Shows, Meets and Displays
A.A.R.
"Double agent Danger"
Battle for Wadi Zigzaou
On 3/14/14 elements of the L.R.D.G.P.S. met at my place for another desert adventure in California City. This year was a special year for us as this would be the first time we would be able to field 4 of our 5 jeeps at one time at one
place. We were going to look really good on patrol and during the battle and all of us were very excited. Jerry would have his new jeep there, Paul's jeep was out of the shop and ready to fight and Jack was towing his jeep all the way from
Pebble Beach to participate. Bill was already at site and Jack was to meet us there. The rest of us Arnie, Jerry, Paul, Monty, Kelly and me left from my place and in 2 short hours were in the desert.
The weather was perfect, in the low 80's day time and the mid 40's for the night time lows we couldn't ask for much better.
We found Bill on the way in and Jack caught up to us shortly. Both were in good spirits and ready to go.
We spent Friday setting up camp, catching up on each other's lives and just enjoying that we were all in the desert and that this would be the most troopers and jeeps we have
ever put in the field at one time. After set up and a bite to eat we decided to do a little scouting of the area. We had just driven off; all 4 jeeps in a row looking like a real patrol when Jack's jeep stalled. We towed it back and luckily
Kelly was able to by-pass the fuel filter and Jack's jeep was up and running and although we did have a few problems the remainder of that day and Saturday Jacks jeep was running. We started out again and Jerry's jeep started having problems.
Eventually on Saturday we discovered a radiator leak so Jerry's jeep was done for the weekend. Now it was Paul's turn to have a few problems and by mid-day on Saturday his jeep was done for the weekend. All in all it was a real LRDG desert
experience having vehicles break down, towing them through the desert back to camp. Even though these problems were a little disappointing we took it all in stride.
Saturday morning we had our safety line up and Axis and Allies looked evenly matched at about 70 on each side. There were 8 or 9 jeeps total, medical trucks, troop carriers,
Kublewagons, 3 German motorcycles with side cars it was a pretty good showing on all sides. There were Italians, Germans, French, American and Commonwealth troops all involved in the battle.
As the sponsoring unit for this battle it is up to us to come up with a scenario or something different to make the battle more interesting and so that everyone involved has
an objective or two. Well last year we made the Axis defend the last fuel dump in Tunisia and I was racking my brain trying to come up with something a little different, something that all sides would be interested in, something to create
more of an open filed battle rather than groups of soldiers just waiting in ambush behind the rocks. I was flipping the channels on the T.V. one day and an old re-run of Gilligan's Island was on, you know the one where the hunter comes to the
island and wants to hunt a man 'Gilligan'. I didn't think much about it until a week later when I sat down to watch 'The Man Who Never Was' and I put 2 and 2 together. A Secret Double Agent I mean a real person who was code named 'Long Sword'
who during the safety line up snuck away changed his dress to civilian and went in hid in the desert right in the middle of the 2 camps. Thanks to our youngest member Monty for taking on the role of the double agent. Monty was equipped with
water, a pistol with 6 shots, and a satchel with secret documents I wrote that would need to be decoded to get an answer. Since Monty was a double agent neither side new if he was to deliver his message to the Allies or the Axis so all sides
wanted to find the double agent. When one side did find the agent it was up to the other side to mount an attack on the captures camp to retrieve the double agent. About an hour or so into the battle S and T patrols were on patrol when we
spotted the Secret Double Agent being man handled by some Italian forces. We were too far away to capture them. We devised a plan to attack the Italian camp but not right away. In a sick sort of way I was hoping that the evil axis powers
would capture him so that they would decode the top secret message Long Sword carried. We went the long way around the hills of Mahatma and to the backside of the Italian camp. We saw that only a few Italians and a poor little nurse were in
camp so we came in guns blazing and took the camp after a small but fierce fire fight. Gunners manned our guns while others of us looked through each tent shouting for Long Sword but no reply, they had moved the double agent to the German
camp and it seemed like our effort was for nothing until we realized, hey we captured the Italian camp, Awesome man. It did not take long for the Italians and Germans who heard the gun fight at the camp to turn around and soon they were right
on us. We barely made it out of there in time as we would have easily been outnumbered 3 to 1.
The Germans had taken possession of the double agent and there was no telling what terrible fate awaited Monty. It was now perfect, the Germans had the double agent and they
had to decode the Top Secret message. I had typed a message about U.S. and British troop movements and throughout the message I removed certain letters. To decode the message one had to read it while figuring out what letters were missing
while someone wrote the letters in to their words and sentences, what was the Top Secret Message 'Remember To Drink Your Ovaltine'. From what I heard it took them about 20 minutes to figure it out and they were not very happy although not
really mad either, that this is what the message said and still others totally got the joke and thought it very funny. The joke of course comes from the classic Christmas movie 'A Christmas Story' where Ralphie waits and waits to receive his
Little Orphan Annie decoder ring in the mail only to have the secret message read 'Remember to Drink Your Ovaltine'
Many other battles continued on mainly over a once held allied machine gun nest on top of a once held allied hill. All in all the fighting was great. At times we dismounted
from the jeeps and helped to take a hill or two and it was all great fun.
We had a full moon on Saturday night and some night fighting did take place but for the most part we enjoyed a great dinner, cracked a few woodies and had a great time.
Sunday we resumed battle until about 11:00 or so packed up and left the desert. It was another fantastic weekend all around. Thanks to everyone for showing up, pitching in
and helping to make this battle a great success.
Our next event, the first weekend in May is the Planes of Fame air show in Chino Hills California. It's a great show and this year there are many great things happening. I
hope to see many of you there.
Thank Kim
After Action Report of the
California
Historical
'Group'
'Desert'
'
'Battle'
March 27th 2014
On March 13th, I left 'Monterey'
at 1:00 PM with my LRDG Jeep in tow, heading for
'California'
'City'
'
and the CHG 'Desert Battle'. It was a six hour, 300 mile trip one way, down Rt. 101 to Paso Robles then east on Rt. 46 through Wasco to '
'Bakersfield'
' then east on Rt. 58 over the Tehachapi's to Mohave and left to California City. I arrived at the only hotel (Best Western) in town, checked in, had dinner then crashed and burned.
Got up early on Friday and went looking for the 'battle site'. This was a real daunting task for someone like me; traveling alone,
with limited 'desert' experience. '
'California'
'City'
' is a small city (pop. 14,000 +/-) and I do believe most of their revenues come from issuing permit for off road use. The city must have great plans for expansion because as I left the city limits, and eleven miles out of town I
came across streets (dirt roads) with 135th Street and higher.
I found the cross road (Tulane and
20 Mule Team Blvd
) for area H (where the battle was to be held) and thought I would wait for someone else to show up. After waiting an hour and a half and not seeing anything but a few birds, I began to
think I was in the wrong area. So I headed out
20 Mule Team Blvd
(which was paved but unmaintained) until a got to the end of the road. I saw one of the few road signs that said Area H 9 miles, back the way I came. So I backtracked the 9 miles and ended up where I was to begin with.
By then it was getting close to lunch time, so I headed back to town and was hoping cell phone reception would put me in contact
with others headed for the battle. I found out that those in charge had not gotten there yet and the 'direction signs' were not in place. So I had lunch and met up with some others on there way to the battle site.
Ended up at Tulane & 20 MT Blvd, turned right and followed the signs, 5 more miles into the desert. After passing an on coming
Axis convoy I found the Allies camp area.
Now Friday was a set up day and the battle was to held on Saturday, so I stayed and helped out the best I could (mainly by staying
out of the way). As the sun began to set, I headed off to see if I could find my way back to town and the hotel.
Now, say what you will about a GPS , but here I am in the middle of #$&@ nowhere and all that I know is the sun is setting in
the West, in a few minutes it will be pitch black out there and I won't have a clue where I am, so I punch in the hotel's address in, and low and behold if it didn't guide me out and got me back into town.
Next day, I headed out early as troop line up was at 9:00 AM, both Axis and Allied forces were pretty much evenly matched. Plus
there was an assortment of both Axis and Allied vehicles.
The scenario for the battle was that there was a 'double agent' that both sides wanted to capture (he was our own Monty Shaw). He
had in his position a document that needed to be deciphered, a revolver for self defense and a whistle if he got into trouble. As it so turned out he was captured by an Italian unit and interrogated
by the Germans. So it was up to the Allied forces to liberate him. We spent the rest of the day trying.
