From: Ryan M Gill (rmgill@mindspring.com)
Date: Thu Oct 10 2002 - 13:35:53 PDT
Dave, I have some questions for you. Did you enjoy seeing Band of
Brothers or Saving Private Ryan? What about films that show Civil or
Revolutionary war battles? Do you realize that with out re-enactors
studying this stuff and discussing it and talking to historians, each
other and veterans in the case of vets that are still alive you
wouldn't have those movies in even close to that form.
I'm in a WWII unit that re-enacts a British Unit. We are in contact
with a sister unit in the UK that is still in contact with the real
vets of 43rd Recce. Those _REAL_ vets don't mind our hobby one bit.
In fact they enjoy it and applaud it. 43rd Recce relates info to us
that they get direct from the Vets at the Association meetings. The
same goes for vets that I've met at shows that come up to talk to us.
We've had US vets come up to ask all sorts of questions about the
British vehicles that we have that they saw that they never had a
chance to really look at.
I think you're so far off in left field on this for the majority of
vets that it's just plain wrong. Re-enacting is far more than running
around in the field and playing GI-Joe. Its a form of historical
study by discussion, trial and error and research. It takes the form
of demonstration in an as close to real form as is possible with out
pontificating to a mass of people that would not otherwise be
interested.
At 12:42 PM -0700 10/10/02, Dave Ball wrote:
>
>Reenacting is nothing more than grown ups playing GI Joe it serves no
>purpose other than to remind of us of horrible mistakes and disagreements
>that went sour and needed to be solved by taking life.
Right and collecting MVs is nothing more than an overgrown fondness
for tonka trucks. Please! You need to look beyond the surface sir!
>I have been to a few reenactments they do not entertain me but make me think
>about my Dad and my Brother and all the other young men thrust into the
>situation of taking life or losing there's it usually brings tears for me it
>is not fun much like visiting the USS Arizona .
>Playing war is nothing more than a Childs game it serves no man but to make
>him remember the past and the hell that plagues his memory this in itself is
>wrong most reenactors do not know of War only of the game of playing
>Soldier.
That's what paint ball is for. I'm already set up for paint ball. I
do that for the exercise and the fun. I don't confuse the two. I
certainly don't confuse re-enacting with Paint ball. Certain aspects
cross over but then so can one find common threads between
re-enacting and Football. It doesn't mean they're the same thing by
any means.
>Next time you throw on that Uniform and jump in your truck think about the
>thoughts going through the peoples heads watching you drive by especially
>those men and women who you are portraying does it do them justice are you
>entitled to wear the uniform or are you a child in a soldiers clothes.
The thoughts of my ancestors (Grandfather and Great Uncle, both in
the USAAF as air crews) is what gives me a good solid understanding
of why we need to do this. The vets are passing on. We need to show
how they did things in the war. What they did it with and why. That
is part of the verbal explanation that one has to sometimes relate. I
found myself explaining exactly that and why folks had vehicles to a
visiting reporter on the 4th this past summer. I don't know if I got
past the language barrier, but I'm not confused as to the source of
my freedom. I pay tribute to it.
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