The Black Flag Cafe©

Back in September I headed out to Rockford, IL where they have the largest WWII reenactment in the US. I took a bunch of photos and edited some to look like period photos. Here are a few and I have a lot more including the originals.

How much of a buzz must it be to own your own Sherman Tank?

I'll see if I can find it, but I have a picture of myself and some friends at a WWII reenactment taken with a WWII era camera, and the man who owned it had a "Released by the Signals Bureau" stamp for it on the back.

It would be better if there were some 88mm re-enactors with live ammunition. My old neighbour (who became a sort of surrogate grandfather - mine having been killed by fucking kraut bastards) rode to war on a Sherman as a private soldier in Guards Armoured, the infantry used to sit on the outside until encountering effective fire (which meant at least one of them getting shot off) and then they would reluctantly get off and walk it in to the enemy position. No wonder the krauts held them up on the single road to Nijmegen.They weren't called tommy cookers for nothing either. I've probably said this before but he learned to drive under fire, his words "had to pull a dead yank out of the seat and get it out of the road". That's pretty much the sum total he ever said about the war. He ended up liberating Belsen, never got anything other than an expression on his face about that. What I loved most is that he had an artillery luger which he had traded for some british kit with an American (some things never change) but sadly handed it in to the filth after one of their many scare tactic messages. It is is probably in some retired copper's attic now.

Anyway, good old Charlie (railway signalman by trade and ace allotment operator) popped his clogs 15 years ago now; given the state of the nation since then I'm glad he went before he saw the fruit of his efforts get pissed down the drain by the thieving pygmies who run politics in the "modern" era.

I am big on the "Pre-enactment" movement. Here we are pre-enacting the battle of Orion 12 in 2514

Dammit, that made me spit out my coffee.

Glassgost wrote:I'll see if I can find it, but I have a picture of myself and some friends at a WWII reenactment taken with a WWII era camera, and the man who owned it had a "Released by the Signals Bureau" stamp for it on the back.

I would love to see that. I wonder how the photo effect would compare to my attempt at making a modern digital camera look like 1944.

Ultra Swain wrote:Here we are pre-enacting the battle of Orion 12 in 2514

Child android soldiers? I'm down with that.

It is 2513 you spaz.

I'll have to look into The Battle of The Buldge reenactment near Fort Indiantown Gap I heard about once, also bring my Yashica 124 and some black & white film. Not unlike these photos on black & white film, at an airshow back in August 2009.