Ohio's WWII Reenactment

Ok so it has been way to long since I've written about our travels, and I'm so sorry to be bringing you up to date just now. 

But looking back at last year one of the fun memories that made me smile was a trip we took in August to the Ohio's D-Day Conneaut Reenactment! One of the biggest WWII reenactments in America.

The trip took one long day with bundles of fun, heaps of laughter and bunches of sweets.

At one of the many pit stops we took...

We're in Ohio!

The trip was exciting but we couldn't have expected what lay ahead. After meeting Thomas at our hotel and all spending a wonderful evening watching Ace Wonder we scampered to dress and hurried down the next morning to the camps of the Allies. 

I had many pictures in my head but let me say the very size of the camp and the many, many soldiers milling about surprised me to say the least. As we wandered about waiting for the battle to begin we met several vets, heard their stories and received autographs, which was exciting in itself. Although I honor all WWII vets, it was a dream come true to meet Pee Wee Martin, a paratrooper that jumped on D-Day.

Pee Wee Martin is the vet on the right. Unfortunately I was unable to get my picture with him as I was interviewing another vet at the time who was a part of bombing the Jap's oil supply. 

The Allied Camp

Tirzah and I riding an original DUKW that was actually there on D-Day!

The very large crowd of people watching as the battle begins.

The reenactment was amazing! The beach, set on Lake Erie, was the fighting ground for the battle. Soldiers landed on the beach on DUKWs and other amphibious vehicles. That steep hill you see in the picture (that is really as steep as it looks or steeper) played the part of Point de Hoc, and was mounted by the rangers. Fighter jets and a B-16 flew over the entire time the battle was ragging.  

A refurbished B-16 Bomber 

Landing the trops

After the battle we met more vets and got to talk to a few reenacters. I've heard several reenacters talk about that moment when everything comes to life. Well I got to experience that right before the battle when I was standing in the camp and the soldiers were headed out, the amount and perfect timing with which they walked was enough.

After a very long day and tired feet we trekked down to the beach to finish it off with some lovely photos and a beautiful sunset.

All in all it was one of the best things that happened last year and it's diffidently on our calendar for next year. Put it on yours! It's worth it!!!!