Your article regarding the Stuarts made me think of the Oak Ridge,
Tennessee WWII re-enactment my outfit supported for years starting in
the late 90's. It was themed the "Secret City Festival". This was the
reference given to the “city” that sprang up in the vicinity of Oak
Ridge during WWII for the purpose of processing Uranium for the
Manhattan Project. The festival featured vending, arts and crafts,
music, and the WWII camps and battle on Saturday.
The crowds grew each year and probably reached a zenith about three or
four years ago with app. 10,000 spectators. By far, the big draw was the
mock battle in the city’s Freedom Park. I am not particularly fond of
"public battles", but this one was very unique and the sponsors were
extra generous and accommodating.
Then, year before last, some lady
council member and/or member of the Oak Ridge Advisory committee decided
that the WWII re-enactment was simply "glorifying" war (it is not like
Oak Ridge was and is paramount to this country's nuclear warfare
development and a mainstay to the local economy). The battle was
drastically reduced and the next year they asked us to do a camp/living
history only. After that we decided to no longer support the event. It
was fun times and I really enjoyed going. I got to meet and speak with a
lot of interesting veterans over the years (year before last I met a
guy who was a MP at the lesser known Dachau War Crime Tribunals see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
There were some guys from Tennessee and Georgia who owned the
three Stuarts and regularly showed up at this event. There was also a
guy from Georgia who would bring a Sherman out to play. Many of our guys
brought motorcycle sidecar combos, half-tracks, VW Kubel and
Schwimmwagens, staff cars, and even a Stug III. For years the Oak Ridge
promoters would help with transportation costs of the vehicles, blank
ammo, and pyrotechnics. It was a good place to see and experience a
small part of Allied and Axis equipment and vehicles from WWII. It is a
shame, but liberals seem to ruin all the fun stuff.
"Glorifying war?" I think most of us understand the difference between a reenactment and the real thing, and don't need to be told that war can be horrible. I think the Nanny Stater in question is just suffering from an advanced case of Puritanism--the nagging fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.
ReplyDeleteI think the Nanny Stater in question is just suffering from an advanced case of Puritanism--the nagging fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.
DeleteAin't that the truth! :)
........Sadly, there are more pressing issues such as the traitor/jihadist/charlie-foxtrot excuse for the CiC, the economy, the welfare kings and queens who live like royalty at the expense of the working class taxpayers, the militarized Sicherheitsdeinst/GeStAPO, the fact that we are on the brink of WWIII in eastern Europe and Asia. I really do not wish to continue because my beautiful wife and I just ingested two delicious, grilled BBQ hot-dogs topped with mayo, onions, kraut, etc. and have had a few cold beers and do not want this bad dream to interfere with my digestion. I would shut off the TV, computer, etc., but am anxious to see if any of the rat-bastards who have spent billions slinging mud to defeat their opponents for a job that pays less than $50k a year (all in Alabama are now rhinos, conservatives, pro-gun, anti-obama, anti-obama-care, clean water drinking,pro-gun, family valued sonsofbitches) were defeated. I cannot begin to tell you how many people I spoke with who are not even voting or the ones who said if they did were voting for anyone who wasn't in office. Why can't we just go back to Joe Diffie's Route 5 box 109? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRhau1-ifPQ Enjoy the memories as that is all there will be for a while. I tried calling Lee Greenwood's phone, but it didn't even ring! Jeffery out!
ReplyDeleteNot much else to say, but have another one. :)
DeleteI work near Oak Ridge and have attended several of the Secret City Festivals in the past and enjoyed each one. The thing about O.R. is that it is the city that government built. Lots of government jobs in the area and as you know that attracts liberal leaning types so now the place is infested with dino hippies. HENCE the "it glorifies war" attitudes. High property taxes, traffic light cameras, etc. My biggest reason for driving through O.R. is to get to the 1st class shooting range on the other side of the afore mentioned town.
ReplyDeleteThanks and I had no idea we had such remarkable WWII reenactments here.
DeleteYes, for a while, we did. A good friend of mine is in the 1stSSLAH and told me they would no longer be there. It will be an encampment of sorts, now. On a higher note my SCV Camp will be present at the event.
DeleteGreat!
DeleteEver notice that most of them are NAZI's? I used to love reenacting ; UNTILL the "living history" control freaks took over and destroyed the hobby. This seems to follow the same pattern in ALL reenacting. Guys get together to "play army" Then the "thread counters" join up and form comities to "enforce authenticity standards" and "exclude farbs" After that they become a higher form of life called a "living historian" . Dedicated to "honoring vet'erns" and making the world safe for 400 pound "know it all's".--- I find it sad that the "living history" dweebs chose the 1st SS , a unit made up exclusively of NAZI party members , to portray themselves. FYI the first SS was known for their murderous rampages, They murdered POW's , civilians, children , women (after they raped them) and anyone or anything else that crossed the path of their meth fueled orgy of hate. They were EVIL complete and utter. It seems to me that the real "objective" for most reenacting clubs is to exclude new people by portraying themselves as the biggest A** holes they possibly can.
ReplyDeleteEver notice that most of them are NAZI's?
DeleteNot to compare Confederates with the SS other than some honorable main force units, I believe people like to reenact for the losing side. Something in the American nature that we are always for the underdog.
I never said anything about the confederacy> But EVERY Member of the SS was required by German law to be a member in good standing of the NAZI party. IMO If you put on a NAZI uniform, Carry a NAZI weapon, ride around in a NAZI tank flying a NAZI flag and screaming SIEG HIEL you are a NAZI . It excuses people who don't want that kind of idiot around. Its kind of like a Vietnam vet supporting Hanoi Jane. ---And the main reason you cannot get 15 people together in a reenactment unit is THREAD COUNTERS and "authenticity officers" who spend their entire lives making other miserable with " It was this way because I say so". This hobby WAS about busting caps and having fun -not any more-now its just a fashion show in wool, with far to many people in it who MUST be right at all times; about everything; even when they are wrong 99.999999% of the time. Over the last 30+ years I can't count the number of reenacting units that this has killed. It always seems to be the same guys too . They show up at an encampment and you just know that it will all turn to S*** in a few weeks with "organization & bylaws" being craped out like pig poo---six months later it's down to three guys-and its always the same three guys screaming; YOU CAN'T PLAY HERE IF YOU WON'T JOIN OUR UNIT AND PAY US. This is the same attitude that you now see at most "reenactments" . OBEY US OR GO!! and so, many of us have gone. You see it's really not about "honoring" or "living history" It is about the few who control others, and in most "units" it's not about much else.
ReplyDelete