While the LRDG was in a fire fight with an Italian unit, the Italians had the high ground.
We suddenly found that we were surrounded by the German Motor Cycle unit, coming up from our rear. I saw them and tried to warn our
unit but they were scattered and didn't hear my warning.
We were either killed or captured along with our vehicles (only for 10 minutes, which are the rules of engagement). Then we departed
to start again at some other part of the battle field.
We raided the German camp and caused a great commotion but were not able to find the spy. And at the end of the day we thought that it would be fun to take some photos of all of the jeeps together.
All in all I found this an interesting and enjoyable event, but feel that I am getting a little old to go 'running around in the blue' with the young guys.
Oh! By the way; the secret message when deciphered said 'Be sure to drink your Olvatine'.
Jack
After Action Report
Joint Action of LRDG; PPA & S.A.S.
MVPA Convention,
Portland, Or.
July 25th ' 27th 2013
On July 21st I departed our base in Monterey with 'Gunner' (John) Dick, heading for a rendezvous with T-8 & T-9 (Wireless) trucks at their base in Yreka. Even with a last minute efforts T-9 was not ready for this mission. So it was
left behind hopefully to participate in a future mission. T-8 headed North on the evening of the 23rd and we followed on the morning of the 24th, arriving about noon; already on station was a PPA Jeep (Popski's Private Army) owned by Kevan Bowen from Moose Lake, WA.
Kevan had with him a number of 'Troopers'; i.e. family members; that pitched in and were of a great help in setting up the display. While in that process, I had occasion to depart the building and
found 'Trooper' John Neuenburg (who has been talking about doing a S.A.S. Jeep for years) unloading a S.A.S. Jeep. Since he was not sure where they intended to place him in the hall; I suggested that he join the LRDG and PPA for joint
display;
which he decided to do.
The display was finished by on Thursday about 12:00 PM and tiding up and looking at all of the other vehicles and displays in the hall we all went out for 'Pizza'. Seemed like the right thing to do after a hard days
work.
On Friday and Saturday all of the show attendees came by our display at some point in time; we were in the back of the building, but they couldn't miss the 'Palm Trees'. We got many positive comments and fielded
many questions about the LRDG, PPA and the S.A.S. and there activities during the war in North Africa. The show ended at Saturday at 4:00 PM (the awards banquet was at 7:00PM) and with the assistance, again of all involved, both of our
vehicles
were all packed up and ready to go the next morning for an early departure. I had the Jeep and T-8 judged but didn't have any high expectations that they would win in there class as there were many other vehicles that were better qualified
for
an
award. However on Saturday night when there were only three more awards to be given out; I was pleasantly surprised as we were honored with the 'Best Display' of the 2013 MVPA Convention.
Jack
Chino Hills Planes of Fame Air Show
May 2013
Well what can one say about this event that has not already been said in past A.A.R.'s. This event continues to be one of the premier events on our schedule and for good reason. It draws over 10,000 people for the weekend. It is
an international event. Nowhere else that I know of will you see 5 P38's flying in formation, B17, B24's, Mustangs, Zeros, WW2, Korea and Vietnam aircraft all in one place flying right over your heads and then there are the stunt flyers and
wing walkers, the flying wing. If you are like we are and love to talk history there are thousands willing to listen which makes the day unfortunately go by way to fast. Many are amazed that we have taken the time to set up such a
historically accurate camp with all the bells and whistles. This year in our camp was the first appearance of Dan P's 'Y' patrol L.R.D.G. jeep. It was great to have two of our jeeps at one show and Dan has done a good job putting his jeep
together, congratulations Dan.
One of the most amazing moments of the show occurs during breaks in the flying action. This is when they have WW2 veterans come up to the microphone which can be heard throughout the entire airport and tell their stories of
courage, daring, hardship and glory. I wish I could recall the name of the WW2 nurse who was stationed on the front lines during the 'Battle of the Bulge' She gets my vote for one of the most courage's people I have ever heard speak. Her
story moved the entire airport to tears as she explained that she was a nurse when the war broke out and had been at many different front line locations however, she and the other nurses and doctors had never seen or witnessed such
destruction anywhere else as at the Bulge. Her stories of holding a G.I.'s hands as he would not make it home to see his family, the lengths she and others went through to comfort and treat as best they could so many wounded and dying was
nearly too much to hear , but there is great reason to listen. The lesson we can all learn from our elders who served with such distinction and courage as they helped to fight against the world's worst enemies will serve us and our children
in that if we wish not to repeat the past or are forced to change our present course to defend ourselves we may know that in generations past we have also gone through such hell and prevailed. In these stories there is courage and wisdom and
we too can call upon their courage when called upon to defend our freedom.
This is also one of the few events in which we really feel that what we are doing is appreciated as we talk to veterans, adults and children who really want to know the history behind who we represent.
The management at this show is also appreciative of all the different groups who attend and they know how to show it. They feed us a BBQ lunch each day, drive around and deliver water and ice to all the reenactment units and it's
all free to us as their thank you to all who take time out of their busy lives to live at the show for that weekend.
I understand that next year they plan on an even bigger show including a possible WW2 style para drop and a few other surprises. There are so many reasons to continue to support this Air Show but one of the best reasons I can
think to attend would be that each year as the WW2 generation, the greatest generation continues to decline and fewer of those who served are with us, it really is of the utmost importance to listen to what they have to tell us if for no
other reason than they have more than earned the right to speak and to honor them we should and must hear what they have to say.
Kim Calvert
After Action Report
April 2013 Desert Battle
The Defense of Fuel Depot X'
Preparation for this battle began in November of last year or maybe even earlier. Since the L.R.D.G.P.S. became members in the C.H.G. I had been told about a
gem of a spot out in California City off highway 395 by Paul Denton one of our life members. It appears another group he is affiliated with who does a 'Mad Max' event known as 'Wasteland Weekend' out there each year loves the site and the
officials are really easy to work with. Our normal desert sites are usually on B.L.M. land. Now no offense to the folks over there I know they are busy people but they just don't seem too interested in accommodating us. The CHG would send
in
the permit paper work 6 months in advance and sometimes not know if the permit was given until the last week before an event, now that's no way to run an army right. On top of that we are not allowed any tracked or heavy vehicles and jeeps
and the like must stay on the road works. Although we all like the B.L.M. spots and applaud the great job those officials do, Paul has always known there is a better place, California City.
I started an email campaign with Cal City officials and let me say are not your normal city officials, I mean that in a good way. They were easy to work with. I filled out their permit and gave as many
exact details as possible. Along the way I feel I struck up a good friendship with all these folks. I wanted them to know exactly what they were signing up for and I wanted to make sure everything was done correctly right from the start.
This past January Paul, Arnie and I went out to look over the proposed site which was 'H' park and to meet with Officer Craig of the Cal City P.D. to go over the plans as we saw them. By the end of the
day he agreed to everything we needed and the ball was rolling. 100 or so emails later the final date was set for April 13/14.
Since I was deeply involved in this it seems like it took forever to get here but finally on Thursday morning 4/11/13 Arnie, Paul, Jerry and I started off to the battle site. I was towing my jeep, Paul
was towing his and Jerry drove a third vehicle pulling a trailer full of movie props to set up the German fuel/supply depot that would be the main focus of the battle.
Did I already mention how great the Cal City officials are? Do you know we can have any vehicle we want during our events in Cal City? Do you know there is so much land that we can use we could have a
battle there and never see a German. Do you know that a Cal City P.D. officer sat on top of the highest hill in his four wheel drive truck not to be in our way or pass judgment on us no, no, no my friends, he sat up there all day to chase out
any dirt bike riders or dune buggies. We had a permit and exclusive rights to use the land for two days, wow great service. We were also visited by the Cal City F.D. and his only concern was 'Could he go for a ride in one of those jeeps' yes
he
got his wish, okay on to the battle.
As none of us had ever been here before we made the battlefield a little small and narrow so there would be more battle and not so much sightseeing. The Germans (who were on the defensive) had nearly all the high ground
positions and they used them to great effect installing machine gun nests and mortar emplacements with perfect military effectiveness. The Axis had a supply dump to watch over so they tasked the Italian troops with guarding it along with the
machine gun nests they were pretty well secured. There were around 65 German/Italian troops along with one Kubelwagen and 3 motorcycle sidecar with machine gunners. The battlefield had a large flatter expanse in the center and both the Allied
and Axis camps butted up against the Buttes and it was on top of these small hills and behind these small hills that most of the battle took place.
