Battle Of Saint Vith World War II Reenactment At Fort Mifflin On December 18, 2010

Once again Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania hosted another fine Reenactment. This time World War II took center stage, specifically the Battle Of Saint Vith. I thought this Reenactment was incredible. It featured the Living History Associations known as the 2nd Ranger Batallion, E Company and the 78th U.S. Infantry Division.

I purchased the entrance ticket at the Fort's gift shop and when I stepped out to get a spot to watch the Reenactment, I saw quite a large body of soldiers in 1940s uniforms marching by and heading to their respective positions. Since I have been to so many Revolutionary War and Civil War Reenactments, I got used to the musket guns. Hearing the automatic weapons was indeed an eye-opener. The Allied Troops ran across the bridge and entered the Fort for the Reenactment. They slowly made their advance. I believe the Battle Of Saint Vith is considered to be a German victory so I am not sure why the German Reenactors were gunned down at the end. If anyone can explain why I would be glad to hear from you (perhaps the Germans fell in one part of the Battle??). The photographs and videos below will show you all of the action. I captured footage during the entire event - from beginning to end.



















































The aftermath ...


A captured Japanese Soldier:




Here are some props that were placed around The Fort:








Some uniforms were on display:


Close-up of the Reichsführung-SS uniform:


Many more photos of the day can be found at this link:
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u213/portaltothepast/Reenactments/World%20War%20II/Battle%20Of%20Saint%20Vith%2012-18-2010

I filmed four videos:

Accelerator Transforming Action Figure From The M.A.R.S. Converters Toy Line

I usually laugh at off-brand versions of established toy lines, but I thought this one looked cool so I picked it up. The toy line is M.A.R.S. Converters (apparently a new brand) and this guy's name is Accelerator. As it turns out, it has a defective piece! Plus, it looked better in the box and in the promo set-up on the back of the box. It is still kind of neat though. The company is Hap-P-Kid/Cybotronix.

In this video, I am taking it out of the box and transforming it:


Photographs of the toy ...





Here you can see the piece (discussed in the video) sticking out:






UPDATE!!!

Last week someone commented on the video and stated the back piece is not defective so I checked it and as it turns out, the figure is not defective. The joint was just really, really tight. Once I fiddled with it, it went into place just fine. The only problem has to do with the ball joints, but that is not a defect ... it is how the toy was produced and made. It was a trade off ... the back piece is not defective, but the arms can easily fall off when playing with the toy so the figure is not totally without fault. Still a cool item nonetheless.

This new video (made on March 17, 2011) explains further:


A photo of the toy in its car mode showing the piece now in place:

Battle Of Iron Works Hill Reenactment In Mount Holly, New Jersey Held On December 11, 2010

I will post a complete review of the event soon. Here is a link with all of the photos:
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u213/portaltothepast/Reenactments/Revolutionary%20War/Battle%20Of%20Iron%20Works%20Hill%2012-11-2010

Here are three videos from the event:

The Pearl Harbor Attack ... Sixty-Nine Years Ago Today

December 7, 1941 ... the day that influenced the United States Of America to enter World War II. The Japanese attack left the nation no choice but to mobilize.
This is a day to remember that event and the bravery of those involved.

Here I am with someone who was there ... Henry Heim. He was wounded during the strike on Pearl Harbor, and later flew 78 missions over Germany,
North Africa and the Balkans during the War. He also flew 51 missions in the Korean War.


I met Henry Heim at the World War II Weekend event in Reading, PA back in June. My blog entry for it is at this link:
http://michaeltheresearcher.blogspot.com/2010/09/world-war-ii-weekend-in-reading.html

This website http://www.pearlharbor.org has information about the attack.

Historic Soldiers Christmas Reenactment At Fort Mifflin In Philadelphia, PA Held On December 4, 2010

Fort Mifflin hosted its Historic Soldiers Christmas Reenactment on December 4. This was my second time going to this particular event - the Fort and the Living Historians did an extraordinary job representing the respective eras.

A sign near the entrance:


World War II (1940s)

The first stop on the tour was the room where the German Army lined up American POW's:


The commanding officer gave documents to the incoming POW’s (the tourists, mainly children, were the POW’s).


Close-up of the bottles of booze:


We were then led to the POW barracks. The G.I. in charge told everyone to not complain and only report genuine concerns.

Inside the American POW's area:




A man held up a pack of cigarettes and asked if anybody wanted to trade. Another told us we could decorate the tree with any items we had on us.



A Christmas Tree with any scraps the POW's can find to decorate it:


Christmas Dinner:


Germans interrogating the American G.I.'s:


The bathroom:




English Civil War (1640s-1650s)

Next, we walked into another room and into the seventeenth century. When I attended Historic Soldiers Christmas last year, it was strictly a program of American conflicts. This year, the Fort went a bit earlier and included a scene from the English Civil War. As we entered the room, we saw a soldier sitting down partaking in a Christmas fest. As it turns out, he was persuaded to dine – he initially went to the home of the hosts to arrest them for holding a banned Christmas observance. We heard a knock at the door and in walked the soldier’s commanding officer along with a few other troops. He looked around and asked why there was so much food and asserted that the plant arrangements were a sign of a Pagan Christmas celebration. The host said she only has them because they look nice. The officer called the troops to arrest the other soldier and the hosts and the lady asked if he would like to join them since there was plenty of food. The soldier paused and asked, “Are you a good cook?” … I thought that was hilarious. The officer decided to eat with them. It was really neat to see a representation from this era. I was pleasantly surprised to see it part of the itinerary.













American Civil War (1860s)

Inside the American Civil War room, we witnessed a family waiting for the arrival of a soldier who had been away for some time. When he returned home from the War, all of them sat down to watch members of the family perform Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol. Songs were sung afterward and food was offered to the guests as well:


World War II (1940s)

The next room depicted a scene involving Poles during World War II and their observance of Christmas. You will note the wafers with Christmas and Catholic designs. A Living Historian told us pieces of these are broken up and passed around the dinner table and even sent to family members in cards and envelopes! A fine assortment of handmade decorations were made and displayed as well.

Polish observance during the War - a common layout:


















Afghanistan and Iraq (2000s-2010s)

An area was set up for people to make cards for the Troops currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq:










World War II (1940s)

A party for German SS Troops took place behind this door:








Korean War (1950s)



Some Reenactors did not show up while others were only able to volunteer for the first shift (10:00 to 4:00). This is why the Korean War camp is empty!!!

As stated previously, this was my second time going to the Historic Soldiers Christmas program and I am very much looking forward to the next one. It is one of my favorite events of the year! For the future, I would really like to see a conflict from the Middle Ages or Renaissance, other conflicts from American History that typically are not discussed and World War I represented, World War I especially since the Great War had a Christmas Eve Truce. That would be a very appropriate Reenactment given how incredible it was and how it embodied the essence of Christmas. I will try to make it happen for 2011!