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Post by VeeVee on Jun 27, 2006 10:28:44 GMT -5
I thought I'd post the reasons why I research and engage in living history and reenactment to set the theme for the Forum.
1. I'm sentimental about the past and want to keep the memory alive for the current and future generations. I also want to showcase and preserve my heritage.
2. Honor and pay tribute to the vets.
3. I like Militaria collecting.
4. I like the artistic aspects of this hobby (eg. photography, impression building, etc)
5. It keeps me young and it's fun.
What about you?
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Post by frank on Jul 4, 2006 0:01:32 GMT -5
logged on and ready.
Will post the Ft. MacArthur pics after this weekend.
Frank
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Post by milspec on Jul 13, 2006 15:39:13 GMT -5
Greetings! I'm glad to have discovered this very interesting website. The pictures are great and the information contained within is very enlightening. I collect various items of military origin but have no focus. I get what ever I can get at surplus stores and flea markets so long as it strikes my fancy and the price is reasonable. It looks like you guys collect a particular era and have fun wearing your equipment outdoors. I've worn my stuff but have never gained the the courage to wear it outdoors. Hopefully, I can get some inspiration from you guys. I also used to build plastic models kits. However, family commitments and work schedules has restrained this hobby for the past ten years. I'm looking forward to sharing with you guys whatever little knowledge I have and hope to learn a lot from you and enjoy in the process.
Sincerely,
milspec
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Post by legionnaire on Jul 13, 2006 17:37:08 GMT -5
welcome on board! what period of military history interest you to possible get into 1/1 reenacting?
Philip
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Post by VeeVee on Jul 13, 2006 21:00:52 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum milspec. We're trying to provide a venue for those interested in Philippine military history (or just plain history for that matter), reenactors, militaria collectors, and other related hobbies or enthusiasts. There is a growing community of people who are fascinated in this topic. I hope you can pick up some good info and enjoy the photos in this forum. We'd like to see photos of your collection!  Victor |
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Post by milspec on Jul 14, 2006 10:05:02 GMT -5
Good Morning Gentlemen,
Philip and Victor, thanks for commenting on my post. I have to say that I have a very long and convoluted history with regards to my interest in things military. First of all you have to understand that I am at the tail end (youngest) of what they call the baby boomer generation. I am a middle aged, young at heart, andventure seeking, dreamer, who is stuck behind a desk doing the best I can to provide a comfortable life for my family while trying to pursue an interest that will both satisfy me and not neglect my wife and kids. From my experience, in my youthfull and carefree days things usually happened the way I wanted it to happen. I had no one to answer to and no bills to pay. I could spend countless hours in the surplus stores and hobby shops debating which olive drab color was more authentic humbrol or pactra. Or maybe, will I buy the the ripstop bdu or the nyco bdu. Important matters which would be trivial or annoying to your girlfriend who goes shopping with you trying in earnest to show some interest and support for your hobby. Reality sets in when you get married and have kids. Priorities shift. I am more carefull and controlled about what I buy and when I buy it. I can no longer impulse buy. When I was young almost everybody I knew wanted to be a fighter pilot. I started with a couple of patches which needed a flight suit to be sewn to which didn't look right with out a flight helmet that needed an oxygen mask which must be attached to an oxygen regulator secured to a torso harness and so on and so on. I eventually more or less assembled a good representative of a vietnam war era fighter pilot (an F-4E DRIVER IN MY DREAMS) . This, I was able to do because of my friends who helped me identify parts and got me the difficult items to find. I wouldn't have been able to do it on my own. The stuff is now boxed away in storage. I really looked good with the visor down and the mask on. Alas those were my med-reg days. I believe I am currently Xlg. Your website has me looking into world war II particularly 1941 Philippines. Like I read somewhere else in this website it is quite unique compared to the deluge of WWII Germans and WWII US Paratroopers. Right now I am in the process of getting a digital camera. I used to take pictures with a regular film Canon AE-1 SLR. I hope to take some photos and post them here. By the way, how do you post pictures on a website. Please pardon my ignorance, I am computer illitterate. Hope you can help. I'll be looking at the surplus stores and see what WWII stuff they have.
Have a great day.
