av8tor
History Buff
Posts: 125
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Post by av8tor on Jul 15, 2010 21:58:15 GMT -5
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Post by VeeVee on Jul 16, 2010 3:39:48 GMT -5
Don, can't wait for the stories... great pictures! Waiting for more. How many participated on each side?
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Post by legionnaire on Jul 16, 2010 3:53:16 GMT -5
Really great shots. Hope to see more. Nice 30 cal ! Philip
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Post by jnmodeller on Jul 16, 2010 9:35:24 GMT -5
Yes more pics!
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Post by insurrectomad on Jul 19, 2010 18:01:28 GMT -5
Where did you stage this? Nice photos!
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Post by milspec on Jul 19, 2010 18:17:23 GMT -5
Greetings Gentleman, Long time no post, I've really been busy with work, family and the kids. Its a a good thing Don, Jay and I were able to attend the Bataan Reenactment in Louisa Virginia. It gave me a chance to have fun for a weekend and relieve some of the stress. Its has been pretty hot and humid here in Virginia and that Friday we left was no exception. When arrived that evening the sun was still up and there was still some light. We registered for the event and were immediately brought up to the front. The Japs were doing there probing and there was some sporadic gun fire. The guys ahead of us had already dug in and were holding their positions. I was positioned in a foxhole next to a guy who lived in the next town from me. We were on alert for any Japanese infiltrators but fortunately that night there were no infiltrators in our sector. We were lying down trying to get comfortable when we heard thunder in the distance. It sounded like an artillery barrage. Then slowly raindrops started falling little by little. we were hoping it would just be a little drizzle and it would soon pass. But the drops became larger and more frequent until it became full blown rain. We stayed in our positions until we were ordered to fall back to the registration area. The rain fell hard that night. It rained until the morning. The rain had tapered of a bit at about 6AM and then we got our marching orders. We marched to look for the enemy and engage them when contact was made. Don and I soaking wet . Carter giving us orders. Getting resupplied with ammunition by Jeep More to follow. milspec
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Post by VeeVee on Jul 20, 2010 5:14:24 GMT -5
Nice pictures Milspec. The rain really made the uniforms look authentic, worn, crumpled, soaked, and muddy.
Did you guys clean your M1's really well after you got back? I'd imagine you'd have to take it apart down to the trigger group to clean and oil afterwards because of the rain?
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Post by Desert Fox on Jul 20, 2010 21:28:04 GMT -5
Fantastic photos... how I envy you guys... The best part of reenactments in your side is you that you get to have real authentic equipments, and real guns at that! Sadly, here in the Philippines the closest we can get are airsoft guns for reenactments. I wish someday, the hobby will evolve as more people will get into reenactments here in the P.I....
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Post by milspec on Jul 21, 2010 16:39:54 GMT -5
Greetings Gentlemen, Thanks for the compliments Victor but I think Don's pictures are really great. The Machine Gun team looks really convincing. He got just the right angle. I keep looking at a lot and I think that its a classic photo. The rain really did a number on us. It added another dimension to the reenacting heightened the realism. The rain made maneuvering difficult since it made the ground muddy and slippery. I had to be extra careful not to slip or fall which might have led to some injury. Not only was my uniform soaked but my boots, socks, leggings and web gear. The water was absorbed by the canvas gear which made everything heavier and tighter. I think the webbing swelled and what was before comfortable became very restrictive. We had wool blankets in our Haversacks and i felt like a was carrying a bag full of bricks. The water also made it difficult to extract the clips from the cartridge belt pockets. It was also difficult to identify each other in the jungle. The rain made it hard to see each other and also hear each other. Despite the wetness I really felt hot because it took more effort to move and maneuver around. we were constantly on the move. Jays shoe gave up when, maybe due to the dampness, the sole separated from the rest of his shoes. It took me a week before I could clean my Garand. We sprayed it with WD40 once we got home. Fortunately, the WD40 did its job and the rifle did not rust. I field stripped the Garand, cleaned, and lubricated it. I also had to clean the leather sling and treat the leather after it was dry. Greetings Desert Fox and welcome to the forum. They actually discourage using actual equipment for reenactments. A lot of the stuff we use are reproductions which are cheaper(sometimes) and more durable. My M1 is a post war Garand and our uniforms are D-I-C-K-I-E-S work uniforms. Tactical Reenacting can take a toll on gear and equipment. Here a couple of more pics from the event. Resupply Jeep Carter replenishing his bandoleer Guard with M1903 On Patrol Taking a break Milspec
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av8tor
History Buff
Posts: 125
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Post by av8tor on Jul 21, 2010 18:15:30 GMT -5
We arrived just before sunset. By the time we geared-up, it was dark. The scouts were ordered to take the furthest right of the defense line. The Americans were already dug in their foxholes. I positioned myself to the end of our right flank and found a dead tree that fell down and used it as cover. I know Jobert and Jay were nearby. There was a bit of moonlight and was not totally dark.
