I have been collecting World War II items for about four years now, and on March 22, 2025, I attended my first World War II Reenactment in Bloomfield, Missouri, at the Stars and Stripes Museum. The Stars and Stripes Museum is named after the U.S. Military’s official newspaper, Stars and Stripes, which was very popular during World War II. Their entire collection comes from donations from various people and covers events from the Civil War to the Gulf War.
I was able to attend this event thanks to my good friend, Mason, who invited me. The battle we were recreating was not a specific battle, but it would have taken place at the German Seigfreid line, where American and German forces clashed in one of the last major campaigns of the Second World War. I was representing the standard German soldier of the Heer, German for Army, of the Wehrmacht, which was the name for the German armed forces during World War II. The unit I was a part of portraying was the German Volksgenader, and my friend Mason was a part of the American 10 Armored division. I am often asked why I am into history and reenacting, specifically Germany, which was a part of the Axis forces during the Second World War. The reason for this is that you can’t accurately recreate history if there are no opposing forces to tell the other side of the story. Reenacting is much more than people dressing up in old uniforms firing blank ammunition at each other, it’s a more interesting and exciting way to teach history to people and it’s almost like you are standing there in that timeline they are portraying. This gives people a chance to ask more questions and get detailed answers from someone who is truly passionate about the subject.
Most of the German soldiers used Kar98K bolt action rifles with one using a Mannlicher m1895 straight pull rifle, and our leader used a Walther P-38 pistol along with an Mg-42 machine gun. The American forces all used M1 Garand semi-automatic rifles and a Jeep with a M2 Browning Machine Gun. My rifle was an original Karabiner 98 Kurz (German for Carbine 98 Short), the abbreviation for this rifle is Kar98K, mine was manufactured in 1942. I also carried an M24 stick grenade in my boot. My Uniform consisted of the M43 field cap, M40 Tunic, and M43 Trousers, and the standard German Infantry field equipment, overall, it was a mixture of early and late war uniform and gear. The German forces launched the first assault on the hill inflicting major casualties on the American forces with 2 killed and 3 wounded. After we retreated back into the forest, we waited 2 hours before launching a second attack where we faced heavy casualties, our mission was to take one of the Allied foxholes. We were able to kill one American soldier, and the rest retreated to the second foxhole. However, our bolt action rifles were no match for their superior firepower, and we were forced to retreat after one of our men was killed and another wounded. After that we retreated, and the Americans launched a full forced attack with 7 infantry and a jeep with a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on top. Our machine gunner Andrew laid down as much firepower with the Mg-42 to cover me as I advanced with 3 stick grenades to take out the jeep. However, I was only able to throw one as I was shot and wounded, shortly after the rest of the German forces surrendered as we realized all was lost. Andrew attempted to drag me toward the American Medics where they tended to my wounds. After that we were lined up and searched when one of the medics noticed a stick grenade tucked in my boot and I was interrogated to see if I had any other weapons on me. They also found SS Identification papers on Andrew who was originally going to be immediately executed but it was decided that he will be interrogated. After we were searched, we were lined up in a single file line with me in the back of the line and were marched off to the barn where the event ended
Overall, I had an excellent experience at this event, with good weather and a calm breeze there could not have been better weather. Along with other people who are just as passionate about history as I am, it made for a great first event and I encourage anyone who enjoys learning to come to one of these events to experience it firsthand.
