A friend and I drove down to New Lenox one warm Sunday afternoon to see a World War II reenactment. I expected to see dozens, or maybe even hundreds, of men and women in authentic uniforms standing around jeeps and army trucks.
What we actually saw was about 20 men and two women in four tents in the middle of a disc golf course next to a playground.
There was something about the setting that seemed to strike a wrong chord. I’m not sure what it was. (I heard a couple of the British troops planning an attack on the playground, but it never came off.) I decided to attempt a reenactment of my own and take photos in 1940’s style.
One of the American soldiers.
We chatted with him for several minutes, and then with two guys who were dressed in British uniforms. Most of their stuff was actual army surplus from the war. This rifle was a prop, but some of the guys use real weapons (but not real ammunition).
The Brits prepare for battle
The American headquarters
A German nurse plays football
Germans
About an hour after we arrived, all the spectators gathered behind a rope near the German tent. An American soldier gave us a brief explanation of the war in France. While he was doing this, the soldiers from all the armies gathered in the German tent to plan the battle — an attack by an American reconnaissance unit on a German field base.
The guy we talked to was one of the casualties. He told us later that he doesn’t think enough American soldiers “die” in reenactments, so he’s willing to do what he can to balance things out.
The Brits weren’t actually involved in the battle officially, but they came charging in on the right flank near the end.
At the end of the battle, the guide explained that “the Americans are going to check the dead Germans and look for intelligence.”
The final bit of action was one guy dying while being photographed by the German nurse.
The battle lasted about seven minutes — it was called a battle, but was really more of a skirmish. I will give the reenactors this — they had a lot of enthusiasm.