){kind=link}
[NoHo Arts District, CA] – Active World Journeys travel blog: It’s D-Day on the Shores of Lake Erie
Every August on the shores of Lake Erie in Conneaut, Ohio is one of the largest D-Day reenactments in the world. Forty thousand spectators come out over the weekend to watch 4,000 re-enactors perform as British, American and German troops battling it out as if it were June of 1944 on the beaches of Normandy, France. (Spoiler alert: The Allies win every year.)
The guests of honor that come to the event are actual veterans of WWII, but as each year goes by since the inception of the event in 1999, the number of those veterans from this greatest generation that make it out gets smaller and smaller. I had an opportunity to sit down and chat with a few of them that attended the 2022 D-Day Conneaut. They are living history and a real connection between the fight for freedom against fascism in the past and the lifestyle we get to enjoy today because of their bravery and sacrifice.
My first interview was with George Coler, age 95. He was only 16 years old when he enlisted to fight in WWII, and his parents had to sign off on it. He went into the Navy and served on the U.S.S. Provo Victory, which hauled 8,500 rounds of ammunition that was sunk and raised at Pearl Harbor. He told a funny story of how his Captain always scorned him for having a camera that he was always taking pictures with (it would have been state of the art in that day), but then one day the captain sheepishly asked him to borrow the camera for a personal engagement he was attending. George also told me that in his mind the real heroes of the war were the women back home who made the supplies for the troops serving in the war.
Next, I had a chance to sit down with Ernie Laslow. He’s 100 years old. He was a gunner of a .50 caliber machine gun turret on a Deuce-and-a-Half truck and shot down a German ME109 plane. He was in several major battles in the war including Normandy, Northern France, The Bulge (Belgium), Central Europe, and Rhinelands. One time in Marseille, France he and some of the guys from his unit were in an abandoned chateau and German soldiers tried to make a surprise attack, so he and his buddies jumped on a toboggan and escaped by sledding down the Alps mountains. Ernie was one of five brothers who joined the service, all of whom managed to come home safely. He said that there are some nice memories he has from the war including the French civilians who were very friendly toward Americans and sometimes brought out bottles of wine for the soldiers. Even most of the German civilians were friendly, particularly the children, he told me. Just a couple of weeks after Ernie returned home from the war, his neighbor’s house caught on fire. He could hear a little baby crying up on the second floor, so he grabbed his ladder and ran over and rescued the baby from the burning house. Ernie’s daughter told me the baby (who is now obviously an adult) will be reunited with Ernie in the next few months. Ernie wants everyone to know that the secret to longevity is to keep moving and walking.
And it was an honor and a pleasure to meet 97-year-old Ila Cole. Towards the end of the war, she joined WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). She was shipped off to New York City for two months of boot camp. At the end of the boot camp, her unit traveled by subway to Yankee Stadium and performed at one of the ball games. She eventually became a Specialist (V’s) flight attendant (imilar to commercial flight attendants) for the Navy. She worked mainly on 4-propeller RFD planes, which transported servicemen from Moffett Field in California to John Rogers Naval Air Station in Honolulu for R&R. The trip took about 12 hours. Some planes she worked on even were transporting wounded servicemen.
I had a thrill of a lifetime at D-Day Conneaut as I got to fly in a C-47 WWII plane called the “Whiskey 7” or “W-7” for short. It was taking eventgoers on short rides along the coast of Lake Erie over Conneaut all weekend. It was the actual lead plane in the second wave which dropped the paratroopers over Normandy, France on D-Day in June of 1944. It was so incredibly exhilarating and awesome to fly in her; in fact, the year 1944 seemed to come back to life as I imagined the brave young soldiers preparing to jump into the unknown in WWII from her comforting fuselage. I did get a little emotional on this ride of a lifetime.
After the weekend D-Day Conneaut event was over I had a chance to go down to the beach and meet with some of the tank operators/re-enactors. They were operating a 1942 MCAI Stuart Tank. They take it to about four events per year and are privately funded. It takes a 4-man crew to operate the Stuart Tank and it was the type of tank that Patton had utilized in Tunisia in WWII. These guys were a special breed and had a lot of fun doing what they do you could tell.
Someday soon, the news of the day will be that the last remaining living WWII veteran has passed away. Of the 16 million American service members who fought in World War II, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs expects less than 170,000 are still alive here in 2022. I believe the stories from this generation are important for America to draw upon for our future. Let’s make sure to do everything we can to show the WWII veterans that are still with us appreciation and gratitude for a job well done. The annual D-Day Conneaut has volunteer and sponsor opportunities here: https://www.ddayohio.us/support.html
Cheers,
Jack Witt, MS, CPT
Fitness and Health Coach
Individuals / Groups / Corporate
310.562.5629 Cell / 818.760.3891 Main
Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn / YouTube
10-Day Classic Morocco Tour – April 2023 – Click Here
Paperback or E-Book “Fitness and Anti-Aging Secrets” Click here