Jumping into History With the 82nd Airborne Re-Enactors
By Donia Moore
Field training day at Yanks Air Museum. (Donia Moore)It was only their third combat jump. Stealthily landing in the dark and foggy pre-dawn early hours, the paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne All American division dropped behind Utah Beach, Normandy, France between Ste Mere-Eglise and Carentan on June 6, 1944. It was the most ambitious airborne operation of the World War II, Operation Neptune–the airborne invasion of Normandy. The operation was part of Operation OVERLORD, the amphibious assault on the northern coast of Nazi-occupied France.
“33 Days of Action Without Relief…”
What followed was summed up in their battle report when they were pulled back into England from the European theater on July 13, 1944. “…33 days of action without relief, without replacements. Every mission accomplished. No ground gained was ever relinquished.” They had experienced 33 days of intense combat activity and suffered losses of more than 5,000 paratroopers killed, wounded, or missing.
82nd Airborne Unit at Riverside Air Show, Riverside, CA. (Donia Moore)The 82nd Airborne Re-Enactors Living History Group
The 82nd Airborne Re-enactors Living History Group replays that famous jump many times a year at different special events. Captain Jim Palmer, President of the Living History Association, is quick to say that members follow the organization’s motto: “Educating the future by preserving the past.” A 12-year veteran of the group, Jim says, “I believe it is important for people to know the sacrifices and achievements our Veterans have made. I enjoy teaching our history and heritage to the younger generations, to keep history alive.
Period-Accuracy Matters: Equipment and Uniforms
True re-enacting is more than just knowing the history of the event. Members realize that the historical military impression is more than a question of the right clothing and equipment. It’s also about adopting the proper attitude and conduct of the period. The clothes and equipment don’t make the soldier. The way members dress and behave does.
Re-enactors represent real soldiers of the era, so they must be prepared to act like them. Members are well versed in the period’s military customs and courtesies, even typical verbiage of the period, and use them. They are familiar with their equipment, how to pack it, wear it, and display it. They study the types of uniforms and the proper method of wearing them, so that they do not look like “civilians in surplus clothing.”
Basic WWII Field Items
Captain Jim Palmer - current commander of the unit and President of LHA. (Donia Moore)OD wool uniform, boots, leggings, jacket, web gear, rifle, and helmet are just a few of the basic items needed. Members may acquire other pieces when available, based on the character being portrayed, and the wish list of the re-enactor. The listed uniforms and equipment are the essentials required for the basic impression. This may seem like a lot of equipment and uniforms, and it is. But it is the basic kit the soldier would have had issued to him.
Division members advise that when buying WWII items for use by re-enactors, it is best to buy items dated towards the early part of the war. Doing this avoids the need for double buying for early war items and late war items. Re-enactors can use early war items no matter which war-year is being depicted. However, late war gear (e.g., M-1945 pattern gear and/or color) cannot be used for an early war impression.
Members also become familiar with weapons of the time period, the nomenclature, and how to field strip them. Special training sessions teach them the basics of close order drill and the manual of arms for the period. In short, they become familiar with all the basic skills that a soldier of the period would know, and become able to apply them. To do any less is a disservice to the public they are trying to educate and the veteran they are representing. The result of doing it the right way is that this unit has become a closely-knit crew. Having fun is the end result.
Special Training
Two 82nd LHA Re-enactor members at Riverside Air Show in Riverside. (Donia Moore)The 30 members of Captain Jim’s team are between the ages of 12 and 65 and come from all walks of life, just as the GIs of WWII did. Teachers and students, manual laborers, office workers, firefighters, police officers, veterans, and civilians are all represented. Common core values unite them: a sense of duty, honor, strength, courage, and a passion for history and honoring the sacrifices of our veterans.
“We have regular, monthly training days at the Yanks Museum in Chino, Calif. We study the history of WWII, specifically the actions of the 505th PIR and 325th GIR of the 82nd Airborne Division. We practice soldier’s skills, such as marching, tactical maneuvers, unarmed combat, first aid, map and compass navigation, and marksmanship. We study the types of uniforms, field gear, equipment, and weapons used by the troops and give each other constructive advice on how to improve our individual impressions. We also practice speaking in the period’s correct military terminology and slang, to best represent what a WWII soldier was like to the spectators at public events.”
Heartwarming Moments
Jim and his team have had some very special interactions with veterans. He remembers a favorite incident from when he was new to the ranks of LHA. “We had set up a display at the Los Angeles National Cemetery for a Memorial Day service. An elderly gentleman, obviously a veteran, approached and looked me up and down. He asked, “What uniform are you wearing?” I explained that I was representing a WWII glider troop from the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment. He began weeping and said, “I was in the 325th.” He gave me a hug and said, “Thank you, thank you. I didn’t know anybody knew what we did.”
And that is, after all, the ultimate goal of the 82nd Airborne Re-enactors––to make sure that following generations know what these brave veterans of WWII did.
Mission Statement: The LHA association is a group of professionals, amateur historians and hobbyists. Our goal is to educate the public as well as preserve and display the equipment, weapons, and vehicles used during WWII and to honor the men and women of this generation by portraying them in organized mock battles, living history events, and public re-enactments. We present the participants of WWII as correctly as possible through period dress, culture, and behavior.
For more information, please contact Jim Gavin at 951/660-5945 or email him at Captanjim82lha@yahoo.com.
Written by Donia Moore, published author and “rusty pilot” who specializes in freelance copywriting, publicity and web content writing. She may be reached at iwritewordssc@gmail.com, on LinkedIn, on Facebook/iwritewordssc, and Twitter @doniamoore