On the allied side there were about 65 troops including American and British Para's. U.S. G.I.'s as well as Aussies, French. British and New Zealand troops. Now normally at these battles the different
German and Italian groups always seem to work well together, they always seem to have a plan whereas the Allied troops well, not so much so this battle I wanted to be different. A couple of weeks before I started emailing unit commanders as
to
start the ball rolling on communication and this was the first battle I have attended in which an Allied battle plan was constructed but the best part was when that plan didn't work we went right back and devised another. It was great working
with all the allied commanders.
We had our Saturday morning safety line up and the battle started.
Our first plan was to hit them from their left and at the same time come from behind. Well as I mentioned the Axis had all the high ground and could see for miles so it was pretty much a full
scale slaughter, at first anyway until we discovered other areas to come at them from behind. The battle was going very well we got close to the ammo dump but just out of range for our cup discharger. It was getting late in the day and
windy
and that is when I said lets go right up the middle with 4 jeeps. We went the long way around and although I am sure they could see us moving quickly to the opposite side or the battlefield they were not too sure. The concentration of Axis
forces was on the other side of the hill we need only get by a Kubelwagen patrol and hill top machine gun nest and charge at the dump (our mission was to destroy the dump) and throw some grenades. As we made a right turn Arnie and I engaged
the Kubelwagen. Our gun misfired and we took light weapons fire enough to take out Arnie and I, we were done but from behind came a British 1st Para jeep with Bren gun firing
and alongside was a U.S. jeep with a 50 caliber blazing away. Between the two they took out the Kubelwagen and 3 out or 4 jeeps proceeded to the dump. All started taking heavy machine gun fire taking out one more jeep I believe. As the
remnants of our brave force got closer to the dump Paul and Jerry were able to throw some mills bombs into the dump and blow it up.
On Saturday it got really windy and that forced some to tear down and leave but for those of us who stayed Sunday was a bit unusual. The wind had died down somewhat so we all took advantage and packed
up everything except what we needed for battle and those who remained went back out and took it to the evil axis forces for a few hours more.
Even though I have to say the battle was won by the Axis we did complete our mission and blow up 'Fuel Depot X'
All in all I know everyone had a great time. We received many complements for a job well done and I have to thank Paul and Derek and all our lads for their help.
There is already talk about going back in March of 2014, I know I will be there.
Kim
After Action Report August 25/26 2012
C.H.G. Italian Front Battle for
Casino
On Friday morning 8/24/12 Jerry, Arnie, Monty and Wayne meet at my place and we caravanned the 1 ' hour drive up to Big Bear Mountain.
This would be Arnie and Wayne's first event with S 1 Patrol as well as their first C.H.G. battle so we were all excited and looking forward to this adventure.
Arnie is a good friend of mine whom I have known for more than 10 years or so. He became a 'Life Time Member' a few months ago. Arnie kitted up over the last several months
and had everything he needed ready to go and I think he really enjoyed himself.
Wayne is the father of one of our younger members Monty. As you know they are from N.Z. and both are welcomed additions to our group. Wayne fit right in with the
rest of us and I could tell by the look on his face and conversation in camp that he and Arnie as well as all of us were having a great time.
To this point in our brief re-enactment career we had only done desert battles so this was going to be a different hill for us to climb so to speak
also this was a different location than previous Italian battles so no one new what to expect.
As I have stated before the C.H.G. requires each group in its membership to have a 'Primary' and 'Secondary' impression so that your group is not locked into just one part of
WW2. Since our primary impression is L.R.D.G. it only makes sense to us that our secondary impression be the P.P.A. this gives us another chance to participate in another theatre of operation in which the L.R.D.G. were not present.
I had done some major adjustments to the jeep, pulled off the condenser, jerry cans off the hood, more boxed storage and I attached a green camo net across the hood as well as
fabricating a P.P.A. emblem for the jeep grill.
The Drive getting to the Holcomb Valley Boy Scout Ranch was an adventure unto itself. Towing the jeep up the mountain road to an elevation of 7500 feet with the last 5 miles
of the journey being a dusty, dirty, muddy road was, well 'Awesome' and part of the fun and adventure. I had not been to Big Bear in at least 7 years and when I was there it was winter and we went to play in the snow. I had not camped in
the wilderness like that since I was a kid in the 'Y' Indian Guides so when we pulled into our camping area I thought it was awesome. Nothing but mountains and wilderness as far as the eye can see. Bill had gotten to the site the day before
and the ranger warned him about a bear in the area. At night I know I heard his growl from some where some where on the mountain. Hundreds of coyotes baying at the moon were announcing their latest kill and horses from the Boy Scout Ranch
nervously whinnying. One thing that struck me was all the beautiful birds that were never silent.
We had our camp set up within several hours after our arrival and others were starting to show up. We had a relaxing Friday as we looked over the battle area ate some snacks,
barbequed and 'cracked a woody mate'.
At the pre battle safety meeting on Saturday morning there were 60 participants and it was nearly evenly divided. The 12th SS were there as well as German mountain
troops. There were several small U.S. units as well as 10 commonwealth troops.
At first looking over the battle field I was slightly disappointed as there was one main dirt road right down the center of the battle field with a couple of left hand dead
end roads so no matter where we drove the jeep our life expectancy would be very short so off and on during the battle we staged the jeep as to use the Breda to give machine gun support to our infantry. Remember I said only slightly
disappointed, not having many roads to drive and wanting to help the Commonwealth any way we could we strapped on our Enfield's, grabbed a water bottle and took off on foot. I ended up having a great time crawling on my belly, hiding behind
rocks, trees and shrubs helping to move the Germans back as far as possible. I did things I had not done since playing army as a young boy it was fantastic.
At the end of the day we had pushed the Germans back over and onto the other side of the hill they started from. It was a good feeling.
Saturday evening we had some sausages, pork chops, and Bill's now famous slaw. We had a few drinks and for dessert, brown bread and raisins with a touch of rum drizzled on it
'Oh Ya'. Great tales of the day which each one of us had several great experiences and stories to discuss as well as battle plans for Sunday.
Sunday we got up and prepared for the days events. We had lost a few from the U.S. units so numbers on the Allied side declined but we in the Commonwealth never waivered. We
took it to the Germans as best we could but in all fairness to the Jerry's they kicked our butts a little on Sunday.
The battle ended at noon on Sunday and we had some food and drink and tore down the camp. All in all everyone had a great time. Derek and I walked around the various camps and
all were in agreement it was a small but even fight and the push and shove on the battle field was kept friendly and within all safety guidelines. There was not one complaint that I heard of and yes even the Germans were happy and had a
good time.
This battle has inspired me to branch out a little bit and try some other battle scenarios in which I or all of us can kit up for and fit in. Falling in with Brit
1st Para at one of the really large events would be a blast and now that I know or at least think I know that my 51 year old body can still move, crawl, and jump around a battle field I am ready to go to the next battle.
Thanks Kim
AFTER ACTION REPORT
Old Fort MacArthur Days
July 6/7 2012
Let me start this report by saying for most of 2012 I had thought
I would not make this event due to family obligations which I was fine with,
after all family comes first right. When we received a change of plans/dates 3
weeks before the show and I found out I would be attending I could not believe
my luck. Bill, Jerry and Monty had planned on participating without me so the
LRDGPS would have a presence at the show even if I could not get the jeep there
and really the show must go on and I would like to thank Bill, Jerry and Monty
for planning on going no matter what. This one was important to me as this would
be my 10th year in a row participating at this great event and I
really wanted that to happen besides after our great showing last year I did not
want to loose momentum. When I discovered I could attend I emailed Lou Lopez the
show coordinator to inform him I would be there and I would be bringing the jeep
and I asked 'by the way has anyone done anything about a WW2 Battle scenario for
the public', his response 'what WW2 battle', game on.
