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Is this too far to go in "re-enacting".....?


glenm
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Re the "General Patton" guy...he's been doing this impression at British shows for years. In his defence I should say that he usually sets up a command post with Jeep, tent and communications equipment etc., so seen in that context it looks fine and I don't have an issue with it.

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Another thing which p****ed me off big-time at the show last year was a young air-softer who was walking around (ie seeking attention) in every piece of current US Army ACU gear known to man! Everything from the helmet with NVG plus Surefire, and facemask to his vest (festooned with God-knows-what) knee-pads M4 cabine etc etc. just like a Starship Trooper! I actually posted some pics of it at the time. I engaged him in conversation and asked him politely if it did not bother him that several young men like him, wearing such gear for real, were dying or becoming physically maimed in Afghanistan almost every week. He had no answer to that.

Very good point perfectly illustrated Ian. I feel the same way. My younger brother just left the Army after 22 years service and he's also an Afghan Vet and this really pisses him off.

I saw some guys doing an Afghan impression last year and found it cringe worthy to say the least. You can't replicate carrying 120 pound of equipment for up to 8 hours in 40 degree heat. Anyone who was fighting in the Green Zone back in 2007 will tell you just how "glamorous" it all was.

 

Some things should be left untouched and modern wars, gallantry awards, un earned medals fall into that category.

SS reinacting is also a taboo subject.

 

Rich

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Did someone mention SS? These guys were at last week's event. (To be fair, the show guidelines said "No Allgemeine SS" as opposed to "Waffen SS" like these.

 

 

post-8022-0-32720800-1368367231.jpg

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X_redcatcher

ok,,I am going to maybe step in the doo doo here, but oh well, I have been to the War and Peace Show, many times (x6), and I have seen this dude that dresses up like Patton and MacArthur and other high ranking US officers, you never see them in a English uniform. They are out for the photos, thats it. I talked to the guy that does Patton, I knew more than he did. This has nothing to do with the guys that are down on the living history end, that eat dust, or sit in the mud, (been to events that was all it was) THESE PEOPLE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH LIVING HISTORY!!! It has to do with the "LOOK AT ME" and all my "NICE SHINNY STUFF!!" They come up with stories on how they got the stuff,,oh a buddy in the states won this medal so I am honoring him junk. I would like to kick them in the dust/mud everytime I see them. Na,,I will stick with going to Ciney instead. Sorry for the rant..:(

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I have no problem with the airsofters playing 'war' but stuff like this really rubs me wrong. The modern wars that are ongoing or that have just ended, are not 'reenactor material'...yet. This strikes me as someone who wants to play military, but doesn't have the cojones to actually join up. They both should really be ashamed of themselves.

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I have no problem with the airsofters playing 'war' but stuff like this really rubs me wrong. The modern wars that are ongoing or that have just ended, are not 'reenactor material'...yet. This strikes me as someone who wants to play military, but doesn't have the cojones to actually join up. They both should really be ashamed of themselves.

+1

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I'm not disagreeing just to be old & onery but to wonder where the other line is to be drawn which is acting vs re enacting. When I look at the work done during the commemorations by the European groups I have to give them the same credit for their work as the producer of a stage play about, well, "South Pacific" or "Stalag 17". John Wayne created a lot of cinematic war classics of which most were done inaccurately but we accept it. If John Wayne showed up in his cavalry uniform with MoH attached or service dress from "The Green Berets" I doubt he would be taken to task.

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What's the general impression/thoughts/comments from you guys over in the US?

 

 

Not a bad Patton actually... do they smile or is part of the act appearing serious?

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Jack's Son

We have all been exposed to reenactors who want to recreate an event in history. That is what I know a reenactors to be, recreating history.

Then there are those who like to go to costume parties. They are in costume and know nothing about their costumes creator, (the real person in histor), then what they may have seen in a movies.

 

As long as they don't mix-up which event they are going to, I have no broiler.

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There's a guy who will be well-known to most regular British show-goers (sorry I don't have any pics) He's a "mature" man who favours dressing up as German Generals/ Field Marshalls...Afrika Korps..Wehrmacht...Luftwaffe etc. He has several almost "theatrical" uniforms. He literally just wanders around in the crowds waiting to be photographed and/or spoken to. That's how he gets his kicks!

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27thdivcollector

These people get my goat, I have done living history for more years than I care to admit too. We never portray "elite" units, we never wear any medals whatsoever and we imerse ourselves in the history we are portraying so that if asked any questions by the public we can tell them the about the men we are trying to honor. One of the groups we portray is Navy Beach Battalion, who were not front line troops but support troops, we explain their role on the beaches, how the different sections worked etc etc. The comments we always get is "Well I've learned something today" and "It's nice to see something different". In short everything we do is geared around keeping the memory and the achievements of these men alive. That is also why I am so interested in USAAF Groundcrew, everyone knows about the bomber crews and fighter pilots, but the fellas who worked through the night, time and time again in every kind of weather mother nature had to throw at them, have never got the recognition they deserve because there was no glory in their job, just the satisfaction of a job well done when there planes got home safely.

