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Too old to "reenact"?


D.A.T.
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Oh yeah, forgot to say that the American defense medal was only issued up to 12/7/41, my reenactment troop was drafted after Pearl Harbor, so American Campaign is correct for me.

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Well I have no problem with anyone of any age who enjoys the hobby. My Great Great Grandfather enlisted in the Union Army's Battery H 1st Pa. Light Artillery in September of 1862 and served through the end of the War. I turned 47 while serving in Iraq and i was out on the street every day not back on the FOB. There were two Vietnam vets in our unit and one was 59. Old soldiers are not always inaccurate. That being said, and no offense meant to anyone, but very, very few reenactors I see resemble real combat Soldiers regardless of how accurate their uniforms or equipment. Just take a look at photos of the real deal and then look at the typical hobbyist and you 'll see what I mean. Again, this is not meant as a criticism, just an honest observation. Its hard to replicate the look that comes with wearing the gear, carrying a weapon every day, and the months/years of training it takes to make a Soldier. Particularly one that has been in a combat environment for any length of time.

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Well I have no problem with anyone of any age who enjoys the hobby. My Great Great Grandfather enlisted in the Union Army's Battery H 1st Pa. Light Artillery in September of 1862 and served through the end of the War. I turned 47 while serving in Iraq and i was out on the street every day not back on the FOB. There were two Vietnam vets in our unit and one was 59. Old soldiers are not always inaccurate. That being said, and no offense meant to anyone, but very, very few reenactors I see resemble real combat Soldiers regardless of how accurate their uniforms or equipment. Just take a look at photos of the real deal and then look at the typical hobbyist and you 'll see what I mean. Again, this is not meant as a criticism, just an honest observation. Its hard to replicate the look that comes with wearing the gear, carrying a weapon every day, and the months/years of training it takes to make a Soldier. Particularly one that has been in a combat environment for any length of time.

To paraphrase an overused slogan; "Yes we can". I have been retired for over twenty years but my last gig teaching my stuff under contract was in Aug. so what I did before still has merit. A friend of mine went Army back in the late '70s and is now a WO2 and won't retire until he "ages out" in a few years. I'm confident that when I take the field in a vintage era uniform I'll be convincing....even if only to myself ;-}

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

The Fourth Registration, often referred to as the "Old man's registration" or the "Old Man's Draft", was conducted on 27 April 1942 and registered men who were born on or between 28 April 1877 and 16 February 1897 - men who were between 45 and 64 years old and who were not already in the military.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lead_Belly.jpg

I guess nothing new, always practiced by alot of European countries back then.

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Ian, thanks for chiming in, you just reminded me of being old & grey. ;) But I did check up on your Home Guard in WW-2, age limit was up to 65, and about 40% were WW-1 Veterans. http://www.home-guard.org.uk/hg/hgfaq.html#faq7

Thought I'd ad a clip for "Dad's Army", although I've never seen a full version, looks like good laughs.

BTW, I didn't emigrate to Germany, I went A.W.O.L. about forty years ago, and I'm still on the run, I live in a little abanoned hut in the Black Forest, I also have a little hand held generator when using the computer to communicate with you. :lol:

56367006.jpg

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Pat....what do you mean you've "never seen a full version"?! :o Shame on you! "Dad's Army" is one of the greatest ever British sitcoms from the 60s/early 70s and is considered a national treasure here. I suggest you get on to Amazon and order a boxed dvd set....asap!!!

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  • 4 weeks later...

It`s a moot point. I suppose any unit can decide what is "too old". It`s the display that counts and if you can`t move , you may too old, but , other than that ,IMHO , it doesn`t matter.

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It`s a moot point. I suppose any unit can decide what is "too old". It`s the display that counts and if you can`t move , you may too old, but , other than that ,IMHO , it doesn`t matter.

Good point.

This reminds me of someone I knew of who showed up with the farbiest impressions you could imagine, treaded everyone like crap, was well past retirement age and was generally disliked by everyone who knew him. Yet, he had an entire re-enacting group revolving around him, and nobody in his group (or event organizers, either) ever said anything to him to the negative.

And why, you may ask, was this so?

He owned a Sherman tank.

Any of you into the hobby knows I need not explain any further than that...

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I'm young enough that I "look the part" but here is the thing, I'm not a real WWII soldier, I'm not a real 2nd LT in the 16th Infantry...the hobby is about pretending...so that 60 year old private is just as good a reenactor or has just a right to participate as I do.

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There should be a link between age and rank. Therefore, I'd be a BG at least!! :D

Reminds me of this cartoon I did for a magazine a couple of years ago...

REfdr.jpg

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Reminds me of this cartoon I did for a magazine a couple of years ago...

REfdr.jpg

 

Good one! And that reminds me of guy I knew over here, always had to be in charge, always. :lol:

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  • 6 months later...

Looking for some info on Hashmarks/Service Stripes and came across these three oldtimers, they're younger then me, back then.

Looks like the Air Corps didn't care too much about age at the time.

G. A. R. OF CBI - LAND

HEADQUARTERS, EASTERN AIR COMMAND - Three master sergeants in a U.S. Bomb Group, part of the Third Tactical Air Force, have 85 years service in the Army among them.

r973.jpg

The wearers of the yards of hash marks are M/Sgts. William Hopkins, 54, Mike Jamrak, 53, and Hubert F. Sage, 49. Hopkins has been in the Army 26 years, Jamrak 30 years and Sage 29 years.
Hopkins saw service in France during the last war, later served in Panama, Hawaii, the Philippines and China. This time around, he has fought in Egypt, North Africa, Sicily, Italy and now Burma. In China, in 1923, he was in the 18th Infantry Regiment under then Lt. Col. George C. Marshall and later had as his regimental executive officer Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Jamrak saw 22 months of fighting in France in 1917-18 with the Third Infantry Division, followed by nearly continuous service at overseas stations. he was transferred to the Air Corps in 1932. Because of his age, he had to receive special permission from the Adjutant General to come overseas in the present war.
Sage also served under Eisenhower when the latter was a captain and under Gen. H. H. Arnold, then a colonel. During the last war he was stationed in the Philippines. He has two sons in the Air Corps and a son-in-law in the Ordnance Department.

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Either in Europe where the U.S., we see a lot of people in uniform too old or too big. A paratrooper of the 101 Airborne old 65 years 200 pounds seems unrealistic.
At each age must learn to adapt, it may correspond to the reality of the time. When we wear a uniform, we must do so with respect

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