Last year I thought of trying something really unique and different. I wrote a
script and narration and asked Gary Archer (a true Brit) to read the narration
as the voice of Radio London to the public as the battle took place. We got all
the other WW2 groups on board and it worked out to be a real crowd pleaser and
Lou loved it. This year with 3 weeks to go if we were going to pull off another
great public demonstration we would need to work fast. I started an email
campaign and soon everyone was on board. We were going to do the same script and
narration as last year but our good friend Derek Vlasek from British 1st
Para had an even better idea, lets pre-record a Radio London style narration on
CD to be played through the loud speaker and use what I wrote last year as the
script or direction of the battle. Derek got busy writing and recording and he
did a great job as the voice of
Radio London, the end of the narration read something like this
'if you move in close to your wireless and close
your eyes you can hear and imagine the sights and sounds of the battle witnessed
by this reporter' All hell brakes loose and the LRDG are ambushed and
the battle is on and we are saved by our Mates from the British 1st
Para as well as a few of those 'Blokes from Down Under' helping us out. It
worked out fantastic and even better than last year. Why bring all this up? This
is a real exercise in team work and a great view of what can be done and
accomplished when people pull together for a common cause because you see not
all the units involved belong to the same historical groups and there have been
some mixed feelings amongst some who were not sure of working together. By the
time we were done we had really proved that planning, good will and friendships
can over come anything else and this made the moment all that more special. I
would like to say a BIG Thank You to Hugo and Walt for bringing your 'Jerry's'
and the Kubelwagen out to have fun, without you guy's there wouldn't be anyone
to fight with so thanks for everything.
Bill I. (who always portrays a member of the A.F.P.U. attached to the LRDG) is
our photo and video guru. Bill set up 3 stationary video cameras around the
battle field and then participated in the battle as an AFPU camera man and got
great footage which we will be editing together to create a short movie. When we
have this done I will let all of you know and if you would like a copy just let
me know and I will send them out to all who want one.
On to the show:
This year there were more than 800 living historians involved at the show.
Caesar was there, MacArthur, Lincoln, Truman and many others. Sixty different
living history groups in all representing many different time periods and doing
a fantastic job of teaching history to the public. Nearly 4000 spectators
crossed through the gates of the park and all were treated to a fantastic day of
living history.
There were many different battle scenarios presented to the public including
American Civil War, Mexican American War, Revolutionary War, our WW2 battle and
many others. There were shooting demos, cooking demos a 'Fashions through the
Ages' demo that was a big hit with everyone. This year the show made it to a
mainstream news channel and when that happens we always see an increase in
public spectators and this translates into more dollars for the museum which is
the goal of this show each year. We in the LRDGPS set up our camp which
continues to grow each time we meet with new and unusual pieces of history that
fill out our camp and are a great crowd pleaser.
We also continue to grow our membership here which is really great but one of
the best things about it are the comments from other re-enactors who see us as
very different not only in our presentation and our teaching abilities but
simply in the way we handle ourselves at these events. We have really worked
hard to portray the LRDG in a fashion which all can appreciate and many from
other units comment that they wish their units (which also do fantastic jobs)
were ran in the same way we run the LRDGPS and this we can thank Jack for. Jack
has spent many years laying the ground work for this Society and because of his
efforts and abilities it is very easy to continue on in a manner that he would
expect us to. Also we seem to attract the best people in re-enactment to our
door steps not only those who wish to join but also those who have become our
friends over these past several years and it is all these good people that make
it so easy and fun for us. To all of you go out a big Thank You from me and I am
sure Jack as well.
2014 will be the 100th Anniversary of Fort MacArthur and this will
be the biggest and best show the museum has had in the 26 year run of 'Old FT.
Mac Days' planning for this show will start this October. It would be great to
see and meet as many of you as possible and there is plenty of time for
planning. If you have ever wanted to participate with the LRDGPS this would be a
good one to come to. This August 24/25/26 we will be participating in an Italian
themed battle near the Big Bear area here in California. We will be going as our
secondary impression (we are required by the California Historical Group to have
a secondary impression) as PPA and it is going to be a lot of fun. If you would
like to join in the fun please feel free to email me.
Marching Through
History:
MTH which is held
the 1st weekend
of October in Chino Hills California has been faced with financial issues
and at this point I am not sure it will happen this year however this much I
know, if this event does happen the location will be changed to the Great Park
at the El Toro Marine Air Station in Irvine California. We are working hard to
insure this event goes on but we still are not sure. I will keep you all up to
date as this show is another great one and it would be a shame if it did not
take place.
I would like to say a big Thank You to Bill, Jerry, Monty, Justin and our great
friends Rick and Yvette as well as there kids who always join us for FT Mac as
well as Derek. Paul, Gary and all the members of the British 1st Para
as well as the fantastic ladies who share space with us from the U.S. field
hospital. It is all of you who make these events so awesome for us and we in the
LRDGPS look forward to working with all of you very soon.
Kim
Planes of Fame Air Show 2012
After Action Report
Wow, what a difference a year can make. Last year was S 1 Patrols first
experience with the Chino Planes of Fame Air Show and although it was a lot of
fun we were stuck about 300/400 yards away from the actual show so very few
visitors ventured down our way to see us, in fact we probably only had about 200
people the entire weekend, well what a difference a year can make.
The show was May 5/6 and on Friday morning
Jerry and I met at my place, we loaded up the truck and jeep and off we went.
Bill I. had arrived on site Thursday afternoon and staked out our spot and it
was a good one. There were many changes for the re-enactors/ historians this
year and the biggest one; they moved us from the last field in the air port to
the first field right at the beginning of the show where each visitor must pass
right by us. This year they had us set up camp right at the main entrance and we
were almost the first thing visitors saw as they entered the show. By 10:00am
Saturday morning I had already talked to more people then I talked to the entire
weekend last year and from that point on it never stopped. The inquisitive crowd
never stopped coming by all the WW2 encampments and there were quit a few all of
us belonging to the California Historical Group. There were German units,
Russian units, American and Commonwealth all in a row, all flying the flags of
the country's they represent as a whole we looked really good.
In attendance for S1 Patrol was Bill, Jerry,
Monty, Justin (new member) and myself
Justin is a friend on Monty's and another great
young man who right from the start got involved with us from beginning to end.
Justin it was great having you and we look forward to seeing you again real
soon. Saturday morning as we were cleaning up and getting ready for a huge crowd
a lone gentleman named Dan pulled up next to our encampment, said he was Aussie
and could he put his tent and display with ours. Normally such walk-ons are not
permitted at the air show but after a brief discussion with show organizers he
was aloud to camp with us. Well to make a long story short he was great, Dan fit
right in with the rest of us. He set up a great tent with many period correct
artifacts and by the end of the weekend we had a new life time member. It was
great to have Justin and Dan with us for the first time.
This year the organizers really paid attention
to us re-enactors and we would like to thank Paul, Cindy and the rest of the
crew. If you were a re-enactor you were well taken care of. Free lunch each day
(thanks to the cooks for BBQing in the heat for all of us). On Saturday night we
were treated to a really good spaghetti dinner with all the fixings and after
dinner a large movie screen was set up in the re-enactor area and we all enjoyed
a few drinks and laughs while watching '1941' what a funny movie.
As I stated the crowds were huge, the biggest I
have ever talked to at one of our events. The weather was perfect (in the 80's)
and the actual show was awesome. This show really spot light's WW2 war birds.
Flying each day were B-24's, B-17's, P-38, Japanese zeros, and many, many more
with the occasional jet and wing walkers as well as trick flying and once again
the flying wing flew over the air show, it was an awesome sight. One of the best
parts of doing this show is while we are working the crowds and doing what we do
best we are treated to one of the top Air Shows in the country. Everything went
off without a hitch, no accidents, no malfunctions just smooth sailing as far as
any of us could tell. Saturday was very busy and I would estimate that several
thousand spectators came through the re-enactment encampments. This is what I
personally enjoy the most about these show, the chance to talk L.R.D.G. history
and meet some great people. We talked to people from all over the world, Chile,
Australia, Germany and many more but on Sunday morning I was actually moved to
tears as an elderly couple visiting from France came to our camp and spoke to
me. The Gentleman spoke enough English for me to understand him and when I
didn't his wife stepped up and translated as she spoke near perfect English.
