The Briefing Room

WWII Weekend 2010 has come to a close.  Despite the amount of rain that fell on us the entire weekend, it was a success for many reasons.  With pride I would like to thank the courageous public for braving the rain to come out and see our event.  For the amount of rain and the threat of bad storms, people still came out to see the show to the tune of 10,000 people over the weekend.  I have heard praise on how well the battles worked and how impressive the campsites were. Thank you all for attending our event. Please contact St.Louis county parks if you had a good time , Parks Director 314-615-5454. Also, feel free to leave a comment on our guest book page http://2ndrangers.org/guestbook.php#entry.

I would also like to take this time to thank all the dedicated re-enactors that helped make this event run. Without your hard work, travel, and dedication, it all would not be possible. Special thanks to Moose for use of the radios, they were a life saver, and Brian for use of his mega phone, it was a voice saver.  There were some adjustments this year and we are starting to enforce new rules, registration, and safety and authenticity standards. Thank you all for your cooperation, and understanding with these efforts. thanks also to my fellow Rangers for their tireless efforts in planning, and execution of the event.

One more highlight to touch upon. We had been able to get a surviving D co. 2nd Battalion WWII Ranger to attend our event.  We all had such a good time with him. From getting him a cake for his birthday he just celebrated, and singing happy birthday, to having fun at the dance, and watching him hand out promotions to our men. We had a great time with Bill and hope he enjoyed it. We also had an honorary member of our group come from Ohio to attend the event. Her father was 3rd Battalion Ranger WWII, and like us, she wants to carry out the mission of education to keep their memories alive. She was astonished to say the least. From the amount of people, to the camps, and the vehicles. She got a better understanding of why we do what we do, and how we do it.  She also helped serve our cause at the event by helping to buy groceries, and working registration. Thanks again for your hard work Patti.

I would also like to thank the parks for being patient and having understanding. There was considerable damage done to the park due to vehicles and foot traffic. So far the parks have kept our costs down to a minimum. for repairs. If you would like to see photographs of this event. Please check out our photo gallery. http://2ndrangers.org/cpg1419/

Again, thank you all for your attendance, patience, hard work, and understanding.

Sincerely,

Sgt. Kevin Owens

U.S. 2nd Ranger Infantry battalion of St.Louis,

Friends,

Six months into 2009  and it has been a very successful year. Here is a recap of everything that has been going on this year so far.  In January the interim board was elected to the board of directors. U.S. 2ndRnager Infantry Battalion of St.Louis, Inc obtained the contract for our building 72 at Jefferson Barracks for restoration.  Meetings and plans for the restoration had been discusses among the membership. WWII Weekend at Jefferson Barracks was the most successful we have ever had, 12,000 to 15,000 visitors, and the parks department stated that they have NEVER had that many people come to a single event.  Events our unit had supported were Camp Hickory hill Tactical, Camp Clarke Battle of the bulge tactical, Operation WAVE at Kimmswick MO, WWII Weekend, LST 325 in Evansville, Walk in the sun history hike.  In our first 6 months of 2009 we recruited nine new living history re-enactors. Currently some of them are obtaining their uniforms and equipment.  Updates have been made to the website including a photo gallery of over 4600 photos and growing, videos from past events, and over 12 hours of downloadable public domain WWII music from 1941 to 1945.   We hope you enjoy our website as a valuable resource for education, and re-enacting. We hope that the next six months are as prosperous and successful as the last. Hope to see you all out there.

Sgt. Kevin Owens

President,

U.S. 2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion of St.Louis, Inc

April 24-26 WWII Weekend 09 at Jefferson Barracks. The event started Friday morning at 0900 when unexpectedly two school buses full of kids started the school educational tours. Boy scout groups, home schoolers, and regular schools alike all came in droves until about 1400.  Throughout the day reenactors came in to register and set up camp.  Dinner was served to reenactors at 1800 with spaghetti with meat sauce. Nobody walked away still hungry.  Park visitors came by and watched as people set up camp and displays anxious to see what the rest of the weekend had in store for them. After dinner The unit COs briefing took place at the Ranger camp. Safety issues and battle plans were discussed. at night the park was filled with the sounds of people laughing, singing, and having a good time with their friends by the camp fires. These camp fires were visible throughout camp square. Saturday morning at 0800 the Officer’s briefing took place for units that arrived during the night.   Followed by the raising of the flag accompanied by reveille.  Afterward was the safety and authenticity briefing of all reenactors where Cpl Owens had an embarrassing moment with a dud blank. The Germans moved out to the battlefield first, followed by allied units in the convoy. There we met a huge crowd of spectators and the battle  started with explosions and a hail of gunfire.  Approximately 350 reenactors put on a show with vehicles to a record audience. A parks employee stated that he had never seen this many people at this event.  Both battles Saturday had record crowds and before and after each battle those crowds moved to the camps. An estimated 12,000 spectators attended this event, which broke last year’s record. Saturday night was the dance sponsored by The Friends of Jefferson Barracks. The dance was sold out and everyone had a good time. Sunday morning there was a memorial service at the monument of the Battle of the Bulge. Attending were allied reenactors and members of The Gateway Chapter of the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge.  Sunday’s battle at noon was an intense fight, with an even more intense brush fire that started as a result of the pyrotechnics. With dry grass and heavy winds, the fire was a challenge to put out, but it was extinguished before the fire department arrived.  No reenactors required medical attention, but a few were singed in the fight. On a personal note. I would like to deeply thank all of the reenactors that helped douse the blaze.  On top of eighty degree weather, a hot sun beating down, wearing wool, and already partially exhausted by the battle. they still managed to put out the fire under extremely hot circumstances. THEN, continued the battle for the delight of the audience. From the bottom of my heart I thank you all. It shows your dedication to our hobby, and your steadfastness in the face of adversity. It makes me proud to be part of this experience with all of you. Thank you for your attendance and support of this event, both public and reenactors alike.

Sgt. Kevin Owens

D Co. 2nd Ranger Bn  (reenacted)

Just a few days away from our biggest event of the year, WWII Weekend at Jefferson Barracks, St.Louis county Park. Since my last post there have been many updates. So many that I have been too busy to update this blog, I apologize. I spoke with  the office at the park. Their phone, and mine as well, has been ringing off the hook. We will be having amazing weather this weekend, which will bring out people not only locally but people have been calling from all over the midwest wanting to see this event. It sounds like we will have a record numbers in attendance.

Last year we had 19 re-enacting units. This year we will have 30. Which means we will be having record numbers of re-enactors in attendance. We are anticipating numbers close to 400.  We will also be having a record number of vendors this year. From nationally known vendors such as At The Front, and Hessen Antique, All Era Militaria, and many more,  to independant vendors wanting to sell off their collections.  Calls and e-mails came flooding in after seeing articles in West Magazine, AAA Midwest Travel Treasures, Suburban Journals, The New York Times, and more. These articles can be found by clicking our MEDIA link.

I really hope you chose to spend your weekend with us. You will not regret it.

Thank you,

Cpl. Kevin Owens

President,  U.S. 2nd Ranger Battalion of St.Louis, Inc.