Expanded line-up included new exhibits, vehicles and Hollywood Revue; for photo gallery, click here
PEACHTREE CITY, GA — “Remember Pearl Harbor!” Rosie the Riveter, and Glenn Miller. Experience the sights and sounds of the Greatest Generation when the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Dixie Wing hosts the eighth annual “WWII Heritage Days” April 30-May 1, 2011. The history festival will be held at The Historical Airpower Facility, Atlanta Regional Airport Falcon Field, Peachtree City from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. both days.
The weekend will commence with an Opening Ceremony that pays tribute to The Greatest Generation, as well as recognition of attending World War II veterans. The ceremony will commence Saturday at 11 a.m. and is expected to be one of the largest gatherings of World War II veterans in the state of Georgia this year. Maj. Gen. George Harrison, USAF (ret.) will serve as the keynote speaker.
Honor Flight Conyers will be on hand, promoting their goal of raising funds to send 60 veterans to the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The weekend line-up includes vintage aircraft, period vehicles, education displays, guest speakers and demonstrations, including mock battles between reenactors portraying American and Axis troops. New this year are restored and replica armored vehicles used during the Second World War. Over 100 reenactors, male and female, are expected to attend.
Fayetteville’s Twilight Theater will recreate a 1940s Hollywood Revue under the direction of Creative Director Alison Chambers. 30 performers will impersonate celebrities and recreate musical hits from the 1940s on both days.
“WWII Heritage Days is a community celebration that will entertain and educate the entire family.” said Jim Buckley, CAF Dixie Wing leader. The event draws enthusiasts to Peachtree City from throughout the Southeast.
A weekend highlight is “Keep ‘em Flying,” a WWII-theme hangar dance featuring the Peachtree Jazz Edition and Vintage Vocals, groups that recreate the classic sound of the swing era.
The dance has become known for the large number of swing dancers and history buffs who attend in period attire. Rachel Ferguson Dance Connection and other groups will provide dance lessons and demonstrations. Proceeds from the dance will benefit historic aircraft preservation and “Education Through Living History,” the group’s WWII history program made available to schools and youth groups free of charge.
Sunday morning will begin with a jeep-top religious service familiar to millions of American servicemen during and since the Second World War.
Over the years, the event has become a fixture on the calendar of many organizations, including the Atlanta History Center, FDR’s Little White House, the U.S. Army Signal Corps Museum, Kennesaw State University’s Museum of Holocaust and History Education, Tuskegee Airmen, Five-Oh-First and Kelly’s Zeroes. The Five-Oh-First and Kelly’s are typical of volunteer groups that teach history by wearing uniforms and displaying equipment used by soldiers during the Second World War.
Local schools and civic organizations are also invited to create and display 1940s exhibits. Teachers from Northgate High School and Newnan High School, both in Newnan, use the program’s displays and demonstrations to provide students with a perspective not available in a classroom. Booth Middle School in Peachtree City will host WWII Heritage Days participants on Friday, April 29.
Why turn a flying museum into a living history classroom? “Our goal is to honor the Greatest Generation, the men and women who won the Second World War, by preserving and teaching World War II history,” explained Buckley, who has flown several of group’s aircraft.
WWII Heritage Days is an annual program that promotes education and patriotism. The CAF Dixie Wing is a non-profit education organization that relies on fund-raisers and donations to restore WWII aircraft and teach WWII history.
Suggested donation for “WWII Heritage Days” is $5, children 5 and under admitted free. The public is also asked to bring a canned food item to be donated to the Fayette Samaritans food pantry.
“WWII Heritage Days” will be held rain or shine. Please no pets. Tickets for “Keep ‘em Flying” are $60 at the door. Reserve Tables and Group Discounts are available. For tickets call 678-654-2464. For more information about WWII Heritage Days, please visit www.dixiewing.org or call 678-364-1110.
The Commemorative Air Force is a non-profit organization dedicated to flying and restoring World War II aircraft. Based in Midland, Texas, the organization has over 9,500 members and operates a fleet of over 150 World War II aircraft. www.commemorativeairforce.org.
===========================
While WWII Heritage Days focuses on the soldiers and the home-front from that era, they also pay tribute to the culture of that period with people dressed as entertainers and celebrities from that era. This is accomplished through the hard work and dedication of a lot of people, starting with Alison Chambers, artistic director of Twilight Theatre.
“I was at an event dressed as Marilyn Monroe and one of the organizers of WWII Heritage Days saw me and asked if I could dress as Betty Grable for their event,” Chambers said. She agreed and each year has returned to the event, bringing colleagues from her theater group the last three years. Last year, there were six people dressed as personalities from that era but this year they will have over 20.
“Half of the people are from the theater group and the other half are made up of some newcomers and others who have dressed up at events in Pennsylvania, Chattanooga and others,” Chambers explained. “It’s great to have some new blood.”
The people in costume come up with their own costumes and do a lot of research so that they can converse with visitors and answer questions. Chambers said that while not all of them are dead ringers, some come very close.
“We take it seriously to accurately portray these people,” Chambers said.
In addition to walking around the event and posing for pictures throughout the weekend, they will also put on a USO style show at 2 p.m. each day. The goal is to recreate some iconic 1940s moments and some of the celebrities that will be impersonated will include Bob Hope, Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, Judy Garland, Veronica Lake, Clark Gable, Esther Williams, Carole Lombard, Vivian Leigh, Ava Gardner and the Andrews Sisters.