They loved our camp, the jeep and he went on to tell me that he has a jeep back
home in France. Just before they were ready to move on the woman took my hand
and with a tear in her eye (as well as her husband's eyes) she proceeded to
thank me. At first I did not understand after all we just met 'why the tears I
asked her' She looked at me and said 'I want to say thank you for 1944' (just
writing this gives me a good feeling and teary eyes all over again). I reminded
her that no matter how I look I was way to young to be in France 1944 and that
is when she said 'No We French would like to thank all Americans then and now
for saving us from disaster, with out the Americans we would not be here in
California visiting as free people we would be dead or slaves' okay that is
actually where I lost it and from that point on all 3 of us were crying, hugging
and sharing a very important moment especially for me. The couple went on to
tell me that their generation was very grateful to us as a Nation and that their
generation is teaching younger generations to feel the same and to be just as
grateful as they are. Well it is moments like that which makes me get up every
day and look forward to our next adventure.
The rest of the show was fantastic and we
probably posed with people for several hundred pictures, many folks took our
info and were happy to learn all they could about the L.R.D.G. and I felt the
public really appreciated the time we took with them and especially their
children.
I would like to thank all of our S1 patrol
members and I would really like to thank Monty and Justin for staying until the
very end and helping us with tear down. We actually got it done in 2 hours
rather than 3 or 4. Also, Dan it was great meeting you and we look forward to
having you with us on a regular basis.
Our next outing will be at FT MacArthur the
second weekend in July. I will not be able to attend and this will be my first
miss in 9 years however we will have an encampment at the show and I believe
that Bill, Jerry, Monty and Justin will be representing S 1 Patrol.
Once again I would just like to say thank you
to all those who put on the Planes of Fame air show we can't wait for next year.
Thanks
Kim
C.H.G. Desert Battle
September 17/18/2011
After Action Report
<>One
of the best parts of becoming and staying C.H.G. members is participating from
beginning to end in the battles they create. As a C.H.G. board member and LRDGPS
Unit Leader I get to speak about where and when a battle is held. We (the Board)
then vote on the motions presented. This year we were co-sponsors along with the
British 1st Para (who all came as 8th Army) for the
September desert battle held in Barstow California. This is the 2nd
time the L.R.D.G.P.S. has attended such an event and one that we had been
waiting for since April of 2010.
At the event would be 108 participants which is a smaller number than usual at a
CHG desert battle but they had never had a battle in September where the temps
could go over 100 degrees and this contributed to the small number of
participants. The weather turned out to be beautiful and never reached over 93
and was perfect as far as the LRDG were concerned. Of the 108 participants about
two thirds were Axis troops made up of various German and Italian units. There
were around 30 Commonwealth troops and only a handful of U.S. troops and this is
what contributed to lower numbers and a rather lopsided battle as far as even
numbers are concerned.
Jack and Rick were scheduled to attend the battle but days before Jack had
fallen ill and would not be able to make the trip. Before we left we new that
Jack would be okay which made going to the battle a little easier. When we
arrived at the battle site and various groups started to show up all had heard
about Jack and the main topic was inquiries into his well being which I found to
be most up lifting as members from other groups showed genuine concern for Jacks
health.
The battle location is about an hour and a half from my house and when Jerry
and I arrived Bill was already there and ready to go. We set up camp and went
out on a scouting trip.
The battle field is actually a 2 mile radius with the Allied camp at one end and
the Axis camp at the other. The terrain is perfect there are river beds, wadis,
hills, rock formations some low shrubs. This year we wanted to try and force the
battle to be more in the larger open areas so to do this we set up an objective,
a secret fuel dump which was made up of Bills trailer with camo nets over it, 4
empty 55 gallon drums and 15 or so Jerry cans. Now the trailer was used to make
it look bigger than it was and the objective was that the Axis had to retrieve
the 55 gallon cans and smaller Jerry cans which the Allies must hold. Since the
Allies new the local of the dump we gave the Axis a 15 minute head start,
Big mistake: they located the fuel
dump and before we got there to defend it they had pulled up their Kubelwagon
and truck and were loading the fuel. A large fire fight broke out and lasted for
around an hour but in the end the Germans and Italians confiscated the fuel.
Part two of the objective for the weekend was someone on the Allied side had
secret documents that could not fall into enemy hands. As the battle went on
throughout the weekend many people were searched after being shot or taken
prisoner but the documents were never found, where were they? In the jeep with
Jerry and I. Even though we had been knocked out of the battle several times and
searched the documents were never found.
It has just occurred to me that a brief explanation of the rules may be needed.
To be shot you must have been shot from a reasonable safe distance but a visible
distance so that you know it is you who have been hit. There are many rules
pertaining to the game but in a nut shell if you are killed in action by small
arms you must take off your helmet or hat, sit down where you were shot and you
are out for a set amount of time, for this battle it was 10 minutes. After 10
minutes you may get up and fall back to either a unit starting point or back to
camp and start over. If you are hit by a grenade, mortar fire, tank round then
the time you are out is larger maybe 20 minutes and so on.
The rest of the weekend was a blast as Jerry and I were bound and determined to
get as much of the fuel back from the Axis camp as possible. We drove the jeep
to the edge of the battle field and came towards the Axis camp from the rear via
a dry river bed which was shaded on one side do to the hill it was going
through. We crawled the jeep along the hill side through the river bed as we
approached the rear entrance to their camp. On the hill top above us we could
see 2 German officers 2 German troopers a machine gun nest and mortar
emplacement. We were less than 100 yards from the rear of the camp and had not
been detected. We had one chance to get in, get the fuel and get out: it was a
suicide mission but we were determined. In one motion I whipped the jeep out
from the shadows as Jerry opened fire on the top of the hill with the Breda
scoring hits on all 4 Axis troops. I drove right into the back of the camp guns
blazing. One more officer was shot and unfortunately a nurse was wounded we
rounded the corner of the camp but quickly found that the truck holding the fuel
was still 100 yards away at the other end of the camp. By this time we were
getting small arms fire in our direction I quickly turned the jeep around and
got us out of there. We did not get the gas but we did score some major hits and
got out of the camp without a scratch. It was disappointing but also a lot of
fun and in a small way a victory for the Allies as no one else came that close
or drove into their camp for that matter.
There were various battles throughout the weekend and Jerry, Bill and I pulled
road watch, set up ambush spots and at times offered infantry support.
The Aussies and 8th Army tried a last ditch effort to invade the Axis
camp which ended up in a gallant bayonet charge which was awesome to watch even
though so many were cut down (for at least 10 minutes that is). Due to superior
numbers the Commonwealth troops fell and never fully recovered.
All in all the battle was a great success and a lot of fun. Jerry, Bill and I
can't wait for the next one which will be held at the same local in March 2012
so make plans now to attend.
< color="#888888">
Kim
Marching Through History
2011 After Action Report.
<>On September 30th
Jerry and I met Bill at Prado Dam Park for another M.T.H. 'Time Line Event' This
year this event would be a very special one as not only were Jack and Rick
scheduled to come down with the jeep and truck, Grant Thompson (Thomo) and his
family from N.Z. Kiri (his lovely wife) Kiani (their oldest daughter) Kintea
(their middle Daughter) and Tamati (their son who also plays a mean guitar)
would be with us for the weekend. We also had others coming to this event: Monty
was with us for the first time and was a great asset to our unit. Yvette and
Rick joined us for their second time and there were also several from the 8th
Army in our camp and I would just like to say thank you to all of you for your
contribution to a great weekend.
We had one minor
glitch in that the truck towing the Chevy truck broke down so the truck did not
make the show however Jack did and it was a happy moment when Jack arrived at
the park safely. Thanks to Jack for coming and bringing his jeep it really makes
our camp look even more impressive and just having Jack there is a big moral
booster for us down here in S 1 Patrol.
Friday we set up
camp, talked and caught up on our lives and had a relaxing time.
At this years
event I was the WW2 coordinator so I would be very busy all weekend long but I
still found sometime to sit and talk with our members some of which were just
meeting Jack for the first time. On Saturday Thomo and his family joined us.
What a great family they are. All seemed to have a good time and they stayed
with us for dinner and late into the night. No 'Time Line' experience should be
over looked and bearing that in mind I had to take Kiri to the I.R.A. camp to do
a little taste testing, I think, no I am sure she had a good time and so did we
all.
I had planned our
WW2 battle (which is always the biggest and last each day of the show) down to a
fine script with good historically correct narration. It all went off without a
hitch, it lasted 20 minutes or so and was performed in front of the biggest
crowd I have ever seen at MTH. I would like to thank Derek V. for his wonderful
reading of the narration.
