World War II Days - Lockport, IL - 2017-09-10: Polish Soldiers

[RandyRFJP]

1. Polish (& American) Forces



2. Polish Forces: Shell Casing Earplug



3. Polish Forces: Waiting to Charge



4. Polish Soldier with Bren MK2 Machine Gun



5. Polish Soldier with STEN Submachine Gun with Horizontal Magazine



C&C is always welcomed, as are any corrections to my labels of the photos.

[rpcrowe]

Nice captures. I'd love to have the opportunity to shoot that type of event.

[Shadowman]

Nice series, seems to be missing the necessary smoke filled environment though.

[RandyRFJP]

Nice captures. I'd love to have the opportunity to shoot that type of event.

Thanks, Richard, for viewing and commenting on the post. I have some other photos of the event that I intend to post after post-processing the better photos. I would be surprised if there aren't military reenactments somewhere close to you in California. The one I attended in Lockport, IL is held every year at a large park (Dellwood Park). The reenactors camp-out overnight on a Friday, have two different battles on Saturday, camp out over Saturday night, have two battles on Sunday, and then pack-up and leave until next year. Free parking for visitors, and only a $3 voluntary donation to attend. They also have vendors who set-up booths and sell vintage and reproduction WW2 military items, a baseball game played by women (because a large percentage of the men were in the military), an Andrews Sisters "cover group" singing songs of the era, etc. I've also been to a Revolutionary War Reenactment in Wheaton, IL. It's well done, but it lacks the "action" of the WW2 reenactment. I know there is a Civil War reenactment in Princeton, IL, but I've never been to it; my plan is to attend it this coming year. With you being a veteran and an accomplished photographer, I'm reasonably sure you would be welcomed both by the reenactors and by the venue to photograph any military reenactment you might wish to attend in California.

Lastly, here's a photo I took of what I think to be the "official" photographer for the event, dressed in a camouflage Ghillie suit:

[RandyRFJP]

Nice series, seems to be missing the necessary smoke filled environment though.

Thanks, John, for viewing the post and your comment. I haven't processed photos from the "second" battle; perhaps there are some smoke-filled ones in that group. I did take the following sequence of two photos, one of which contains what might be orange-colored smoke. My guess, however, is that it might represent fire, rather than smoke.

American medic removing injured soldier from the battlefield, while Axis soldiers are surrendering in the background after being over-run by allied forces:



Weary US medic after carrying wounded soldier off the battlefield:

[lovelife65]

Nice series Randy. Very interesting. I can’t imagine being involved in a real battle like either of these.
My favorite in the series is actually the very last photo of the weary medic. His expression is captured well and tells a good story.

[Shadowman]

Randy,

Nice follow up images, the weary soldier does it for me as well. Love the smoke filed scene also.

[RandyRFJP]

Nice series Randy. Very interesting. I can’t imagine being involved in a real battle like either of these.
My favorite in the series is actually the very last photo of the weary medic. His expression is captured well and tells a good story.

Thanks, Sharon. I'm glad you liked the series of photos. I, too, can't imagine what a real battle would be like.

[RandyRFJP]

Randy,

Nice follow up images, the weary soldier does it for me as well. Love the smoke filed scene also.

John, thank you for your kind comment. I'm glad I had a "good," somewhat smoky capture to post!