Gallivanting Geismom: World War II Weekend

Most of you who know me well, know that I am actively involved in World War II research, particularly with those who are yet Missing in Action. So, when I had the opportunity to attend the World War II Weekend event that is held here locally, how could I pass on that?

A fellow researcher drove up from Raleigh, so we headed out yesterday, together, to take in the festivities.

Believe it or not, I had trouble trying to figure out just where we were supposed to park! I had expected to be sitting in a line of traffic, and my intention was to just follow everyone else. But when we arrived shortly before noon, there was no traffic!

I was driving around, trying to see some sort of sign that verified parking, when we spotted a man dressed in a German uniform, sporting a rifle, and sitting on a bail of hay. I rolled down the window and asked if he knew where we could park. He was apparently the "Re-enactor" Lot Guard, and asked if we were reenactors. We politely said that we were not, but he surmised that my friend looked the part enough, so he told us we were more than welcome to park there.

Hey! Why not? So, I pulled into the lot, which obviously had plenty of spaces, and we began the walk down to the entrance.

Once through the gate, we found ourselves among the World War II Era planes, and we soon came across this man who was in uniform, who was the center of attention among a group of visitors from China. Everyone wanted a photo with him!

My friend requested one, so I snapped this photo.

And you can see him below posing with one of the attentive group.

Jana had stopped to chat with the man, and I decided to just wander around a bit and take in the sights. I wondered what had happened to Jana, and when I turned around, I could see her mingling with the group.

It turns out that they thought that SHE was the celebrity of the moment, and each was scrambling to get their photo with her!

Honestly....not through the gate for 5 minutes, and she was the center of attention!

How fun is that?

We made our way to the Berlin Bomber where we were able to actually board the plane and take a peek inside. Jana actually knows the pilot (which I soon found to be a trend), but he wasn't on sight at the time, so we just went through so that I could see the displays on the interior.

It's set up as a living history museum and has numerous dioramas that show the history of the plane. It is affectionately remembered for the Candy Drop that took place in 1948 after the Soviets had blockaded West Berlin.

Looking at the controls of the flight panel, I found it amazing that this aircraft could still be flown to events!

Here's a peek out of the window.

It was pretty hot and stuffy in there, so we wasted no time descending the stairs, although I must admit, it was brutally hot and humid outside the plane as well. I owe the sun to the fact that I was toting an umbrella in my purse. The weather forecast had predicted rain. We didn't see a drop!

We wondered around the European village that was set up

spotted some officers hanging around in this house

and one was nice enough to pose with Jana. Speaking with these guys was delightful!

We wondered around the area of Bataan

The heat made me realizes just how brutal the environment had to have been for these soldiers.

I stopped to speak with an officer here, and he warned me that we were going to be attacked by the Japanese soon, and that I might want to consider moving along.

When I looked around, I realized that red tape surrounded the area, and sometime during my scoping out the place, it had been blocked off in preparation for the attack.

I decided to high tail it out of there, but passed this guy on my way out.

I think he was in for a big surprise.

We headed over to the airfield in anticipation of the parachute drop.

Whiskey 7 was the plane scheduled to make the drop

I watched it take off

circle around

and when it got to the right altitude, begin the drop

a dozen parachutes emerged

and only three of them actually landed on the set target!

This is the first time I have seen something like this and I have to say that it was really an awesome experience!

We walked around and checked out more planes

This one is called the black widow....could you guess that?

Obviously, this is Doc

And here you see Jana posing with a flyer in full gear. Now, he HAD to be hot, but you wouldn't know by the smile on his face.

There were a couple venues set up for entertainment, and I asked these young ladies for a photo prior to their appearance.

This group, America's Sweethearts, was extremely entertaining

And Theresa Eamen belted out her musical talent while a couple of performers danced

I managed to meet up with a young man whom I met recently who also is involved in the World War II MIA project. He is a re-enactor with the 5th Marine Division.

By this time, with all of the walking in extreme heat, Jana and I decided to head back home for a quick bite to eat, and we changed and headed back for the Hangar Dance.

Luckily, my husband was more than willing to drive us over and pick us up after the event so that we didn't have to worry about the parking!