Speaking of crowds
this years event was very, very well attended thanks to some new programs that
were implemented. We had several large Boy Scout Troops camp for the weekend and
come to the show both days on a same note we had the Home Schooling community
camping out as well. These kids were great and it was a pleasure to speak to
nearly Each and Every one of them.
I had been given
the heads up about Channel 5 news reporting from the event on Sunday morning and
sure enough at 5:30 am the news van pulled up right in front of my tent. Having
been woken up I decided to get up and I was glad I did as I was asked to assist
with the news crew and wound up on the Sunday morning news. I was able to get a
good plug in for the L.R.D.G.P.S.
All day both days
it was non stop action in our encampment as I am sure several thousand people
passed by over the 2 days.
At these types of events awards are
given out in eight categories and groups or individuals are judged by a 30
member 'secret' judging team mainly made up of teachers, historians even the
public has a say so in who wins what. I must say that in the many years I have
been participating in re-enactment no group that I have been in, no matter how
hard we tried has ever won anything, well that changed this weekend as the
L.R.D.G.P.S. won the 'Best World War 2 Encampment' award. We were judged on
several different levels, interaction with the public, look and feel of the
encampment as well as historical correctness. I just want to give out a huge
thank you to all of you who participated in this event. It is a great honor to
win such an award, oh by the way there were 14 WW2 units at this show all worthy
of the award so this is really something for us all to be proud of and it was a
perfect ending to the 2011 re-enactment season.
Again I would like
to thank all of you for participating and supporting us such as you all do.
A special thanks
to Jack for driving all the way down to support us,
Thanks to Thomo
and his wonderful family it was a great pleasure meeting all of you and just one
more time thanks to all of you for all your efforts.
Kim
2011 'Old Ft. MacArthur Days'
After Action Report
On the
weekend of July 8/9/10 elements of the L.R.D.G.P.S., S 1 Patrol attended 'Old
Fort MacArthur Days'. This would be the second appearance for S1 Patrol at this
event. As I had stated in last years report this is a 'Time Line' type event and
this year was the biggest I have seen in the 10 years I have been participating
in this event.
There were 940
participating re-enactors from nearly every period in time. Each one living (at
least for this weekend) in proper camps and giving public demos on everything
from sword play to Gladiators battling, period cooking as well as two
outstanding WW2 battle scenarios (more on that later).
Jerry, Bill and I
met at the fort around 11:00am on Friday the 8th to start erecting
our camp. This would end up being a special weekend for S 1 Patrol as we were
invited to set up camp with the British 1st Para 's.
Now the 1st
Para's have been attending this event for a decade and have always enjoyed just
about the best spot in the whole show under shade and right at the main
entrance. This spot gets much more public traffic than the spot we were in last
year. Bill, Jerry and I talked all day to the inquisitive public about the
L.R.D.G., the S.A.S., the jeep and many other topics. By the end of each day it
was hard to speak as so many great questions were asked from all ages.
It is a fact that
this event had not enjoyed this amount of public or re-enactor attendance in 5
years or so but this weekend there was almost an electric type feeling in the
air. The estimate I was given was 3000 spectators crossed through the gate over
the weekend. When we passed through the Parade of Troops (this year I made sure
not to run out of gas) the audience was really big and super appreciative of our
group. All through the day we were given words of praise from individuals as
well as families who were some what taken a back at the time we spent with their
children. Jerry, Bill and I carefully lifted kids in and out of the jeep,
putting helmets on their heads and occasionally letting the older ones hold the
Thompson. The smiles on their faces as well as those of the adults are certainly
award enough for all of us and makes for a very enjoyable day.
I have to say that
I was a little disappointed with the battle scenario we put on last year. It did
not look especially good and was put together at the last minute. I did not wish
to repeat this mistake again this year so I started an email campaign weeks
before the event between the WW2 units. I had written a 15 minute
script/narration which would include the 1st Para 's, 2 German units
and us. Now these battle scenarios are set up to give the public just a taste of
what it may have been like to be close to the real action. One of the 1st
Para's ( Gary ) who is really English (sounds like the voice of the B.B.C.)
agreed to read the narration during the battle. The one thing that the show
coordinators want is narration as to educate the spectators. Well I think the
preparation, script and the reading of the narration really paid off as the head
coordinator Lou Lopez came to our camp after the battle shook our hands and said
it was the best WW2 battle the show had seen in a long while, the key
organization. We all felt it was great and the battle was a big success and a
huge Thank You to all those who participated and understood what I was trying to
achieve for all of us.
Our hosts the 1st
Para 's were very accommodating towards us and the two groups combined were a
big hit with the public and with the management of the show.
Saturday night we
had a 'Pot Luck' which included the 1st Para 's, a fantastic bunch of
younger folks who make up the U.S. Field Hospital and ourselves. Great food,
great people and even 'Swing Dancing' added to the great fun that was had by
all. At one point I looked out as there were about 30 people in the camp and I
could not see the jeep. I asked Bill. to quickly grab his camera and take a
picture. The jeep had become the 'Bar' so to speak and was at one point barely
visible as many folks stood around it and had great conversation and a very
relaxed time.
Sunday morning
came fast as we got up, had breakfast, cleaned up the camp and prepared
ourselves for the day's festivities. Usually Sunday can be expected to be a
lighter crowd but not this year. There were just as many spectators on Sunday
and in fact some people had come for both days. Sunday was another fantastic day
and by that afternoon we were pretty much exhausted but it felt good. We walked
over to the flag lowering and award ceremony and awards were handed out and in
the end an 'Espirit De Corps' award was given to our two groups for representing
the British Commonwealth, well this was just icing on our cake for both the 1st
Para's and S1 Patrol.
Throughout the
weekend several people inquired about our membership and I believe that at least
a couple of them will be contacting us and will become members.
The weekend was a huge success for
all who attended and I would like to thank Jerry, Bill, Rick and Monty for
participating and putting your time in and helping to make our weekend
fantastic.
Just an FYI for
all of you, in 2014 the fort will be celebrating it's 100th Birthday
and we are all planning on a great celebration and the organizers say it
will be the biggest and best show in the 24 year history of 'Old Fort MacArthur
Day's'. I would strongly urge that we the LRDGPS show up in force if possible so
make your plans now it is going to be really special.
Thanks once again
to the 1st Para 's for their hospitality, to the members of the U.S.
Field Hospital and to Lou Lopez and all the staff at Ft Mac. See you next year.
Kim Calvert
< face="Stencil">After Action Report:
< face="Stencil">
< face="Stencil">Planes of
fame:
< face="Stencil">May 14/15 2011
<>On Friday 5/14/11 I left my house at 7:00am to pick up my reserved U-Haul trailer to tow
the jeep to the Planes of Fame event. When I got their, there was a mix up so 3 U-Haul locations later I finally got my trailer and raced back to my place
around
9:30 to find George S. and Jerry F. patiently waiting for me. We loaded up the truck and jeep and off we went.
<>This event is only a short 25 minutes from my house so even though I was running behind
schedule it would not really affect us much. We got to the Airport/ Museum to find Bill I. was already
their
and had staked out our spot.
<>We would need more room them ever before as our display has really grown. Bill has
really out done himself this time as he has put together picture/story boards on easels that we set around a recruitment and information table. We had not
really
done this before and it worked out really well. I am not sure if we will pick up any new members but many people took our info.
<>We also set up our historically correct encampment which had a few more additions as well.
Bill has purchased another beautiful period tent. It is Canadian Peaked type and was made in 1939. It is a perfect addition to the other tent and really helps
to
fill out our space.
<>This was the first time S1 Patrol has participated in this or any air show and it is
my first as well. I was amazed while walking though the facility as just about every where I looked there was some vintage aircraft being restored. It was
really
amazing. We got to see many vintage aircraft and all day Friday while we were setting up the pilots practiced the maneuvers they would employee during the show.
It
was a real treat. It took Bill, Jerry, George and I most of the afternoon to set everything up but when done we had time to sit and enjoy the rest of the
day.
<>The show started at 8:00am Saturday morning and before long the crowds started rolling in.