Milspec
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Post by VeeVee on Jul 14, 2006 12:11:08 GMT -5
I am a middle aged, young at heart, andventure seeking, dreamer, who is stuck behind a desk doing the best I can to provide a comfortable life for my family while trying to pursue an interest that will both satisfy me and not neglect my wife and kids. From my experience, in my youthfull and carefree days things usually happened the way I wanted it to happen. I had no one to answer to and no bills to pay. I could spend countless hours in the surplus stores and hobby shops debating which olive drab color was more authentic humbrol or pactra. Or maybe, will I buy the the ripstop bdu or the nyco bdu. Important matters which would be trivial or annoying to your girlfriend who goes shopping with you trying in earnest to show some interest and support for your hobby. Reality sets in when you get married and have kids. Priorities shift. I am more carefull and controlled about what I buy and when I buy it. I can no longer impulse buy. I hear you! I couldn't have said that better myself! This is totally my lot now regarding impulse buys, family, feigned interest by the wife, etc. ;D I'm glad I'm not alone. You could create a free account with photobucket to upload digital pictures to. The one drawback is that it could reach a bandwidth limit such that if you have a photo that is viewed too many times, it stops displaying it online until the next month's fresh batch of allotted bandwidth. Or you could shell out a minimal amount for unlimited space and bandwidth which is what I did. Then when you post pics on a forum, you link the web address of the picture being hosted in photobucket. |
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Post by legionetrangere on Dec 19, 2007 15:45:58 GMT -5
Just a quick email to let you know I just found your forum and its fantastic. It's about time someone did this! The Phillipines paid an incredibly price during WWII; to reenact the Phillipine Scouts or units that served in the Phillipines during the war is certainly an honor. I have been a WWII reenactor in Texas since 1982 and have done a number of impressions, mainly British. Our main British site is at: www.kosb.us/In the past year however, I have decided to move to French Foreign Legion, specifically Indochina (our climate and geography in southeast Texas mirrors that of Northern Vietnam). Our new website was just set up is located at: www.legionetrangere.us/Best wishes for this wonderful forum. We owe the Phillipines, her army, her sons and daughters a debt of gratitude in this country. My hope is that some day Phillipino veterans will be honored alongside ALL American veterans for the hero's they are. Regards, Mike Stewart Webmaster * Les Combats de la Legion www.legionetrangere.us |
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Post by legionnaire on Dec 19, 2007 16:25:44 GMT -5
Bon jour Mike (legionentragere), We finally have on the forum another Legionnaire as it is one of my favorite and special themes. Specially the Morrroco and Bir Hakeim period. I know of another co reenactor Ray Ortega who is also fascinated bt the Legion. I have tons of books and reference material on the Legion and have done several 1/6 figures in tribute to the legion that I have posted in forums. My initial 2nd REi Impression; pinoyhistory.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=otherimpressions&action=display&thread=1153981119There is a small group here in California that does the Legion reenactments and I have been planning on joining one for a long time to do the WWII Bir Hakeim battle or battle the Arabs in the Desert. Hope to share info with you on the Legion too. Thank you for joining this forum. Legio patrio nostra! Philip |
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Post by legionetrangere on Dec 20, 2007 16:28:55 GMT -5
Philip! Legio Patria Nostra! Mon Amis! Your impression is fantastic Philip ... my only wish would be to do the same thing and have have a thousand Morocs come screaming down out of the mountains! (what a reenactment that would be). I am still working on our 3e REI website to get it up and running. Our time period will be l'indochine about 1949-52, just before Dien Bien Phu and "das ende." There is a Legion group out in California which I hope to contact some day; I've seen their website - I think they do mainly '43-'44, but I could be wrong. Your right, a Bir Hakeim reenactment would be kick ass! Philip, your gonna have to high tail it out here to Texas to reenact with us! All the best mon Legionnaire! Vive la France! Vive la Legion! Mike www.legionetrangere.us/ |
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Post by legionnaire on Dec 20, 2007 16:44:18 GMT -5
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Post by legionetrangere on Dec 22, 2007 12:13:58 GMT -5
Hey Philip:
If your interested in doing Legion (WWII or Indochine) let me know ... we could probably put something together between Califonia and Texas! We will meet half way in the desert in Nevada!
Mon Legionnaire
Vive la Legion!
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bolo
New Member
Posts: 34
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Post by bolo on Feb 25, 2008 22:10:26 GMT -5
I like history and militaria collecting, it's been a lifetime hobby
Ive always been interested in militaria since I was a child
this is one hobby that I have never gotten tired of, I will probably do this the rest of my life
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Post by indiosbravos on May 3, 2008 1:07:16 GMT -5
I love history. This is my way of looking back and paying homage to Mother Philippines. I love learning, and I'm not disappointed everytime I log on to this site. There's more to history than what was written on books.
