For German units: http://members.shaw.ca/deutschesoldaten/ http://www.lssah.com/frames.htm This unit has links to all the best sites on the web I think In the UK: http://www.drhg.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ A unit I know quiet well www.kompanie1.co.uk My unit Now for the request, I was thinking that maybe to get things going on this forum we could get some brief articles on our 'impressions' posted. These could give information about the particular kit we carry, stories about the 'character' we portray, what roles we fill in battle and so on. I do 2 impressions normally, SS sturmman in an ordinary infantry platoon and SS sturmpioneer. I will try to get an article up on one of those ASAP, if anyone has a particular interest in one of them please let me know.
Sounds like a good idea! I portray a combat medic (not litter bearer or aid station). Most of the medics seemed to be T/Cpls, so that's what I do, although I don't wear rank. With William, we do Co. E, 47th Inf. Regt., 9th Div. This impression is of interest to me because my uncle was in this reg., and my grandpa was a medic. So, I do it right. I'm not one of those guys who just does a medic until he can afford an M-1. As for my kit - well, my rough-out boots are repros. I (we) wear original EVERYTHING else, including socks, boxers, and undershirt (although I must admit my original undershirt is still on it's way in the mail). The only alteration is that I've added 9th division patches and I've re-painted my helmet with green and two medic red crosses. I painted the insignia according to the most common pattern that I see in photos, and from vet interviews (there were no all encompassing rules for medic crosses). We got the green paint mixed from, I believe, an original helmet. Another guy in the group gave me the mix number. I wear the dogtags of two different guys, so if I ever get knocked out, the authorities won't think that I'm actually "Baker" (although you'd think the T43 might give it away). I've got a pistol belt with two canteens on the rear, a t-handle, my own first aid packet (yes, even medics often had that carlisle pouch to be used on themselves if they were wounded) and the expandable medic pouch on each side. All of this is held up by the medic yoke. This is not the official way to wear it, but the most common I see in period photos and what one medic told me that he did. My bags are both filled with original medical items with the exception of one repro morphine box. I carry the three snap gasmask bag filled with rations, extra underwear, toiletries, and extra smokes. I usually have smokes, a zippo, and a spoon in one shirt pocket. All of my pockets are usually filled with something or another. Oh, and I wear a scarf made of parachute silk, as we've heard quite a few vets comment on doing that. Like I said before, I grow out a beard for aboout a week before an event, and I don't change or take off my boots or anything for the duration. We've cooked in our helmets a few times so they are all black on top. And again, I typically "wash" my stuff once a year, but I don't have a bathtub in my new place, so I guess I'll go on 2 years without a wash.
Oh, as for my first person background, I"m pretty lucky. I just use my grandpa's pre-war and stateside story (except I'm not married.)
Okay, my turn. As Doc Raider mentioned, we do Company E, 47th Infantry, 9th Division. My area of interest is the summer months of 1944. My place during battle is a general, run of the mill rifleman. Uniform wise I wear a helmet, blackened as mentioned by Doc. On the helmet I have netting, and in the helmet I carry a V-Mail form, a pack of K-Ration toilet paper, and a pack of K-Ration Chesterfields. After my wife and I have our baby, I'm hoping to get a b/w shot of the two of them, in '40's clothing, to carry around up there. Under the helmet I have a well used jeep cap. Next to the skin I have boxers, tank top, and socks. Next layer is a wool shirt with Division insignia, and in the pockets I have smokes, a Zippo, a stubby pencil, sometimes a spoon, and my wallet (carrying French money, a Red Cross card/calender, and some photos). Depending on my mood, my trousers are a muddy and field repaired pair of wools, or a muddy and stained pair of HBT fatigues. Outside of that is my well mended '41 Field Jacket, rough out boots (reproductions) and leggings, with the cuffs of my trousers bloused over them using condoms. My dog tags by the way are reproduction, using my name, but I had them made first name, MI, then last name, so they never get mistaken for originals. Being the type of person that doesn't like to get rid of anything, I carry around most of what would have been issued to me-my M1928 haversack is stuffed with an extra undershirt, underwear, and socks, along with a towel. The T-handle shovel and cover is in it's proper spot, along with the mess kit. Instead of a bayonet, I carry a rifle cleaning kit in it's place. This is buckled to the cartridge belt, which has a first aid kit and canteen/cup attached. I carry my blanket over my shoulder in a hobo roll. Off my left hip I have the 3 button gasmask bag, stuffed with rations, smokes, and 1938 Argoflash camera, candles, bore patches, and a Yank magazine. As for first person, I was born in 1913 (yeah, little old for a GI) in Decatur, Indiana, attended Pleasant Mills High School (and working at the local library for extra spending cash), then went to Ball State Teacher's College where I studied History. That is also where I met my wife (a teacher). I worked in a museum as a Natural Science curator until Uncle Sam drafted me in November of '42. Left the States in December '44, arriving in England right after the 9th Division did, and duly assigned to them in anticipation for service on the Continent. There is probably more, but I'm tired from typing
Oh, another thing we got lucky with - we all found lots of original boot dubbing, so even if our boots have to be repro, at least they're smothered in original dubbing.
Well as a Sturmman I tend to lead a section or half section of grenadiers depending on the number in attendance. I earned my rank, I didnt just stick it on my uniform for no reason (unlike certain other people I could name, a lot of units are very easy going about promotions etc). I wear standard field greys (the short M44 tunic and M43 trousers) and standard field gear over the top. I sometimes carry an assault pack with spare socks and a shirt in a bag, normally though I just carry some food in my bread bag. I am still after a decend (filled in) soldbusch and ID tag. I sometimes wear a pair of Italian camoflague overalls (in summer as they are cool and I dont have to wear anything much underneath) or a pair of scruffy camo trousers and a burred edge smock at others. Oh and i chop and change between a grey ADF shirt and a yellow french tropical shirt (the same as the classic 'brownshirt'). The pioneer impression is being worked on, I have grenades which I can carry in either my 'grenade bags', which are 'field made' out of two old sandbags or in my pioneers pouches. I also have a set of mine flags in a pouch. I am currently sorting out other kit and the rest of the section. I will write more when I get it sorted more. The first person impression for each is the same, the name is Stefan Zaum, from a town in the Hunsruch. Born in 1926 son of Paul Zaum of the same unit, joined the HJ and then the 12th SS straight out of school.
That is a good point about rank. None of us in our group carry any sort of rank. Private First Class or Private. With the exception of Doc, who has a Technical rating. If we fall in with another group we do a lot of events with, one of their numbers is a Corporal. That's about as good as we get. We're just the typical-looking GI's. Or try to be.
Our unit has a fair few NCO's because we are too large not to have them. Some are NCO's through the feldgendarm section, these ranks only apply when in FG uniform and is partly for realism (most FG had rank) and partly to give them some authority when manageing the security etc at events. The rest of the ranks are 'earned' through an attendance system, essentially when a position is opened people can apply for it and the one with the best attendance record gets the rank. Thus the system is fair and not open to favouritism, however there is another, unofficial level. Basically because the unit is completly voluntary many people actually feel they can ignore NCO's, so basically if someone is a waste of space their rank means little, they only follow NCO's they feel safe with. Not realistic but better than other units I feel because it means that fewer of the lap dogs get promoted. Not perfect though. A lot of our members do not go for rank (my brothers and father for example) preferring to remain a grenadier. I am used to following the orders of NCO's courtesy of cadets, however I got fed up of following some of the muppets we had and went for rank myself, makes life much easier. Otherwise I doubt I would go for a rank, its just nice to be able to do what I think should be done rather than what certain other people would prefer.
