I'm not really a reenactor, but Erin and I (Pat) dance the Lindy Hop, so we've spent some money on replica clothing and dress the part. Here we are in Westminster, MD at a hangar dance.
While there, I got to meet Dulias Gottfried.
I've met many WWII vets and children of vets at these types of events. They are always enjoyable to attend.
My interest in WWII began when I was in high school and I've studied a lot about the war in Europe, both US and German, but there is always more to learn. Thankfully, Erin and I visited Europe 3 years ago, rented and RV, and drove from Normandy to Berchtesgaden, visiting many important war sites along the way. She was a good sport, even though she got tired of seeing bunkers in Normandy. But, I spent the most time in one spot there, as I was really drawn to the area. We met some others from the US at the Luxembourg cemetery who grew up just a few miles north of where I was born (small world). We hiked the Kall Trail in the Huertgen Forest. We camped on the ground of site of the Nuremberg Rally. The snow wasn't cleared from the Eagle's Nest in time, however, when we were there. It was an awesome 2 weeks. We did it alone (no tour guides) and many of the sights we saw were based on memory over the years of study.
Link to my post on Geo. Jackson 326th AEB
Superb images and story to match. I love the period clothing and your account of meeting various vets and of course the trip to Europe. I am drooling with envy.
I keep dreaming of following my dad's footsteps in the ETO, and won't give up... Someday...
Thank you Marion! Please make time for this trip. We did it by RV and paid probably $20 more per day than it would have cost to rent a car and get rooms, but we had the flexibility and freedom to go where we wanted to. Campgrounds are in every town in France, and the signs that point them out are attached to the same signs that point you in the direction to the next town. So, it's so easy to find a place to stay. We got a book that showed the locations of campgrounds and we needed that for Germany, as they are not that big into camping as the French. We learned a little German and French before we went and it helped us get a lot of respect from the locals.
I always thought that I'd never make it to Europe. My Girlfriend and I were invited to a friend's wedding in Strasbourg, France. We made the trip after she told me "I just want to go to the wedding and see one particular sight, but if you want to see anything else, go for it!" So, I took all those years of learning and put them to use. That poor girl was drug all over Europe to see many WWII related sights but it was enjoyable for both of us to experience together. I programmed the GPS with the places I wanted to go, and everything fell into place. It was shocking how pulling up to a site, I remembered it from black and white photos, and it all fell into place.
I had a unique surprise, some German writing was on the wall at one emplacement on the Normandy Beach. And in another, I remember the GPS having me turn onto Grossestrasse in Nuremberg. That's the VERY wide road built by the Germans that runs the length of their party grounds. I didn't know that my campground was actually on the site. When I made the turn, my jaw hit the floor. I remembered how wide it was from pictures, how the road was built from individual blocks, etc. I could barely get out the words that I knew this place. After parking, we walked to the different places on the grounds from memory.
Here are the pictures I took and some videos as well. I have a lot of work to do. I never finished putting captions on all the photos I took, and I never finished editing the videos I took there. Life got in the way, ha! But, I want to make this happen as I have a lot of it that I want to make available.
My WWII Picasaweb Photo Album
My WWII YouTube Page
Great pictures here and on Picasa (I've only yet gone through the Hürtgen). I would love to get stationed there giving me three years to explore, but there aren't many Marine positions open in Europe. 
Thanks! I know what you mean. During my 4 years in the Army, I saw the East Coast of the US (SC, MA and MD). All my friends were deployed and came back. I got used to hearing "You're still here?" But, I was lucky enough to be close to home and got to see my mom a lot. She passed away from cancer shortly after I ETS'd.
I just read about Dulias - fascinating story. Sure glad he survived and is still here to tell his story. How wonderful you got to meet him in person.
I still have to check out your other photos, etc. Trust me, I will get around to it later today. I am still trying to get through all the email I received last night and this morning, and all the new posts on the site.
Like Marion said, I think it is a dream for a lot of us to go through Europe, following the steps of our fathers and grandfathers. I know I have wanted to do the same. I was on a European tour when I was in high school and visited many of the places my grandfather was, unfortunately I was too young to realize the importance of it all and too young to know to start asking my grandfather about everything.
I especially like your then and now photographs. Where did you find the photographs from WWII and did you have them with you on the trip so you could see what angles the photographs were taken from?
Great job!
brian
I echo the above. Finally had a chance to view both the photos and the video. Many thanks for sharing those with all of use. Nice job. Gave us a good feel for the lay of the land.
Thanks for the nice comments! Sometimes, at famous war sites in France, they have signs posted with pictures of the way it looked during the war, which is true in St. Mere Eglise, for example. For other locations, I found the WWII photos from random places on the 'net. For example, Googling Zeppelin Field, I found many Nuremberg rally photos and copied them to my Picasa album after I discovered I had the same shot. I took a ton of pics at Nuremberg and it's not because I'm more fascinated with the Germans but that this is the only architecture in Germany that is obviously related to that time in Europe. The Germans tore a lot of stuff down and I expect this stuff to be knocked down sometime in the future. I didn't take any pictures of WWII Europe with me to avoid the risk of getting into a bind. In Germany, especially, there are many laws over there forbidding Nazi symbols or anything that may make you look like a Neo-Nazi. It's not worth it to openly hold up a photograph to eye up a shot. So, I based everything from memory and just asked my girlfriend Erin to take a picture. Maybe I'd get lucky like I did in front of the Eiffel! I knew where the Germans were standing and I stood in a spot and had Erin take the picture. Same with Paris, I remember pictures of troops marching, so I tried just stood in the area where the cameraman might have been back then. It wasn't until I came back to the US that I realized it was the same spot.
Here's something I'll share with the forum. I didn't want to put it in the web album for fear I'd get tagged as a freak. 
Now, imagine standing in a not so famous spot, asking the person your with to "stand over there and take a picture" then coming home to the US and realizing it was an exact angle of a picture in a book... Link to the photo. No lie, I didn't force this to happen!
Now those last two photos were SOMETHING else. No, I don't think anyone here would call you a FREAK. I look at it this way; every war has at least two sides. There would not have been a war, if not for him, so how can you only show one side of it. Makes no sense.
The only times THAT becomes a problem, is when people glorify the Nazis. No one here is glorifying, rather just recalling historical facts. Big difference.
