Ahhhh springtime. Cool breezes. Charcoal barbecues. Cold beers. Family and friends... HOLY MOLEY WE HAVE TO GET READY FOR THE AIR SHOW!!!! :P
This is the thought process of many a WWII reenactor as the first week in June approaches, and rightly so. Coordination of staff, vehicles, equipment, transport, and a gazillion other things leads up to a frenzied approach to the wonderful World War II Weekend hosted by the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum. You can find details about the show on their site: http://www.maam.org/maamwwii.html. While we view this event as a "not super authentic" one (the public is there in numbers, after all), MAAM does a great job of giving the massive amount of public at the show a good.. well.. show!
We get to display our amazingly restored equipment and meet the public and Veterans. We get to hear amazing stories from Vets and learn about their first-hand experiences in the ETO (European Theater of Operations) and PTO (Pacific Theater of Operations). They get to tell us what we do right, what we get wrong, and share a laugh. They like to see what they used to wear and equipment they used to use or fight against. Their visits usually end with a smile, hand shake, a "well done" and a "Thank you for your service." It truly is amazing and these are the stories and impression we fight to save so they are not lost to the sands of time.
Come on out to the show. Stop by our camp and introduce yourself. We are listed as KG9 on the event map.
I have to say... there really is no feeling in the world that compares to a B-29 doing a photo fly-by at a 45-degree angle at, oh, say, 200ft above the deck at a 1/4 mile away. It is truly amazing!
Vielen Dank,
SS Ostuf. Johann Schmieter
9.SS-Panzer Division /Stabs
Hohenstaufen
Photo Credit for above images: Silver Lining Photography