A 101st Airborne Division Day in Brussels , Monday The 21st 
of July 2003. Place: Brussels Kapelle markt ================================================= Introduction: ================================================= Today on the national celebration of the Belgian Revolution (the Belgian independence day) and nowadays also celebration day of the liberation of Belgium. A small group of re-enactors of the Belgian chapter of the 1Oth Co 101 st Abn Div.was present on the Brussels " Kapelle markt " Market place to remember the US Paratroopers once present in Belgium during the first liberation days of September 1944 and mostly during those hard winter days from December 1944 till January 1945 in BASTOGNE and the other areas of the Belgian Ardennes fighting the Battle of the Bulge, where many of them died. But not only this episode of the war was remembered by this group, they mostly remembered the boys who came from the sky in Normandy during the night of the 5th to the morning of the 6th June 1944, morning of the Normandy beach landings, known by the troopers as the night of nights. Trying to remember that day and bringing back a picture of the past by building a base camp where troopers of the 101st Abn Div. were brotherly assembled with soldiers of the US 1st infantry division the famous BIG RED ONE, that landed on OMAHA Beach.
On the side wall of the Kapelle Church a mannequin representing and remembering private John Steele member of the 82nd Airborne division who hung on the tower of the church of Sainte Mère eglise during the first hours of the Normandy droppings.
The group members builded a tent camp in which they spent the night from the 20th of July to the 21st of July, living like American soldiers and reenacting the living of the soldiers during those days of the 2nd World War, giving a picture of the way of living the allied soldiers encountered in their tent camps all over Europe. The head goal of this exhibition was in fact the showing of the uniforms, trucks and other materials used during World War 2,a well-filled and prepared exhibition.
The re-enactors were wearing the right uniforms for the period they were representing, the jump jackets and pants the troopers were wearing on June 1944,the famous model 42 jump gear, were exact copy’s coming straight from the war, no defaults were observed. For the first time a re-enactors group showed a variety of all soldiers and grades who fought the war, it was not a mass collection of officers and noncoms, privates were also present. To make the all thing realistically real every hour some members formed a patrol en left camp marching on like the US soldiers did. The military police did his job to, checking the incoming visitors so they all could get a closer look on the well-copied and even real WW2 uniforms. The collection of jeeps, ambulances and trucks shown on the exhibition were great.
In fact the group is famous for this collection. The trucks, ambulances and jeeps were kept of from destruction, restored and rebuild, not a single detail was missed. All of them are authentic world war two issues, restored in there formal outfit colors and wearing there exact world war two license-and serial numbers and all still riding. The visitors loved them and many pictures were taken for souvenirs. A little ride with them was made possible and many tours with the trucks and jeeps were made. Who say's we don't love the American soldiers anymore? Some of us still do and will still go on to show the US military past to the public. No use to tell again that the arms were correct and well preserved, even some jump adapted M1 's were shown to the public. Even some parts of the inflatable bridges used by the US engineers were exhibited. The tents the beds even the field kitchen looked like they were taken out of a 1944 picture. Field hospital tents and medics were also present, in same time as parachutes and parachuted containers and a radio command post with an authentic US WW2 operations radio with field antenna.
What I saw was a great exhibition, well organized and with no errors in uniforms and materials, all in the tradition of re-enactors associations nowadays. I simply loved it, being a 101 fan and re-enactor myself. I lived a great Currahee!! Day.
SGT EAGLE /Belgium
Pictures : 60th Anniversary of D-Day