There was a reported 18,000 + on Saturday and many of them came down to see us. That morning we were joined by Trooper Paul D. and Trooper Bruce W. who came for
the
day and greatly added to our impression. We had good crowds around the camp and at one point I found myself speaking to a crowd of around 50 people that had
gathered around the jeep I gave them a loud demo of the Breda gas gun as well as L.R.D.G. and S.A.S. history. Many questions were asked and History was the
subject
of the day. We were all busy as we had a steady flow of patrons asking questions. I have to say that on Saturday at 1:30 I had to leave in the name of Domestic
Harmony and Tranquility so as I understand the rest of the day went off without a hitch and the air show was amazing. There were many different planes that flew
as
well as static displays. For me some of the highlights would be to get up close and personal to the B-17 my favorite plane. Also they flew the B-25 all 3 days
and
that was amazing. There were many WW2 fighter planes including a Japanese Zero many Corsairs, the Flying Wing and so many others.
<>I came back Sunday morning to find everyone up and about but also it had started to
rain. Everything was getting soaked and we were on orders to stand down. Finally at about 9:30 am we got the word to tear down as the show may or may not go on
and
the field we were in would soon turn to mud. So in the rain Bill, Jerry and I began the tear down of the event, unfortunately we would be rained out on Sunday
and
it looked like the show would end early, or would it? Just as we were nearly finished with tear down the sun broke and the planes started flying and people
started
arriving. All the reenactment groups had already torn down so the day for us was done but this opened up another opportunity. As we are normally busy we don't
usually get to fully enjoy the shows we attend but that is exactly what the 3 of us did. We went down to the volunteer center, ate our delicious free lunch,
bought
a beer and walked the whole show; it was a lot of fun.
<>This event will be a
yearly event for S1 Patrol as it is so interesting and so much fun. Our display garnered many compliments
from the other groups and one really large compliment. On Saturday a gentleman who had listened to my ramblings for 15 minutes or so asked me if I new a so and
so.
The name did not stick then he said that this gentleman was a friend of his an the author of the book 'Killing Rommel' he told me that he had been to each
encampment but no one was teaching history like we were and he shook my hand, for me that was one of my big highlights of the weekend as he paid us all great
compliments.
<>I want to thank Bill I, George S, Jerry F, Paul D. and Bruce W for your help and
participation.
<>Our next event will be FT MacArthur in San Pedro California July 9 and 10. More
details to come soon also, I am not ready to make any big final announcement yet but big things are being worked out for the LRDGPS which will probably take
place
in Early Fall here in the SO CAL area. As the details are not final I don't want to give away too much but try and keep these dates in mind Sep 23/24 and the
following weekend Oct 1, 2. As more definite info comes my way I will email everyone.
<>Kim Calvert
  
|
After Action
Report
Marin Sonoma Concurs
While S-1 Patrol (Southern California) started their 'attach' on the Chino Air Field on May 13th for the
'Planes of Fame' event, T-1 Patrol didn't make it's approach until Sat. night, May
14th, to the Marin County Fairgrounds, for it's early morning attach on the 15th to the Marin Sonoma Concours d'Elegance.
T-1 Patrol was lead by yours truly, accompanied by the Chief Fitter Rick Butler and Trooper George Escobedo. There
were two 'camp followers' to this event, my wife LaDonna and Rick's friend Della Frost. The ladies were in charge of setting up the picture 'story board'; which ended up as quite a chore
through
out the day, as we had a 15 mph wind most of the day, with an unstable air mass and light rain in the morning. The photos kept blowing off of the story board; I must come up with a better
idea.
< _yuid="yui_3_1_1_3_130794624467687"> The Marin Sonoma Concours d'Elegance was a late scheduled event for us as we had
just received a special invitation on April 25th to bring the Chevy truck only (not the jeep) since they were going to celebrate 100 years of Chevrolets. So we quickly changed all of our other plans to squeeze in this event. I am not quite sure what I expected but I had visions of the Truck being on
the 'green' with the other Concours cars. We took special care to bring more 'supplies and kit' to outfit the truck to the fullest for this event.
To my disappointment we were not on the green, but were regulated to the area which in fact gave tribute to 100
years of Chevrolet, so we were in good company, just not in with the Rolls, Bentleys and other exotic cars.
There was only one other vehicle at the Concours that came close to us in 'armament'. It was a 1925 Red Rolls-Royce built for an Indian Maharajah as his 'hunting' vehicle. There was a
'Howdah' pistol, several rifles and shotguns, mounted vertically in
the
passenger's compartment but the kickers were the 'elephant cannon' on the rear bumper and a Gatling-type machine gun (I do not know the caliber) with carriage in tow.
Front view of the Rolls in question. The open mouth 'snake's head' is the horn; the center headlight moves side to side and the other two swings up and down. The next photos shows the
'elephant gun' mounted on the rear bumper. It does not look like it could be brought into action very quickly, looked like a muzzle loader. You can also see the tow hitch and part of the machine gun and
carriage.
This last photo shows the complete gun carriage and machine gun. I am not familiar with weapon and not sure what game you would hunt with a machine gun.
We had many folks stop by admiring our truck and the gear and asked many questions and took plenty of photos.
Jack Valenti
    
After
Action
Report:
Marching
Through
History
Oct
2nd
&
3rd
2010
On
the
weekend
of
Oct.
2/3
elements
of
the
L.R.D.G.P.S.,
S 1
patrol
participated
in
the
2010
Marching
Through
History
event
in
Chino
Hills
California
at
Prado
Dam
Park.
Our
adventure
started
on
Friday
Oct.
1 at
10:00
am
as
Trooper
Jerry
Finney
and
I
met
at
my
house
to
load
up
the
jeep
and
equipment.
This
event
is
very
similar
in
nature
to
the
Ft
Mac
time
line
event
we
did
this
past
July.
There
were
around
60
groups
participating
this
year.
There
were
several
reasons
why
the
event
was
a
bit
smaller
than
in
the
past.
First
there
is a
C.H.G.
Italian
campaign
battle
the
following
weekend
so
several
units
had
to
make
the
decision
on
which
event
to
participate
in.
The
crowds
were
also
down
this
year
and
I
attribute
that
to
the
weather.
It
was
near
100
degrees
and
around
90%
humidity.
It
was
brutal.
However
being
true
to
the
region
each
afternoon
a
good
wind
picked
up
and
made
us
all
feel
a
little
better.
For
those
of
you
who
participated
or
came
as a
spectator
last
year
and
remember
the
nice
shady
spot
we
were
located
at,
well
let's
just
say
we
were
not
at
that
same
spot
this
year.
No
matter
what
the
conditions
Bill
I.,
Jerry
F,
and
myself
were
not
going
to
let
the
heat
of
the
day
or a
slightly
less
than
desirer
able
spot
put
a
damper
on
our
weekend.
Jerry
and
I
got
to
the
park
around
11:00
am
Friday
and
Bill
I.
was
already
there
and
ready
for
action.
It
took
us
several
hours
in
the
heat
of
the
day
to
set
up
our
camp.
As
this
last
year
has
gone
by
Bill
has
acquired
some
very
nice
pieces
of
equipment
to
put
around
our
camp.A
theodolite,
map
tables
with
maps,
range
finder
and
several
other
great
pieces
that
help
make
our
camp
come
alive.
I
have
not
been
sitting
around
either.
I
have
produced
several
NO36
Mills
Bomb
crates
(with
Mills
Bombs)
I
managed
to
finally
finish
the
twin
Vickers
and
the
Breda
gas
gun
which
we
used
for
the
first
time
in
the
battle
reenactment.
Each
day
starts
with
officer's
call
and
the
show
opened
at
10:00am.
Saturday
there
were
around
1000
spectators
throughout
the
day.
Once
again
our
display
and
the
S.A.S.
jeep
were
a
big
hit.
Many
many
questions
were
asked
of
us
throughout
the
day
and
the
best
part,
there
were
many
young
people
asking
and
some
already
knowing
the
history
behind
who
these
men
were
and
the
amazing
things
they
accomplished.
As
with
all
these
type
events
there
were
re-enactors
from
Roman's
to
modern
day.
These
various
groups
participate
in
living
history
demos
as
well
as
several
battle
scenarios
put
on
for
the
public.
I
must
say
that
if
you
have
never
been
to
one
of
these
events
you
owe
it
to
yourself
to
attend.
It
is
Top
Notch
History.
This
year
they
even
had
a
Stage
Coach
with
horses
giving
the
public
rides
around
the
event.
The
Wild
West
area
was
one
area
that
seemed
to
really
grow
since
last
year.
Throughout
both
days
we
had
a
non
stop
crowd
around
our
camp
and
by
Sunday
night
I
could
barely
speak.
