehicle. Owen suits up to storm the beaches with hundreds of WWII reenactors.
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