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These people get my goat, I have done living history for more years than I care to admit too. We never portray "elite" units, we never wear any medals whatsoever and we imerse ourselves in the history we are portraying so that if asked any questions by the public we can tell them the about the men we are trying to honor. One of the groups we portray is Navy Beach Battalion, who were not front line troops but support troops, we explain their role on the beaches, how the different sections worked etc etc. The comments we always get is "Well I've learned something today" and "It's nice to see something different". In short everything we do is geared around keeping the memory and the achievements of these men alive. That is also why I am so interested in USAAF Groundcrew, everyone knows about the bomber crews and fighter pilots, but the fellas who worked through the night, time and time again in every kind of weather mother nature had to throw at them, have never got the recognition they deserve because there was no glory in their job, just the satisfaction of a job well done when there planes got home safely.

 

Well said!

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It is one thing to collect and display. But to wear others medals whom you have not earned or fought for is fraudulent and disrespectful to those who have paid the costs. Just my two cents.

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It is one thing to collect and display. But to wear others medals whom you have not earned or fought for is fraudulent and disrespectful to those who have paid the costs. Just my two cents.

 

I cannot agree with you in any way. Arguably there are those who are less than sincere in their portrayals but whether the uniform has mud or medals the ruse is the same; to be someone else for a period of time and tell an important story in the process. If someone puts on a gaudy uniform complete with shiney rubber boots and attends an event without being tarred & feathered then he or she has been accepted by the promoters and the attendees. Who am I to judge what someone else chooses to do at an event like this?

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Rakkasan187

I will throw my dog into this fight to say that the Patton impersonator is OK. I get what he is trying do. The other two folks wearing current uniforms and medals could not possibly know how degrading this is to our military. Now before anyone spouts off about these folks just trying to show support and all that, and Freedom of Speech and expression and all, let me ask this? Do these indiviauls have any possible clue what it takes to be awarded those Purple Hearts, Silver and Bronze Stars, combat infantry and action badges? Our military is putting their lives on the line daily. It is not a weekend event that starts friday night after work. It is a 24/7, 365 daily occurance. Folks, understand this. Soldier's are dying. Fort Bliss and the 1st Armored Division lost 5 more Soldiers last week. This stuff is real, you can't just say bang bang you're dead and walk away, like you can at a reenactment. Soldier's are dying everyday, their dreams, ambitions and goals are snubbed out in an instant. The families they started or had dreams of starting are over, are now in most cases children are now without father's and in some case cases without mothers. Do you think for one second these individuals who are walking around with these uniforms and medals on think about that ? We have single, double, triple and quadruple amputees that would go back just be with their comrades. That is service, and Dedication. Do you think they (amputees) would appreciate seeing people pretend to be someone they aren't. Walking around wearing medals of Valor they haven't earned? Someone who has never been in harms way? I think not. They (our Armed Forces) do not have the luxury of dressing up and showing off their medals for a weekend and then putting them back in the closet Sunday afternoon and getting the suit or dress out to wear to work on Monday morning. When these "actors and actresses" are asked what they did over the weekend, their most likely response would be. "Oh well I put on a Soldier's uniform and went to a military event, got lots of comments about this medal and that medal, but it was all "dress up".

 

As a retired Soldier I rarely wore my dress uniform because of all the "wow's and what's that ribbon for and whats that medal for". I did not like the attention. I used to say to myself, you want to know what these are for?? Then join up and serve, then you'll know what they are for but more importantly know what they mean. A real Soldier doesn't have to dress in his or her uniform, and most would rather not have that spotlight on them. IF these folks want to know what it's like to wear the uniform and be awarded those medals which in my humble opinion they have no business wearing, then I strongly suggest they stop playing dress up and go to their local recruiting office, sign on the dotted line and serve.

 

Stop playing dress up and come join us folks in the real world. Come and see that pain and suffering and sacrifice is real.

 

Leigh

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Jack's Son

Leigh, you have every right to have such a strong opinion on this, or many other topic of similar nature on this forum.

 

My feelings are that as long as we have re-enactors, we are going to have the whole gamut of people doing what they think is cool.

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Stop playing dress up and come join us folks in the real world. Come and see that pain and suffering and sacrifice is real.

 

Leigh

Unfortunately, there are many who cannot join the military, primarily because of medical ineligibilities. You, I and the millions before us who have served enjoyed the benefits of good physical conditioning which enventually eroded into the old men & women we now are. I am thankful every day for the job I got to do because of that physical condition, including passing the annual flight physicals but in no way can I set myself or the uniform I wore apart from anyone who has never worn one. Not everyone can serve in the military and across the globe, especially on this forum we see recreations by men & women who do US honor, an honor I don't really deserve. I have my own pride in that job and appreciate those who have tried to recreate my Vietnam service, I even offer them any help I can but I will never disparage them for their sincere effort.

Last week, we also memorialized one of ours lost in Afghanistan but if someone put on the current version uniform I would not be the least offended. Each person has a reason for what he or she does, who am I to judge?

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hawkdriver

Leigh, you are spot on. If this guy was portraying a specific individual and had that person's approval to display "his" awards, I would be good with that as long as the "poser" explains that he is representing LTC so and so who did X, Y, Z and talk his history. Otherwise, he is just a poser.

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Rakkasan187

She's just wearing the ribbons but the guy is wearing full sized medals which you don't wear on a uniform (is that correct? I thought I heard that somewhere)

 

The woman is portraying someone in the Military Intelligence Field, not Medical Field.

 

Leigh

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I've actually seen this guy in the flesh...he just walks around inviting attention. Walter Mitty-esque!! :o

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