[Milsurplus] Bomber Crew Fantasy Camp

[Mike Hanz]

Well said, Bill.  I should also remind folks that Taigh Ramey, who has 
done an incredible amount of work to put together these experiences for 
others to enjoy, is a valued contributor to this and the ARC-5 group.  I 
had the pleasure of working with him on the Enola Gay, and a finer 
gentleman I could not hope to meet.  He is, as Bill mentioned, very 
serious about accuracy.  But in the final analysis, it's all about 
having fun and enjoying yourself.

   - Mike

On 9/18/2015 5:24 PM, Bill Carns wrote:
> Never having done this, I will - though - venture an opinion.
>
> There is a big difference between a "Pretender" and a person just wanting to "Feel" the historical experience.
>
> Being a pilot, and sharing a love for aircraft, I think I would love to "experience" the smells and the sounds and feeling of this camp.  I have been involved with seeing and sharing the presence of the older war heroes as they age and come back for "one more ride" and it is way cool to see them flash back and smile at the experience.
>
> We should not be too fast to judge the motives of those that get an opportunity to have this experience.
>
> And, Thanks for sharing the link.  I am familiar with some of this company's work and they are nutso for accuracy.  I commend them - it is a lot of work.
>
> Bill
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Milsurplus [mailto:milsurplus-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Joe Connor via Milsurplus
> Sent: Friday, September 18, 2015 3:56 PM
> To: Hue Miller <kargo_cult at msn.com>; armyradios at yahoogroups.com; milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Bomber Crew Fantasy Camp
>
> Thanks for the link. That is interesting.
> 1. How does the concept of a fantasy camp strike everyone? Frankly, it makes me a little uneasy. I know that we have fantasy camps for baseball fans (e.g., Mantle and Whitey Ford used to run one for Yankee fans) and for fans of certain bands (e.g., the Kingston Trio runs one every year), but I've never been interested. To me, it's like re-enacting. I love to study history and I love to work on the old radios, but I think it's crossing the line to try to pretend to be in the service in WWII.
> 2. The age thing is funny. Weight is also an issue. The book "Confederates in the Attic" discusses both vis-a-vis the re-enactors. In the Civil War, the soldiers were young and, from all the exertion and the lousy food, skinny. Most of the re-enactors are middle-aged and many are plump. The irony is that the re-enactors, who strive for historical accuracy in everything, are inaccurate on their basic physical appearance.
>
> Joe Connor
>
>
>       On Friday, September 18, 2015 3:55 PM, Hue Miller <kargo_cult at msn.com> wrote:
>     
>   
>
>   If you've not already seen this article, you might want to go to http://www.twinbeech.com/ and select the topic that’s in the subject field above.  This is one of the damn wildest things I have ever seen ( adjectives fail me ) and the photography is wonderful.
>
> The only reservations I had was when I saw the lineup of recruits. Kind of reminded me of the Volksturm, when the Reich was scraping the barrel and arming even older retirees. Alas, I have to judge myself in that same demographic.
> -Hue Miller