rosieres64 Posted January 18, 2013 Share #1 Posted January 18, 2013 Do reenactors wear facial hair (beards, mustaches) while wearing dress uniforms ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellasilva Posted January 18, 2013 Share #2 Posted January 18, 2013 Yes. You will come across reenactors who abide by military regulation grooming standards, and you will come across some who don't simply because they don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawberry 9 Posted January 18, 2013 Share #3 Posted January 18, 2013 Each unit is different with their rules and regulations. The unit I was in was very strict while others pretty much let anything pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted January 18, 2013 Share #4 Posted January 18, 2013 Corporal Klinger did!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellasilva Posted January 18, 2013 Share #5 Posted January 18, 2013 Each unit is different with their rules and regulations. The unit I was in was very strict while others pretty much let anything pass. Excuse my ignorance as I am not a reenactor, I'm just basing my answer off of reenactor photos I've seen and grooming standards I adhered to in the military. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawberry 9 Posted January 18, 2013 Share #6 Posted January 18, 2013 In the reenacting world people who don't adhere to the proper "look" of the period are referred to as Farbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktrooper Posted January 18, 2013 Share #7 Posted January 18, 2013 Unless you are portraying the French Foreign Legion Pioneers having a beard wouldn't be proper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted January 18, 2013 Share #8 Posted January 18, 2013 Take a gander at this earlier topic, note hbtcoverall's quote in #17 http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/158673-facial-hair-wwii/page__hl__%2Bfacial+%2Bhair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktrooper Posted January 18, 2013 Share #9 Posted January 18, 2013 Take a gander at this earlier topic, note hbtcoverall's quote in #17 http://www.usmilitar...__+facial +hair Exception rather than the rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAF_Collection Posted January 18, 2013 Share #10 Posted January 18, 2013 While it wasn't common,I have seen plenty of pictures showing members of the USAAF in the ETO with mustaches,both airmen and ground crew. Perhaps one of the best known being James Goodson http://www.acesofww2.com/Canada/aces/goodson.htm Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fez Posted January 18, 2013 Share #11 Posted January 18, 2013 Beards were and still are common in the Royal navy and during WW2 the LRDG and SAS in north Africa. I believe USN can sport a beard ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktrooper Posted January 18, 2013 Share #12 Posted January 18, 2013 Beards were and still are common in the Royal navy and during WW2 the LRDG and SAS in north Africa. I believe USN can sport a beard ??? Submarine crews can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted January 18, 2013 Share #13 Posted January 18, 2013 Exception rather than the rule. Absolutely darktrooper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosieres64 Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share #14 Posted January 18, 2013 The reason for my question is that I recently saw an individual (reenactor) in the WW II uniform od a 1LT in the 101st Airborne. He wore the wings, CIB and ribbons. He was also wearing a Van Dyke beard. Just my opinion but if you are going to portray someone in uniform that you should portray them correctly. Thanks for letting me vent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawberry 9 Posted January 18, 2013 Share #15 Posted January 18, 2013 Wearing medals and ribbons is another thing. Some units won't allow them to be worn because the reenactor didn't earn them, which I agree with. The acception to the rule was if you actually were in the military and actually did earn the awards. If you go to enough events you will see pretty much everything. It can get really embarrasing sometimes. I don't reenact anymore but there were certain units in my area that were known for their lazy attitudes toward the hobby and they eventually started being banned from events. WWII and men wearing ponytails do not mix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willysmb44 Posted January 18, 2013 Share #16 Posted January 18, 2013 A lot of WW2 re-enactors also do Civil War and they don't like to shave off their 1860s facial hair to adhere to 1940s standards. I've seen it countless times. Then you have the people who think a goatee is cool. Frankly, I think it looks moronic, but that's just me, and people like that will never shave them off. And events let it happen all the time, because it's all about getting numbers of people at many events, no matter how bad they need a visit to a barber... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandlapper Posted January 18, 2013 Share #17 Posted January 18, 2013 Exception rather than the rule. Agreed 100% Nothing ruins a good event or impression than a blairing farb with facial hair. Yes, there are always acceptions to the rule but spening a few minutes reading the personal grooming TM would do wonders for some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandlapper Posted January 18, 2013 Share #18 Posted January 18, 2013 Wearing medals and ribbons is another thing. Some units won't allow them to be worn because the reenactor didn't earn them, which I agree with. The acception to the rule was if you actually were in the military and actually did earn the awards. If you go to enough events you will see pretty much everything. It can get really embarrasing sometimes. I don't reenact anymore but there were certain units in my area that were known for their lazy attitudes toward the hobby and they eventually started being banned from events. WWII and men wearing ponytails do not mix! That's also a touchy subject, while I understand the reasons for and against I'll only tell you guys how our unit does it and why. We have a number of veterans in our group, and we allow them to wear any valor awards they have earned while in the service, provided they can prove it with a DD214. We allow members to wear a CIB if they choose to, after they complete a set number of tactical events with the group. Good conduct and campaign ribbons are issued similarly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willysmb44 Posted January 19, 2013 Share #19 Posted January 19, 2013 I've never understood why any discussion about specific re-enactors and what is/isn't correct to do will always degress into an argument over wearing of medals or ribbons. You just can't have a simple discussion about any topic without this one coming up every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLegGI Posted January 19, 2013 Share #20 Posted January 19, 2013 My favorite RL encounter was with the Battalion's SGM. We had been out in the field about 5 days and I hadn't shaved in that time period because it, I'm not shaving with cold water. No one else was either. We go to a warm room for some kind of briefing and the SGM comes walking in. Dude is fully shaved, lives in a nice warm tent and has the balls to look at me like I'm a piece of shinola. Pardon me, I don't have the warm water nor the very comfy tent to sleep in. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.A.T. Posted January 19, 2013 Share #21 Posted January 19, 2013 One thing about portraying a ww-2 Correspondent/War Photographer you don't have to worry too much about shaving regulations. http://www.criticalp...Day-preparation I have also seen alot of photos of USAAF personnel, mostly Officers with Clark Gable type mustasches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbtcoveralls Posted January 19, 2013 Share #22 Posted January 19, 2013 For WWII it's important to remember that when it comes to facial hair, the style at the time was to be clean shaven. Sure Clark Gable had a pencil thin mustache, but look at just about everyone in a crowd photo (not military but civilian) and you'll see that very nearly everbody was clean shaven or wearing just the neatest closely trimmed beard or mustashe. In fact the mark of a "hillbilly" was a beard and nobody wanted to look like that! Styles follow into the Army wether it's sideburns in the 1860s or Afros in Vietnam or tatoos in the 1990s. So the dominant culture of the young men who served in WWII was to be clean shaven, and although in one of the most photographed wars in history, it is always possible to find the unusual photo showing just about anything, it's always better to go with the norm not the exception. Tom Bowers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted January 19, 2013 Share #23 Posted January 19, 2013 Unless you are portraying the French Foreign Legion Pioneers having a beard wouldn't be proper. if you were reenacting the Bulge perhaps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezman Posted January 20, 2013 Share #24 Posted January 20, 2013 Beards were obviously not a problem for the Coast Guard in Vietnam! As a part-time reenactor, I always shave my goatee before taking photos though. Then it takes about one month to be restored to its former glory, not a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted January 20, 2013 Share #25 Posted January 20, 2013 Beards were obviously not a problem for the Coast Guard in Vietnam! As a part-time reenactor, I always shave my goatee before taking photos though. Then it takes about one month to be restored to its former glory, not a big deal. Geez the two on the front row left and second from the left look like Pennsylvania Dutchmen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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