Chambers is also excited that some of the younger members of her group will dress as Swing Kids, a group of German teens that opposed the Nazi party and acted as a form of underground during World War II. There will also be some people dressed as cigarette girls at the Hangar Dance on Saturday night selling candy cigarettes.
“I love this event,” said Chambers. “I wish I could do it every day. Twilight Theatre is very supportive of our military and we value education. This is just a neat way of combining our love of performing and history.”
Twilight Theatre will present “The Wizard of Oz” at The Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater this summer and “Footloose” at the same venue this fall.
For more information on the group, visit www.twilighttheatre.com.
===========================
Fayette, Coweta students see WWII heritage up close
By BEN NELMS
bnelms@TheCitizen.com
The upcoming World War II Heritage Days events at Falcon Field in Peachtree City are clearly about the men and women who served their country. But the event will also see the participation of a number of middle and high school students from Fayette and Coweta counties.
One of the teachers involved with Heritage Days is Steve Quesinberry, who chairs the Department of History and Social Studies at Newnan High School.
“We encourage all of our history students to attend, but we use students in our WWII and Vietnam War classes to help at the event. Those classes are upper classmen and then have either an extensive knowledge of WWII or a great appreciation for what the veterans of this country have done for us, or both,” Quesinberry explained. “We teach the students the history of WWII in all of our history classes and we give them an opportunity to take an elective centered around that subject. We hope that our students not only will learn an overview of what happened during that time, but that they would have a greater appreciation for our WWII veterans and all veterans in general.
Social studies teacher Sue Mullin at Booth Middle School in Peachtree City also has her students involved in a way where history really does come alive, right inside the classroom.
“The social studies department at J.C. Booth is always looking for innovative ways to make history real for our students,” Mullin said. “A parent put us in contact with several WWII reinactor programs and WWII veterans that are willing to present to students using displays, memorabilia artifacts and real stories from WWII. The students are able to interact with the presenters and are exposed to information that is outside the realm of what can be taught in the classroom. These experiences make it become personal for the student and encourages a sense of pride and patriotism.”
In east Coweta County, Northgate High School U.S. History teacher Jim Rew said he encourages all students to visit the Heritage Day event. A portion of his activities at World War II Heritage Days is to have students produce oral histories of the veterans.
“It’s a way for student to experience first-hand the things about World War II that they can’t get in books. The students get to talk to the people who were actually there and we record oral histories of the veterans’ experiences ” Rew said. “that’s important because we’re losing so many of them now.”
The students often bring their parents to the event, Rew said, adding that the parents, too, find the event compelling.
“Every student raves about the experience,” said Rew.
Quesinberry said Newnan High School encourages students to go to WWII Heritage days because it not only teaches them something about history, but it literally brings the history to life.
“It makes them realize that this stuff is not just words, pictures and questions in a textbook, it is about their grandparents (or great-grandparents), about their neighbor or they old guy that they see on the front row in church,” he said. “History is a story about peoples’ lives and the events in which they find themselves that effect our world today. By bringing this event to life for our students, WWII Heritage Days helps us help the students understand what history is all about. We feel fortunate to live in an area that places such a priority on history and its importance.”
===========================
Schedule of Events
SATURDAY
•0900 WWII Heritage Days Opens
•1100 Opening Ceremony
•1200 Mess Call (Reenactors)
•1300 PTO Skirmish – Marines vs Japanese
•1400 Twilight Theatre USO show
•1530 ETO Skirmish – Allies vs Germans
•1600 WWII Heritage Days Concludes
•1800 “Keep ‘em Flying” 1940’s Hangar Dance Begins
•2300 “Keep ‘em Flying” 1940’s Hangar Dance Concludes
SUNDAY
•0900 Sunday Morning Service
•1200 Mess Call (Reenactors)
•1230 1940s Singer
•1300 ETO Skirmish – Allies vs Germans
•1400 Twilight Theatre
•1530 PTO Skirmish – Marines vs. Japanese
•1600 Retreat / WWII Heritage Days concludes
===========================
WWII Heritage Day Participants
1/SS.Pz.Pi.Bat.1. (1.Pi.Komp)
18.Feld Division (LW)
1st Division (Alabama) Living History Association
30th Infantry Division Reenacted
4th Bersaglieri Italia
6th Cavalry Museum
8th Infantry Reenacted
8th Shidan
Airmen Preservation Society – Southern Wing
Allied Vs. Axis Historical Foundation
American Values Traveling Museum
Anti-Fascist Living History Collective (1936-1945)
Atlanta History Center
BSA Troop 279
Civil Air Patrol Squadron 116
Col F S Kalinowski / 154th WRS
EMC Militaria
Fallshrimjaeger Rgt.6 -FJR.6
Five Oh First
Franklin D. Roosevelt Reenactor
General Douglas MacArthur Reenactor
Georgia State Defense Force
Honor Flight Conyers
Infanterie Regiment IR134
Kelly’s Zeroes: Historical Reenacting Organization
Lt. jg John F. Kennedey Reenacted
Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) Libraries, Fort Benning
Mareitta Marauders
Marine Corps League, Clyde Thomason Detachment 1325
Merrill’s Marauder
Military Vehicle Preservation Association of Georgia
Pathfinder Excursion Squadron/USNSCC
Pearl Harbor Survivor Association
Rachel Ferguson Dance Connection
Rosie The Riveter Association
SHAEF 6th AD
The Twilight Theatre
Tukegee Airmen International, Atlanta Chapter
U.S. Army Signal Corps Museum
University of West Georgia
Witness to War Foundation
