Sgt Joch Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 ...puts my little computer playing to shame... UNIFORMED SS soldiers were the last thing Alexander Kisse ever expected to see again. Especially in a bucolic corner of southeastern Pennsylvania. But nearly six decades after fighting in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge — and being shot in the leg while charging a pillbox encampment with a satchel of explosives — the Germans were back. “There I was, helpless, with no gun and this German platoon walking towards us,” said Mr. Kisse, a 91-year-old former infantryman from Pittsburgh , recalling his encounter in 1999. “I was shaking, getting flashbacks! Then my son told me, ‘It’s O.K., they’re Americans.’ ” The soldiers advancing on Mr. Kisse were just some of the more than 1,500 World War II re-enactors who attend the Battle of the Bulge Living History Commemoration every January at the Fort Indiantown Gap military base in Annville, Pa. With a cluster of barracks built as temporary housing in 1941, and little modified since, the Gap is an appealingly hardscrabble setting for re-enactors, who are sticklers about period authenticity, from the insignia on their field jackets to the make of their rifles (modified to fire blanks). http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/travel/escapes/27Reenact.html 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_the_wino Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Too well fed to be realistic. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseltaylor Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 http://www.knowsoft.com/INF104/BB_WWII_Recoll.html some of the real stories. Very interesting. Fpr the same outfit but E battalion there is an even better memoir but I have lost the link though I kept the .pdf 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 A bunch of overweight old farts? Authenticity looks a little weak to me. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 http://www.ww2f.com/living-history/25709-photos-chinese-wwii-reenactors-2.html 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Some people have waaay too much time on their hands... (said with ill-concealed jealousy). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrocles Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 LOL "A loose honor system determines combat fatalities, Mr. Kelley explained. Once eye contact is made and you’ve been “shot,” removing your helmet signals you’ve been killed: “No more story for me. That’s it. I’m dead,” Mr. Kelley said wryly. A melodramatic collapse to the ground is entirely optional. “These guys going out, playing bang bang, they think it’s fun,” he said. “Some of the SS guys are superhuman. They don’t fall down no matter how many rounds you put in them. But it’s different when there’s real lead coming back at you.” " 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 “Some of the SS guys are superhuman. They don’t fall down no matter how many rounds you put in them. But it’s different when there’s real lead coming back at you.” " I've noticed that people attracted to the SS, and Nazis in general, tend to have serious ego problems. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris London Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 its like an episode of star trek 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Do you notice how all their uniforms are too new and clean? These guys don't look like they ever leave the barracks. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrocles Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 its like an episode of star trek LOL good one! Is that bloke second from left using a russian SMG? And looking at the 3 soldaten on the left, what do the colorful ribbons on the front of their uniforms represent? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tero Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 LOL good one! Is that bloke second from left using a russian SMG? Bergman by the looks of it. http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg79-e.htm 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Bergman by the looks of it. http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg79-e.htm That was my first thought, but look at this MP-28/II. http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg77-e.htm Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tero Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 That was my first thought, but look at this MP-28/II. http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg77-e.htm Michael Yep. The barrel sleeve looks more like MP-28 than Bergman. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrocles Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Cool, thanks for the smg info! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris69 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 And looking at the 3 soldaten on the left, what do the colorful ribbons on the front of their uniforms represent? Iron Cross 2nd class for the two guys on the left and probably the Eastern Front Medal on the 3rd guy from the left (I can't make out for sure if there's a black stripe in the center, but there aren't too many ribbons from Wehrmacht medals with that much red on the outside...). The IC 2nd class was only worn on the uniform on the day it had been awarded, unlike the upper classes. --edit-- Guy on the far right seems to be sporting an Infantry Assault Badge and Close Combat Bar in Silver. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dietrich Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Do you notice how all their uniforms are too new and clean? These guys don't look like they ever leave the barracks. Who wants to dirty up (especially before a reenactment event) the uniform he spent many monetary units to purchase? Similarly, who has another uniform which he can get dirty if he wants to? *shrug* 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runyan99 Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 These guys are from the Far Ost Battalion. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Who wants to dirty up (especially before a reenactment event) the uniform he spent many monetary units to purchase? Then the only thing they ought to be re-enacting should be parades. If they are into anything remotely resembling authentic re-enactments of combat soldiers, they ought to look worn, dirty, and tired. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Who says they're re-enacting combat soldiers? Could be just soldiers on a picnic or something. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Could be just soldiers on a picnic or something. With guns????? Must be a lot of bears in the woods. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 There's plenty of situations in the history of mankind where soldiers have carried guns AND had clean uniforms. More importantly, those fellows look like having a good time with their hobby. Alas, little do they know that they are a sore to the eye of one Mr. Emrys... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Why does this guy have a traffic sign stuck in his chest? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Why does this guy have a traffic sign stuck in his chest? He's a crosswalk guard? Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Alas, little do they know that they are a sore to the eye of one Mr. Emrys... And an offense to all right-thinking people everywhere. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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