The men of the 2nd I.D. Living History Association met for an April spring training event on Saturday, April 10th. The site of this month's training day was just northwest of Modale, Iowa on some state land near the Missouri River. In attendance were me, Big Dave, Jeff, Cody, Kevin and his son Tyler, and Darrell Canfield who is a new member. We began our training in a wooded area, but after only a few minutes we spotted several nasty little ticks on our uniforms, so we conducted the rest of the training on a gravel road and grass embankment. We drilled for hours going over both the school of the soldier without arms and the manual of arms for the rifle. We spent some time on unit hand signals as well as a quick course on field stripping the M-1 rifle. I was the acting drill instructor for the day and I thought all of the guys did really well, especially our new "replacement" Pvt. Canfield. We had fun throwing in a few "Jody calls" as we marched in cadence up and down that ole' country road. It was a beautiful day and another great training event. Our next unit event will be a 2nd Infantry Division veterans reunion in Newton, Iowa on Saturday, May 1. Looking forward to it!!! Oh and incidentally, the photo is actually from World War II and not us... I only wish we had that many guys!!!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Spring Training... Army Style!!!
The men of the 2nd I.D. Living History Association met for an April spring training event on Saturday, April 10th. The site of this month's training day was just northwest of Modale, Iowa on some state land near the Missouri River. In attendance were me, Big Dave, Jeff, Cody, Kevin and his son Tyler, and Darrell Canfield who is a new member. We began our training in a wooded area, but after only a few minutes we spotted several nasty little ticks on our uniforms, so we conducted the rest of the training on a gravel road and grass embankment. We drilled for hours going over both the school of the soldier without arms and the manual of arms for the rifle. We spent some time on unit hand signals as well as a quick course on field stripping the M-1 rifle. I was the acting drill instructor for the day and I thought all of the guys did really well, especially our new "replacement" Pvt. Canfield. We had fun throwing in a few "Jody calls" as we marched in cadence up and down that ole' country road. It was a beautiful day and another great training event. Our next unit event will be a 2nd Infantry Division veterans reunion in Newton, Iowa on Saturday, May 1. Looking forward to it!!! Oh and incidentally, the photo is actually from World War II and not us... I only wish we had that many guys!!!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
A Tribute To Rosie!
Dawn Wade, a friend and coworker of mine, dressed up as "Rosie the Riveter" for a recent fun day we had a work called "Time Traveler Day." Everyone was supposed to show up to work that day dressed in costumes and attire from different time periods. Naturally, I showed up in a full World War II combat uniform with all the fixins'. Dawn decided to do a 1940's look as well and boy was it awesome! She found a blue work suit and her grandmother's original red bandana from the World War II era. The bright red lipstick and the rolled up hairdo were right on target as well. She printed out a "We Can Do It!" sign and spray mounted it on a piece of foam board to use as a backdrop. As you can see, the results were pretty impressive. A fitting tribute to one of World War II's most iconic women! Nice job, Dawn!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Iwo Jima Veterans Reunion
Six U.S. Marines who served in the 28th Marine Infantry Regiment with the men who raised the U.S. flags on Iwo Jima were in Nebraska at the Strategic Air & Space Museum on March 26th and 27th. Pictured below are the six men who signed autographs and spoke at the event. The veterans are from top left, Dave Severance of La Jolla, California; Robert Galloway of Gadsden, Alabama; Melvin Duncan of San Angelo, Texas; William Wayne of Yorba Linda, California; John Scheperle of Mission, Texas; and Ralph Griffiths of Girard, Ohio.
These brave veterans served side-by-side with flag raisers Harlon Block, Ira Hayes, Michael Strank, Rene Gagnon, Franklin Sousley and John Bradley. Their stories are recorded in the James Bradley best-seller, "Flags of Our Fathers." Dave Severance who was Captain Severance at the time, was in command of Easy Company whose marines raised the flag. And Ralph Griffiths was wounded by the same shell that killed Mike Strank and Harlon Block. I had the opportunity to meet all of these men, get their autographs and shake their hands. It was an amazing experience for someone like me who will never forget the price that men like these paid for our freedoms.