Baliktanaw (flashback). 15 years ago a group of us went to Corregidor. I told them what ever I can remember about the place, history and background about WW2. I acted as a tourist guide and a clown. I was very pleased, we have a laugh at the same time have a bit of learning. I'm very happy finding this site (google it while looking for PS,planning to do an impression not aware that many are already doing it and very active....yehey...I'm very proud of this people).
That's the reason I will be doing this. Finding same minded people inspired me more. Long term plan: Join you guys there. Watch this space. 3 years, 4 years. We'll see each other.
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Post by VeeVee on May 3, 2008 3:44:57 GMT -5
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Post by indiosbravos on May 3, 2008 22:10:56 GMT -5
I haven't seen this Sir. Thank you. I'm looking forward to this one. Will they be showing this on Tele, Cable or released in DVD? I hope they put it in DVD and sell in places like kabayan central or starry starry store (abs cbn).
Kindly up date me on this Sir.
If they gonna show it on time warner cable CA I can record it on my sling box and watch it in here.
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Post by legionnaire on Aug 14, 2008 21:55:26 GMT -5
Here's a very interesting and accurate true description of the hobby! ;D Reenacting a Solution to Life's Problems, July 14, 2005 By Ron R. Glaeseman (San Pedro, CA United States) - See all my reviews War Games is based upon the author's doctoral thesis in American Studies at the University of Maryland. This book looks at 20th century war re-enacting; World War I, World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. The book does not directly address the more popular Civil War re-enacting or the less popular "Span-Am", Spanish-American War. In 20th Century re-enacting, World War I and II predominate, with Vietnam just beginning to be recognized as a venue for re-enactment. Ms. Thompson has taken a clinical or social scientific approach to her investigation of re-enacting. Not only was she an actual re-enactor for some ten years, but she distributed for her research several hundred questionnaires most of which were returned to her. She is in a very good position to describe this phenomenon and from what I can gather, she knows her subject. The central thesis of the book is stated on page xviii of the Introduction: "Instead, as I hope to show, re-enactors use the hobby in general and focus on the issue of authenticity in particular in order to cope with the real-life issues that reflect the broader culture in which the live. However much it masks its relation to the present through elaborate rituals, costumes and props, re-enacting is both a product of and response to the very society from which it emerged." Thompson is stating that in spite of the emphasis on history, period clothing and weapons, what we are talking about here is life and all its aspects as it is lived today, not as it was 60 or 90 years ago. On page 153, Ms. Thompson begins a discussion which strikes at the heart of re-enacting. And that discussion concerns the fact that re-enactors spend very little time re-enacting actual historical battles. The definition of "re-enact" means to act that which has already been acted. With this definition, one would logically expect re-enactors to do this. One would expect that they follow the history of a particular battle in detail and act it out. However, they by and large do not. They will establish a general scenario for a mock battle with general goals which determine a "winner", and then proceed to skirmish, attack and out-flank one another to achieve those goals. She recognizes this fact when she discusses private battles versus public battles. Private battles are open and free-flowing, where as public battles are organized and scripted. Creativity with a basis in history is sought after in private battles which are largely the type of battle most often preferred by re-enactors. It is amusing that Civil War re-enacting is often referred to as "Silly War" by WW II re-enactors [Note: I refer consistently to WWII re-enactment because it represents the majority of 20th century re-enactors], and yet most probably Civil War comes closest to defining re-enacting through adherence to military historical fact. One reason that Civil War comes closest to true re-enactment is because the scope of the battles is limited to smaller areas. Opposing armies can establish themselves in ranks, facing one another, and have at it and according to the history of the battle, follow the action through to its conclusion with the appropriate side achieving victory. This is next to impossible in WWII re-enacting. The distances and battle areas between armies in WWII were substantial. Much of the fighting was mechanized and done in and around villages the types of which are not found in the US. But even if the re-enactor could duplicate the general landscape, very few re-enactment groups will sit down, read the history of even a small unit action, and plan out the process of the battle. Why? Because re-enactors do not want to be scripted, they want to proceed on a general basis with general objectives, they want to employ their creative abilities to overwhelm an objective and they, and it must be said, want to enjoy themselves. The point has been made many times over by re-enactors that they have spent considerable time and money on the hobby, and enjoyment is paramount. In fact, re-enactors will jump units and even organizations to achieve the goal of enjoyment. History to the average WWII re-enactor is only useful because it can provide a name for the scenario; "North Africa 1942, Normandy 1944, the Battle of the Bulge etc. Indeed this approach to history proves the general thesis of