That
could
also
have
something
to
do
with
the
Irish
Moonshine
I
tried
on
Saturday
night.
Good
stuff
but
don't
light
a
cigarette
right
after
you
take
a
drink.
Both
days
we
participated
in
the
WW2
battle
which
is
always
the
last
battle
of
the
day
and
the
icing
on
our
cake.
Even
though
the
battle
lasts
about
20
minutes
it
is
well
scripted
and
always
an
intense
experience.
This
year
Bill
set
up a
'jeep
cam'
on
the
jeep
and
hopefully
got
some
good
up
close
video
of
the
battle.
Throughout
the
weekend
we
were
joined
by
other
friends
from
the
WW2
Foreign
Legion
group
as
well
as a
couple
of
other's
who
once
seeing
we
were
there
came
back
dressed
in
uniform
and
helped
to
add
to
our
over
all
look
and
feel.
I
would
like
to
thank
Bill,
Jerry,
Eric
and
Steve
for
participating,
helping
and
adding
to
our
group.
I
would
like
to
close
this
report
with
a
rather
somber
note.
In
the
first
paragraph
I
wrote
that
there
were
less
re-enactors
at
the
event
this
year.
On
Friday
Oct
1
while
loading
up
the
Sherman,
Stuart
and
type
90
Japanese
tanks
at
the
Chino
Air
Museum
(where
they
are
stored)
to
make
the
5
mile
or
so
tow
to
the
event,
one
of
our
re-enactment
brothers
from
the
2nd
Armored
Div
was
seriously
injured
when
he
was
struck
in
the
head
by
one
of
the
tanks
while
loading
it
on
the
trailer.
I
don't
want
to
get
graphic
and
still
details
are
a
little
fuzzy
but
when
we
left
the
park
Sunday
night
the
info
I
had
was
he
was
not
going
to
make
it.
Please
keep
Jim
and
his
family
in
your
thoughts
as
this
is a
terrible
tragedy
and
set
a
very
somber
tone
for
the
weekend.
Let
me
also
remind
anyone
reading
this
who
participates
in
this
hobby
that
we
love
that
re-enactment
is a
dangerous
and
full
contact
hobby
and
no
matter
what
part
we
play
we
must
always
be
aware
of
safety
first,
fun
second.
Stop
and
think
before
you
point
that
gun
at
someone
who
may
be
to
close
to
really
fire
on.
When
loading
and
un-
loading
vehicles
from
trailers
clear
the
crowd
from
around
your
trailers.
Let's
all
be
safe
and
alert
before
we
think
about
just
having
fun.
Hopefully
we
will
see
everyone
at
the
Tunisia
battle
in
the
Barstow
desert
in
April.
Kim
Calvert
P.S.
On
Oct
5th
at
11:00pm
James
Frey
lost
his
battle
to
stay
alive.
He
will
be
greatly
missed
by
his
Family
and
Friends
as
well
as
his
extended
re-enactment
family.
   
|
Rolex Motorsport Event 8/13/2010
 .JPG)   
Cherry's
Jubilee
Sept. 8th
2010
|
Photos of those that attended the Marching Thru History Event
(click pic properties for name)
All of us -
except John
Tiley - He was
manning the
booth.
1) Who made the Hotel Reservations? 2) Sat. Morning Camp site. 3) Coffee Will be ready in a minute. 4)
Passing in Review.
   
Battle on Saturday: 1) On Patrol. 2) Taking Fire. 3) Trucks hit - crew bales out. 4) Reinforcements show up.
   
Sunday Battle traveling with the French, 1) On Patrol with the French. 2) On Fire Again. 3) Trooper
Down. 4) Monday - Breaking Camp.
   
Morgan Hill July 4th with Ray Mayeir
   
Pacific Grove Concours, Aug. 14th 2009
Castroville Parade with George Sicre, 5-15-09
Rick in Tulelake
2008 MVPA Convention, Portland OR.
  
Jack & Donna at the LRDG Memorial at the NZ S.A.S. base at
Papakaru, N.Z. (April 2006).
2. Jack with surviving LRDG Troopers, Ian Judge, Tom Ritchie
& Basil Greenstreet
3. New Zealand Special Forces Memorial
4. Military Truck unknown
7. Some CMP's waiting for restoration.
|
More photos
Wine & Roads August 12th weekend
Travis Air Show 2005
<>Whisky Springs meet and Prospect
parade, Oregon, Aug 2005.
<>
<>July 4th Parade in Hornbook, CA 2005 and Southern
Oregon Military Vehicles collectors at Whisky Springs camp out, Oregon July 2005
<>
<>
Movie pulling out stuck
ambulance at Whisky Springs
Oregon Meet July 2005 (65 mg's big)
Benicia, CA 2005
Photo from 2005 War & Peace
Show in UK
![LRDG Vet[2]. Jimmy Patch.JPG (98968 bytes)](images/LRDG%20Vet[2].%20Jimmy%20Patch.JPG)
![WandP_thursday_americas_mike_2aP1010006.sized[1].jpg (70215 bytes)](images/WandP_thursday_americas_mike_2aP1010006.sized[1].jpg)
![IMG_0128.thumb[1].jpg (4774 bytes)](images/IMG_0128.thumb[1].jpg)
![IMG_0126.thumb[1].jpg (6133 bytes)](images/IMG_0126.thumb[1].jpg)
![IMG_0123.thumb[1].jpg (6377 bytes)](images/IMG_0123.thumb[1].jpg)
Collins Foundation B-17 & B-24 in Monterey May 25th
2005
Castroville Parade - May 15th 2005
Tower Park 2005
Pacific Grove Good Old Days 2005
Nov. 2004, Las Vegas Veteran's Day Parade and post
parade activities
July 4th, 2004 Parade at Central Point, Or.
Idaho Motor Pool and Warhawk Museum 2004
Casa de Fruta meet June, 2004
Marine Corp League of Montereyhad a barbecue locally at
Toro Park and was looking for some MV's for a static display.
A few photos from my Memorial Day outing in Livermore. The Collins
Foundation's B-17 & B-24 where at the airport giving rides (at $400.00
per person) and walk through tours at $8.00 @.
I didn't charge the kids anything to sit in the Jeep. My guess is that
there were at least 1000 folks went through the planes while I was there
on Monday. Gave out a few MVCC membership applications and talked a lot
about the LRDG & MVCC.
Tower Park, CA June 2003
Las Vegas Veteran's Day Parade 2003
Livermore had a parade on Aug. 16th to honor the troops that
have served in Iraq. We were chosen to carry the Grand Marshal - Rick
Leventhal - Rick is a Fox TV News Reporter that was with the troops and
reported from the front lines. After the parade there was a number of events
at a local park, where the names of the 175 who died in combat was read, a
21 gun salute to honor them was presented by the troops from Camp Parks.
Jack, Rick and the "Mail Call" dude (center) at the
MVPA Convention
in Alameda CA, July 2003.
"War & Peace - 2003"
Click on each thumbnail to see full size picture
Some new photos from the
Las Vegas Veterans Day Parade
First pic - Lewis Gun mounted
on the LRDG Truck. Second - Jack on the Lewis. Third - George checking
operational readiness. Fourth - Down town static display after the end of
the Parade until 4:00 PM. Fifth - As the sun goes down - clean up the area.
When you remove the color - It
looks like it was taken 60 years ago.
These are photos of the
"static" display at the Presido and the Korean War commerative services.
Seaside parade, 2000
1999 MVPA International Convention - San Jose, CA
"LRDG Sand Box Display"
The Scot is Fred Klink, PR Officer of the Commemorative
Historical Society World War II Living History Museum
Casa de Fruta meet October 1999
San Jose 1999 MVPA convention
Fourth of July parade near Medford Oregon 1998.
First pic Seaside parade, second Monterey parade (both in 1999).
1999 Great Western Show
1999 Waterford Meet
1999 Riverside Air Show
George, Rick and Jack in winter uniforms and
corresponding LRDG beards.
Casa de Fruta meet!
First and second photo: Posing for photographer Hans Halbenstadt for inclusion in his up
coming book "Military Trucks" in 1998. Taken at the Woodson Bridge meet Sept
1997. Third photo: Tacoma WA display (fall 1997).
Photos from the "Celebrate History" show (February
1998, San Francisco).