Here is a posterboard that I designed for the Iwo Jima event to commemorate the life and World War II exploits of my great uncle, Bob Lauritsen. I compiled Bob's story based on several letters that we exchanged back in 2006 and 2007. I was also given access to a few photos of Bob in his Marine Corps uniform that my parents had hidden away. I will post his complete story on this blog in the next few weeks.
This is Melvin Duncan, a tough-as-nails Marine who served as a BAR man on Iwo Jima. He stopped by our unit's display after the event to get his hands on Big Dave's BAR. His eyes lit up when he felt the weight of that big gun back in his hands again. It was a real hoot to see an old Marine get reconnected with his favorite rifle of the war.
Cody Williams is a strong member of our 2nd I.D. Living History Association who also shares a real interest in the Marine Corps during WWII. One of Cody's relatives fought with the 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima, so we both share that in common. This was Cody's first event decked out in his new USMC utility uniform.
Here's Cody and I manning our Marine Corps display tables. Not a bad looking bunch of gyrenes if I do say so myself! We're both wearing the sage green utility uniform and the helmet cover with brown side out.
And finally, a look at some of my Marine Corps display that I pulled out for the event. The mannequin head is sporting my latest purchase, a HBT Daisy Mae utility hat. At the lower left of the photo is my complete set of 5th Marine Division "Spearhead" magazines that were given to me by Uncle Bob. It was a great event and I had a great time honoring the Marines of World War II. Coming up May 21-22 is another incredible Marine Corps event at the Strategic Air & Space Museum. The May event will mark the largest reunion of veterans of K/3/5 in conjunction with their portrayal in the HBO miniseries "The Pacific." Hugh Ambrose, author of the best-selling book, "The Pacific," is also confirmed to attend. This will be a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience that I don't want to miss. Come on out and see us!
These brave veterans served side-by-side with flag raisers Harlon Block, Ira Hayes, Michael Strank, Rene Gagnon, Franklin Sousley and John Bradley. Their stories are recorded in the James Bradley best-seller, "Flags of Our Fathers." Dave Severance who was Captain Severance at the time, was in command of Easy Company whose marines raised the flag. And Ralph Griffiths was wounded by the same shell that killed Mike Strank and Harlon Block. I had the opportunity to meet all of these men, get their autographs and shake their hands. It was an amazing experience for someone like me who will never forget the price that men like these paid for our freedoms.
Here is a posterboard that I designed for the Iwo Jima event to commemorate the life and World War II exploits of my great uncle, Bob Lauritsen. I compiled Bob's story based on several letters that we exchanged back in 2006 and 2007. I was also given access to a few photos of Bob in his Marine Corps uniform that my parents had hidden away. I will post his complete story on this blog in the next few weeks.
This is Melvin Duncan, a tough-as-nails Marine who served as a BAR man on Iwo Jima. He stopped by our unit's display after the event to get his hands on Big Dave's BAR. His eyes lit up when he felt the weight of that big gun back in his hands again. It was a real hoot to see an old Marine get reconnected with his favorite rifle of the war.
Cody Williams is a strong member of our 2nd I.D. Living History Association who also shares a real interest in the Marine Corps during WWII. One of Cody's relatives fought with the 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima, so we both share that in common. This was Cody's first event decked out in his new USMC utility uniform.
Here's Cody and I manning our Marine Corps display tables. Not a bad looking bunch of gyrenes if I do say so myself! We're both wearing the sage green utility uniform and the helmet cover with brown side out.
And finally, a look at some of my Marine Corps display that I pulled out for the event. The mannequin head is sporting my latest purchase, a HBT Daisy Mae utility hat. At the lower left of the photo is my complete set of 5th Marine Division "Spearhead" magazines that were given to me by Uncle Bob. It was a great event and I had a great time honoring the Marines of World War II. Coming up May 21-22 is another incredible Marine Corps event at the Strategic Air & Space Museum. The May event will mark the largest reunion of veterans of K/3/5 in conjunction with their portrayal in the HBO miniseries "The Pacific." Hugh Ambrose, author of the best-selling book, "The Pacific," is also confirmed to attend. This will be a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience that I don't want to miss. Come on out and see us!