The D-Day invasion sprang to life Saturday at Fort De Soto Park as U.S. and German re-enactors honored the heroes of World War II.
By AMY WIMMER
Published May 25, 2003
[Times photos: Chris Zuppa]
Tom Knox of St. Petersburg runs across the beach at Fort De Soto Park during the second annual World War II Living History event.
Chris Moore of Orlando makes his way through the brush at Fort De Soto Park in St. Petersburg during a re-enactment of the D-Day invasion in Normandy.
ST. PETERSBURG - As dozens of men in World War II-era combat fatigues gathered Saturday at Fort De Soto Park to re-enact the bloody D-Day invasion, a World War II veteran approached.
He walked up to the re-enactors' battalion "captain" and saluted him.
"No, sir," responded "Capt." Scott Campbell, 45, a meter analyst for Tampa Electric Co. "The honor's mine to salute you."
The exchange summed up what many of the re-enactors felt.
"We are here to honor the veterans of World War II," said David Collins, a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy who plays a German group leader in re-enactments. "We re-enact their sacrifice and their victory."
Unlike people who re-enact earlier wars, these re-enactors can connect with the men and women who made the history.
The interactions, however, are becoming more rare, as more than 1,000 World War II veterans die each day, according to the National Funeral Home Directors Association. Today, the average age of World War II veterans is 80.
Soldiers stormed the beach at Normandy (the park's north beach) Saturday morning and overran a German artillery position (the fort) in the afternoon.
Today at noon, they will take another crack at the fort.
Saturday afternoon, Ron Epps, an aircraft mechanic in real life and a member of the 2nd Rangers Battalion in re-enactments, chatted with two World War II veterans.
Morris LeVine and Marcus Bennett, both 77, served together in the 100th Infantry Division but never met until they retired in St. Petersburg.
The men fought in Operation Northwind, which has been called the other Battle of the Bulge, and were pleased that Epps knew its history.
"That battle was just as bad as the Bulge in some ways," Epps said.
"We knew that we had to go," Bennett said, "and we knew what we had to do."
On Saturday, the "soldiers" wore gas mask packs around their necks, carried M-1 Garand rifles and shot blanks at one another.
The hot shells sprayed out of the guns, occasionally grazing spectators, who watched the action from feet away.
"Ready . . . ready . . . go!" Campbell commanded.
Several books and movies produced at the end of the 20th century memorialized the World War II generation, from the men who fought the war to the women who went to work to keep the country running.
Tom Brokaw's 1998 book, The Greatest Generation, was so wildly popular that it spurred follow-up volumes.
Saving Private Ryan is a favorite among the 2nd Rangers, the battalion that sacrificed some of its own to rescue the young private in the movie.
Few appreciate Pearl Harbor, which they say was more about love than wartime.
"These guys were 19 years old," said Juan Suarez, an Orlando doctor in the re-enactors' British 7th Battalion. "They could've been playing baseball, and they're tossing hand grenades."
On Saturday, with just 60 American and 50 German re-enactors, some soldiers did double duty, dying once then getting back on their feet to join the action again minutes later.
"I made a glorious death scene," Collins said, "right in front of the folks."
Unlike other flag-waving holidays such as Veterans Day, which honors all who served the United States in war, the more somber Memorial Day remembers those who died in service to their country.
The holiday takes on new meaning this year, as the nation adds to the list 162 more people to honor.
The re-enactors also want to honor those who made it home, like the man who saluted Campbell on Saturday morning.
"To me, he's the hero," he said. "We're just taking advantage of what he did for us."
If you go
The World War II re-enactment will continue today with a flag-raising ceremony at 11:30 a.m., followed by a battle at noon at the fort at Fort DeSoto Park south of St. Petersburg off the Pinellas Bayway. Admission is free.
