Vietnam Reenactments. Too Soon?

[Sgt_Rock_EasyCo]

If there are men/women who want to do the Vietnam experience more power to them. For me I just do not get it. I mean no offense to those who do it. I put my down range fatigues and medals and just put them in a drawer when I got stateside. Some poeple in that period (early 69-early70's) gave lots of crap to vets who dared wear thier fatigues in public ( I did wear the pants when working on my car or yard work though). Thirty nine years latter the stuff vets wore out or threw away or packed up are now collectables......amazing. In my personal opinion I do not get upset with re -enactors if they do it right and remember and honor those who went through the real event.

 

 

Whoops, you told them to do it right. No worries, they will have the correct uniforms, goodies and rations but they won't act like soldiers. Usually what was important to you will not necessarily be important to them, in many case.

 

Rock

[shrapneldude]

How soon is too soon? I don’t know; how high is up? It’s actually been 41 years for me. I hope you don’t take the following comment/reply as combative and I certainly do not intend it to be rude, but you have made a couple comments that I believe require further amplification/comment.

 

What would you categorize as "more random that WW2 ones?" Also, I’d like you to explain in greater detail what you mean by the "so many wigged out vet types" comment. Perhaps they just couldn't understand why you would want to glorify a period of time or event that was personally bloody, brutal, and frightening to them. What did they do that was “wigged out?”

 

About Vietnam vets “hanging out” near your display; if your event is on private property, the property owner has the legal right to ask them to leave and they could be arrested for trespassing if they refused to do so. If it's public property, open to anyone, Vietnam vets have as much right there as anyone else.

 

What sort of therapy did you provide? Some of the 2.5 million who served/fought in Vietnam did/do need some sort of therapy. Many WW-II and Korean War vets need/needed it as well. We know for a fact that some returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets need therapy. Making light of that fact seems something of a cheap shot.

 

What, exactly, did these Vietnam vets do to scare others off. Did they jostle, push or shove others coming by? Did they threaten others with physical violence? If so, the victims of such threat/abuse could/should have had them arrested.

 

When one engages in any sort of public display, talk, demonstration, etc. on public property, others who disagree have an equal right to disagree, either verbally or though some sort of counter-demonstration. It happens all the time and one has to be able to deal with demonstrations or protests by others who disagree with one’s own views/actions. To disagree with, to demonstrate or protest against, such a display/demonstration is a Constitutionally-protected right. In fact, however distasteful as it may sound, the United States Supreme Court has even upheld the right of certain groups to demonstrate, berate and belittle people attending military funerals.

 

Just something to think about……… Best regards; Bill

 

I detect more than a few stereotypes and cheap shots in what this member said about Vietnam "impressions," and I for one don't like it. Whether someone served in uniform for real or not, it's not your place to bash the "wigged out" type veterans. Those vets you put down did just as good a job when called upon as the sacrosanct 101st Airborne troopers did in WWII. They served their country under enemy fire, put their butts on the line, and fought for their very lives.

 

How someone can dress up in a war costume, play-act a combat situation, and then decide that it's too much of a hassle or too annoying when a REAL veteran approaches them is completely beyond me. Perhaps people like this should stick with their private events and tacticals outside of the public eye where they can relive and experience the Vietnam war the way they choose to without having to bother themselves with the brave men and women who actually fought there.

 

When I'm set up at a gun show with all my military items and trinkets for sale, I'm bombarded with veterans who want to tell a story or BS a little and it's one of the greatest things about this hobby. As a vet myself, it's great to compare notes so to speak, and I would think a reenactor would relish the opportunity to speak to a vet of the conflict they reenact, in order to get it right, rather than be irritated that these people have the audacity to tell you a story.

 

It doesn't bother me in the least if a WWII or Korea or Vietnam or Desert Storm vet wants to talk shop -- it's cost me some sales, sure, and to be perfectly honest, I don't care. I'd rather hear what these people have to say. The only people I find as irritating as you seem to find Vietnam Veterans are civillian know-it-alls who will tell me what I did in the military was wrong because he'd read an article somewhere , or the faker type Green berets who were wounded 26 times and put up for the MoH but it was denied because their black op was classfied.

 

If you don't like veterans bothering you, don't reenact.

[msgt norway]

Hello!

 

My name is ken and i live in Norway.

 

As you people know i use to post pictures of me in us army/mc gear

from different times in the history.

When i take pictures i try to make it as close as posible to the real

deal,rigth gear, correct way it was used in the field and so on.

I feel that when i do this its a tribute to those soldiers/men that served

in those units/force i try to show.

So when i gett feedback for my woork thats just greate!

thats makes me try harder the next time to make it rigth

if someone have innput on stuff i done wrong or correct.

Here in norway we dont have any us veterans that i can

talk to so this forum is my guidline to what use or act

when i show a new unit or time period from the us army or usmc.

 

I do not do airsoft or other battle things,i only collect

and show the gear in real usage like field life and camp time.

I think its just rigth to show other the history from al wars

but when you do make it rigth and listen to the men that have

served in the units you show.

 

my self feel proud when i can show some from the history

and still honor the men that was there for real!

 

this is probbably off topic?

 

anyway thats my feelings about that.

 

cheers from ken in norway

[Sgt_Rock_EasyCo]

Hello!

 

My name is ken and i live in Norway.

 

As you people know i use to post pictures of me in us army/mc gear

from different times in the history.

When i take pictures i try to make it as close as posible to the real

deal,rigth gear, correct way it was used in the field and so on.

I feel that when i do this its a tribute to those soldiers/men that served

in those units/force i try to show.

So when i gett feedback for my woork thats just greate!

thats makes me try harder the next time to make it rigth

if someone have innput on stuff i done wrong or correct.

Here in norway we dont have any us veterans that i can

talk to so this forum is my guidline to what use or act

when i show a new unit or time period from the us army or usmc.

 

I do not do airsoft or other battle things,i only collect

and show the gear in real usage like field life and camp time.

I think its just rigth to show other the history from al wars

but when you do make it rigth and listen to the men that have

served in the units you show.

 

my self feel proud when i can show some from the history

and still honor the men that was there for real!

 

this is probbably off topic?

 

anyway thats my feelings about that.

 

cheers from ken in norway

 

Ken,

 

From what I've seen, you've done a fine job of collecting and displaying the uniforms. You have taken recommendations and criticism with a keen eye toward improvement. I am a veteran but try to improve the impressions I represent so that I do them justice. I go further as a reenactor. My term in the service was long after wwii but I spent the time and money to learn what wwii soldiers did. How they acted, how they dressed, what they ate, and most importantly to every soldier- how they performed.

 

Performance is a key factor that many reenactors overlook. The excuse they use is that they don't possibly have the time to learn and rehearse military tactics of their chosen period. That's bull honky and we all know it. Becoming an expert is not likely, but becoming familiarized with tactics enough to look like you know what you're doing is well within the realm of reenacting. How many guys spend hundreds of hours researching a unit history but completely fail to find out "how" they did what they did.

 

Just my pet peave.

 

Rock

[LAYGO]

All this mention of reenacting in Texas is intriguing because of all the events that are interesting to me are NOT in Texas.

 

I'm particularly interested in the Vietnam events and have begun building my impression and about 80-90% complete.