this book, re-enacting is about real life issues, not historical fact. To illustrate this point, Thompson relates the re-enactment of the Normandy invasion in 1994 at Virginia Beach. This was a public battle, and it was scripted. After the battle, one of the veteran re-enactors approached her and said "A realistic public battle? Now there's an oxymoron". Here was a scenario which probably stuck as close to historical fact as possible in a WWII battle, and we have a "re-enactor" declaring that the battle is a farce because it was scripted and witnessed by the public! Professional historians who criticize re-enactors have nothing to worry about. Most re-enactors are concerned with history only in the most general sense. After all, reading compilations of secondary history, let alone delving into primary source material is probably more than most re-enactors want to bite off. Veterans and critics who maintain that re-enactors trivialize war are also off base. And I disagreeumption here is that "war" means frontline combat, not the other 90% of war which is boredom, drilling, eating and sleeping. This aspect of war can readily be re-enacted. Re-enactors are not at war, even when engaged in mock battles. They are essentially at play. They are at what amounts to an expensive game of "capture the flag". So if re-enactors are not re-enactors, what are they? As Thompson has suggested they are "commemorators". Their interest in history, clothing, weapons, the manner and lifestyle of the 40's commemorates the lives of the combatants who fought WWII. It is their way of saying, "We remember what you did for us and America, and we do what we do so that others may remember it also". Re-enactors also have been shown to have a wide variety of motives, and these are described in this book. Some re-enact because a relative was in WWII; some are avid collectors of militaria and re-enact to display and demonstrate what they have collected. Some are vehicle collectors and join a unit so that they can not only display, but use their vehicles in mock combat. And some neither know nor care about the history of the period or their particular unit in the war. They are there for the camaraderie and the excitement of mock combat. Re-enactors are as diverse as the military they seek to represent. Just as the average infantry company contained motivated individuals who wanted to become soldiers, it also contained those who bent the rules in order to get by. The industrious served with the slackers; the dedicated with the goof offs, the clever with the mundane. Indeed the average group of re-enactors is comprised of the same personalities as one would find in today's army or the army of 60 years ago. In this respect if not in any other, re-enacting does reflect historical accuracy. I believe Ms. Thompson has done an admirable job in describing the phenomenon of re-enacting. She approached it from the perspective of the social scientist. She not only immersed herself in the hobby, but she conducted extensive interviews and obtained additional data through questionnaires. Her conclusions are correct. I think I could hand her book to any fellow re-enactor and tell him "Read this, and herein you will find yourself and most of your buddies" pinoyhistory.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=books&action=display&thread=300more feedback from other reenactors; www.amazon.com/review/product/1588341283/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?%5Fencoding=UTF8&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R2PMBUEWSKTHF0 |
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Post by VeeVee on Aug 15, 2008 6:06:31 GMT -5
I read this book in 2004. Very well researched and balanced. Other reenactors love it. The only thing I don't like is in the back cover, there is a quote from a reviewer that says:
"Jenny Thompson makes you laugh and makes you cry. She shows us the whole that is America: ordinary men who lead partial lives where their emotionals emptiness is met through camaraderie in playing army. An empty America is the result."
- Mark Leone, professor of Anthropology, University of Maryland, and author of Invisible America
I'm like....WHAT? He's a professor of anthropology but makes a negative biased judgment like that. Worse, the publisher printed it in the back cover of the book to make it sensational to sell more copies.
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obaka
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by obaka on Dec 11, 2008 9:19:29 GMT -5
Hello everyone, Bob Starr here. Just wanted to touch base with everyone. I haven't posted in awhile as someone decided to hack into my email and launch a scam. It's taken some time but everything is ok now. Now on to why I do living history/reenactments. Bottom line up front: It's fun!!! I am retired Army and also a history major. While my primary interest in history lies with ancient civilizations I find WW2 to be fascinating. I had 3 uncles all in WW2 (1 Army, 1 Navy, and 1 Marine) all survived the war but have since past away. Wishing now I had asked them more questions when I was a kid. My interest in WW2 impressions keeps on growing, currently I am working on a Swiss impression which, thanks to Markus in Switzerland, is coming along nicely. In addition to the Swiss impression I also do US GI, Russian, Japanese, and Italian (depends on which personality wants to be dominate at the time, ha ha!). Looking forward to getting some pics for everyone once I get my impression together and a digital camera. Thanks for listening, Bob.
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Post by VeeVee on Dec 12, 2008 11:25:20 GMT -5
Thanks Bob. I hope your email is secure now. Show us pictures of your different impressions when you get a chance. Thanks. -victor
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