The first battle took place at about 2130H. A shot rung up and was quickly replied to, a flare was fired and the night sky lit-up… and all hell broke loose! On the middle of our defense line was the well entrenched 30 caliber water cooled machine gun being well fed by the belt. The Japanese it seems were moving toward the center of our line at first, but didn’t advance any further, obviously they were just probing. The gun fire died down and become sporadic. I didn’t get to fire any rounds being the furthest to the right with no identifiable target. An almost eerie silence followed.
Then a commotion to the right of our line, I can hear talks in Nipponese. It was now clear that the Japanese will be attacking our right flank. I heard somebody yelled Hashimoto! Then followed by the dreaded BANZAI!!! Everyone on the side of our line started firing their weapons. I quickly emptied my gun and reloaded. But the firing quickly subsided. A Japanese voice from a distance said HA HA HA We fooord youuu (we fooled you!) and he kept taunting us. I replied back “Hapon Sira-Ulo!” (Japanese crazy!) then they pulled back. We stayed in our line and started talking to each other, guys that we never met before. I was lying on the ground with my helmet as pillow when it started raining and we pulled back towards the shelters.
More stories and pictures to follow.
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Post by VeeVee on Jul 23, 2010 7:01:55 GMT -5
Did you carry your M1 or did you come as a "runner/messenger" as you planned and carried only a .45?
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av8tor
History Buff
Posts: 125
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Post by av8tor on Jul 23, 2010 14:02:09 GMT -5
No Vic, I let Jay use my M1 Garand. I was using my Smith & Wesson Victory model, and on my messenger bag was a small high-definition camcorder. The pictures that I posted and will be posting all came from still single frame from a video.
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av8tor
History Buff
Posts: 125
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Post by av8tor on Jul 23, 2010 14:10:31 GMT -5
Where did you stage this? Nice photos! Hi Insurrectomad, The place where we staged the re-enactment was in Louisa County Virginia. We drove about two and a half hour south (from the Washington DC area). It's a big place probably hundreds of acres with jungles, villas with tropical huts, garrison type structures, fence with barbed wires etc. It is also being used to re-enact Vietnam battle. - Don
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av8tor
History Buff
Posts: 125
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Post by av8tor on Jul 24, 2010 14:40:14 GMT -5
Here are some more pictures. Japanese soldiers on patrol Guys from the 31st Infantry
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av8tor
History Buff
Posts: 125
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Post by av8tor on Jul 29, 2010 21:03:13 GMT -5
More pictures. Advancing to attack a Japanese position Our Fearless Leader Carter
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av8tor
History Buff
Posts: 125
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Post by av8tor on Jul 29, 2010 21:06:50 GMT -5
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Post by VeeVee on Jul 30, 2010 5:39:54 GMT -5
Carter really looks the part. Is he out of active service now?
In these pictures, were you patrolling looking for contact? These look like the following morning.
Nice revolver.
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Post by jnmodeller on Jul 30, 2010 5:44:53 GMT -5
wow , more nice shots
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Post by matsumoto on Jul 31, 2010 9:32:49 GMT -5
Guys, Great photos! It is hard to fake misery ;D I wish I can take more photos, but my camera is too bulky and it was too wet during most of the battle. Here are some more photos: And a little note to our friends... Peter IJA SgtMaj
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Post by VeeVee on Jul 31, 2010 11:29:41 GMT -5
Awesome Peter! How many of you Japanese guys were there? Any stories from your side? Who made the nipa shack. Nice touch and authentic look.
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