Guadalcanal 70th Anniversary

August 7, 2012 marks the 70th Anniversary of the beginning of the Battle for Guadalcanal.  It was on August 7, 1942 that the 1st Marine Division began landing on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands.  It was the first major offensive by American ground forces against the Empire of Japan taking place exactly eight months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  In honor of the Marines' heroic actions on Guadalcanal, last Saturday I arranged a little photo shoot in the rather tropical backyard of our friends, Michael and Angie Schalbrack.  Dressed in my best 1942 Marine Corps impression, I took some great photos of what an early-war Marine would typically look like.  The only inaccuracies with my impression are that I should be wearing a Hawley helmet liner with an open buckle leather chin strap, and I should probably be carrying a M1903 Springfield instead of my M-1 Garand.  But since I have neither, I did the best with what I had available.  Enjoy the photos and Semper Fi, Marines!!!

Independence Day Parade 2012

The men of the 2nd I.D. Living History Association gathered for the 52nd Annual Ralston Independence Day Parade on Wednesday.  In attendance were Dave, Steve, Eric, Jeff, Erik and his brother Dave.  Erik unveiled his new jeep for the parade which was pretty cool to see.  The uniform of the day was HBTs as the temperatures were hitting highs around 100 degrees!!!  It was the hottest parade any of us could recall marching in.  But as always, it was great to get out, wear the gear and see the guys.  Happy Birthday, America!

Memorial Day Tribute

So Memorial Day is upon us and I have finished my Vietnam M16A1 rifle project just in time to honor all of those who gave everything so that we could be here today. An awful lot of time and research and money went into the making of this tribute to our Vietnam infantrymen.  I'd like to thank the folks at Nodak Spud, Fulton Armory, US Collectors Ordnance, Apex Gun Parts, Green Mountain Rifle Barrel Company, Orion Arms, Gun Broker, Schluder Shots, Jarrell Sharp, my friend Kirk Gustafson, and the guys at Carl Jarl gunsmithing here in Omaha.  I picked the rifle up on Wednesday after the assembly was complete.  I am very happy with the final results.  This rifle is something that I am very proud of putting together and a piece that I will use in displays and to honor our veterans for years to come.  And now, some photos of the finished rifle taken in my backyard on a canvas shelter half.

Captain Winters Photo

Today I came across this really awesome photo I'd never seen before featuring Easy Company's celebrated commander, Richard Winters, seen in the foreground on the right. On July 1, 1944, Lt. Winters was informed that he had been promoted to the rank of Captain. This photo was taken the next day on July 2 at a ceremony where Winters was presented with the Distinguished Service Cross by none other than General Omar Bradley, the commander of the U.S. First Army. Winters received the DSC for his heroic actions in the Brecourt Manor assault where his team of 13 men destroyed a battery of German 105mm howitzers that were firing on Utah Beach. Winters was recommended for the Medal of Honor for his actions at Brecourt Manor, but due to a rule that only one Medal of Honor could be distributed to each division for actions during the D-Day assault, already awarded to Lt. Col. Robert Cole of the 101st, the recommendation was downgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross. I think that it's interesting that Capt. Winters is wearing a regular OD wool uniform and not the typical M42 jumpsuit of the paratroops. An amazing photo of an incredible soldier!

Receivers Are Here!!!

I picked up my new upper and lower receivers today at Carl Jarl in Omaha - sent from NoDak Spud up in Minnesota. Tim is a great guy to work with and the FFL paperwork was pretty painless. I was very impressed with the new parts - they look great!!! So the actual rifle kind of looks like a rifle now if I lay all the major components out together on the floor. My next step is to get some proper engraving done on the lower receiver and then it'll be time to get the whole thing put together. Almost there...

The M16A1 Project

I started an enormous undertaking back in December to build my own semi-automatic version of a Vietnam-era M16A1. I've ordered lots of parts, received lots of parts and am patiently waiting on a few more key parts that are on back-order. Overall, it's coming together nicely and I've learned a lot in the process. So hopefully sometime this spring (if not sooner) I can post some photos of the finished rifle. I gotta say, I love this project!!!

Battle of the Bulge 2012

The new year is finally here and so is an exciting new year of living history and reenacting! The men of the 2nd I.D. started out the new year with one of our favorite events down at Camp Clark with the 137th Infantry's annual Battle of the Bulge tactical. The event took place over the weekend of January 13-15 and was attended by myself, Matt, Will, Jeff, Kirk, and Logan. We started the weekend with a group visit to the National World War I Museum in Kansas City and then it was on to Camp Clark and the fireworks! Rather than expound on everything that happened over the weekend, I think I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking. I really enjoyed photographing our group throughout the weekend and feel like I captured some pretty cool moments. Enjoy!