Local war re-enactors keep our military history alive and well

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Dave Nolan, Civil War re-enactor with the 1st Illinois Light Artillery, poses for a photo at his home in Naperville on Tuesday, July 5, 2011. | Corey R. Minkanic~For Sun-Times Media

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Updated: July 15, 2011 2:00PM

Reliving World War II:
‘There is a time to die’

Tom Comer, 51, grew up in Aurora and plays a World War II German soldier in battles across the country. Comer’s German club meets weekly in the Fox Valley to work on their uniform and equipment, which includes trucks, tanks and cannons.

He only half-jokingly calls it the ultimate live action role playing game for military historians.

“The one thing that all re-enactors look for is the history trip,” he said. “It’s the feeling you get that you’re really there. You look around and see nothing modern around you. It’s almost like déjà vu. It’s way better than any video game.”

What is your name and rank?

Tom Comer, tank commander, 2nd Kompanie, 38.Panzerjaeger Abteilung, 2nd Panzer Division.

How did you get started in this?

“My father was a gun buff, a gun collector. Naturally, I was interested in firearms. He had some German weapons and I was enamored with the way they were made because it seemed like they were just better made.

“With my dad, I used to play Army. You know, stuff you do when you’re a kid. Eventually, I was collecting the stuff. My goal was to put together a whole uniform.

“I didn’t really do anything about it until 1983 when I saw an ad for a unit in the Chicago area here and thought I’d join up. I’ve been doing it ever since.”

How often are you going out?

“About five times a year. I don’t go to every battle. I could but I don’t. I’m married and have kids. My wife, she lets me do about that many.”

She knew about all this when she met you?

(Laughing) “That was part of the whole package. If she didn’t like this, that was it.”

How do you buy a tank?

“Believe it or not, there are people who do sell this stuff. A couple of the half-tracks we have up on the hill there, they came from England. They de-militarize them. They cut the panels out. This truck here and another truck, they were at a lawn and garden shop in Pennsylvania.”

So what do you do at the battles?

“Generally, we set up an encampment with German tents made out of ponchos, four of them buttoned together. We’ll usually have a campfire, cooking our meals. One of our guys has an original German field kitchen. He cooks all the original meals, all the original recipes. I eat better at battles than at home.

“We’ll usually have two battles a day. The first scenario, we’ll get everybody out there and we’ll have all the commanders. It’s rehearsed. You can’t put on something that big without planning.

“There will be pyrotechnics. Generally, they’ll bring in a fireworks company to actually lay in charges. They’ll set charges up for the tanks, when you get blown up.

“Usually, the Germans lose. Not always. But usually.

“There’s guys from all walks of life. There’s veterans, there’s lawyers. One guy’s a place kicker on a semi pro football team.”

“When you join the unit, you start off as a private. In fact, you start off with a year’s probationary period. You have a year to get all your equipment together. Once you’re in, you’re in, unless you really screw up. We don’t tolerate any kind of political grandstanding. If somebody starts giving the Nazi salute, they’re out. We’ve had to run a couple guys out. They join for the wrong reasons. They thought they were joining a Nazi club.

“There’s nothing political about us. We all realize that Hitler was a mad man. We consider the German soldier to be as much a victim of the Nazis as anyone else. We’re realists. A lot of the German soldiers, fought for Hitler. A lot of them believed in Hitler. Most of them were not enthusiastic soldiers. Most of them were conscripted, just like everyone else.”

So how do you decide who dies in the battle?

“Usually, it’s kind of a see-saw battle. We don’t usually have people just die and lay there because of all the artillery. Sometimes there will be lanes: this is where you go to die. And there is a time to die. It’s all about safety and putting on a good show.”

Reliving the Civil War:

‘Some of my best friends are the Confederates’

Naperville resident Dave Nolan spent July 3 marching in the Bartlett Lions Club Independence Day with Chicago Light Artillery, a re-enactment organization that keeps the memory of the 1st Regiment Illinois Volunteer Light Artillery — Battery A alive.

Nolan has always been a history buff and majored in it at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh. He is retired from what was the Amoco Corp., now BP, and joined CLA six years ago.

Nolan, 72, portrays a Civil War corporal in the unit and is a safety officer for CLA.

CLA is know for its re-enactments. When the re-enactments take place, not only the weapons used are meant to reflect the Civil War-era, but so are the other aspects of a solider’s life.

Sometimes the Union wins the re-enactment battles, sometimes the Confederates, just like the Civil War itself. And everyone remembers that it’s just a re-enactment among friends and history buffs. And when the re-enactment ends and the public has gone home, members of CLA relax and reflect and the conveniences of modern life return.

Nolan and CLA are finishing up a
two-day event today (July 10) as part of Lake County Discovery Museum’s Civil War Days at Lakewood Forrest Preserve in Wauconda.

The CLA website is batterya.org.

What re-enactments have you participated in recently?

“We go to Bartlett every year. It’s a mile-and-a-half parade.”

What purpose do the re-enactments fulfill?

“It’s about educating the public on events that happened 100, 200 years ago.”

What is your role with Chicago Light Artillery?

“I check the side arms, the weapons to be used to make sure no one gets hurt. There’s danger involved with black powder (for the CLA’s cannons) and you have to make sure no sparks are flying, that there’s no volatility around it.”

Beyond the battles, how else do you make the re-enactments realistic?

“We cook with an open fire. Food in a pot, like stews.”

What is the battle re-enactment atmosphere like?

“We don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. There are no hard feelings. Some of my best friends are the Confederates.”

Reliving the
Revolutionary War:

‘You can see it, touch it,
and smell it’

Raised in a family of war re-enactors, Shelby Hauck said he can’t imagine life without participating in the animated events he calls “living history.”

But the 26-year-old Huntley resident decided to make his own mark for the past decade, splitting off from his parents’ hobby of portraying the French-Indian War to focus on the American Revolution.

Hauck is a member of the Cook County-based Northwest Territory Alliance, which studies and re-creates the culture, lifestyle and arts of the Revolutionary War era, 1775 to 1783.

Name and rank?

“During Revolutionary War battles, I portray Capt. William Butler of the 1st Continental Light Dragoons.”

When and where do the re-enactments take place?

“The NTA has 25 units portraying different regiments, with events taking place in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana, spring through fall. I do about eight re-enactments per year.”

How much does it cost to be a re-enactor?

“Start-up costs can be as much as $3,000 for the uniform, musket, tent, and other clothing and accessories.”

What does your family think about your hobby?

“My parents do re-enactments and my wife, too.”

Why do you do this?

“War re-enactments offer a history lesson like no other. You can see it, touch it, and smell it. People research each character in depth and their individual fight for the Revolution.”

What would you like to see changed?

“The NWTA is struggling to find new members, possibly due to start-up costs.”

What is offered for those interested?

“Anyone can participate for free once without membership or any cost.”