D-Day Conneaut, Ohio
- Book Signing Event – August 16-17,
2013 - Overview
This was the first time I participated in such a large
Living Historical WW2 event - D-Day, in Conneaut,
Ohio, overlooking the beautiful bluffs and
beaches of Lake Erie.
I portrayed Fraulein Dieter, troop leader of Landjahr Lager based upon
my book “Through Innocent Eyes – The Chosen Girls of the Hitler Youth.” Over 20,000 spectators came to watch over
1000 re-enactors commemorate the 69th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy.
It started on Friday morning with the flag raising ceremony
in the center main field and the Sherman
tanks firing over the upper eastern bluff.
The event continued with the flag raising ceremony by the Memorial Wall
and by noon with the WWII Veteran's
private lunch. All day long, rides were being given on the Higgins Boats, which
would later be used by the soldiers the next day for the beach invasion. I felt
a deeper sense of connection with our soldiers who used similar boats to invade
the beaches in Normandy, and
those who had lost their lives. As people were mingling around both camps, and
talking with the re-enactors, bombers and planes were flying overhead and the
Road to Victory Battle took place at mid-park on Grove
St. The
ladies were enjoying their morning tea and fashion/makeup class and show, as
the vintage vehicles were lining up in the lower pavilion. This was followed by
the open house at the future D-Day Museum
at the church (corner of Lake Rd
and Harbor St.)
The following day, the Veterans told their personal stories
as the Allied and Axis camps once again welcomed the tours. I was in the German PX selling my book
"Through Innocent Eyes." I
received many warm welcomes from my readers who stopped by for an autograph
first print edition copy and speak with me.
In the afternoon, I had to move my table behind the PX before the
Marquis attack/La Fiere-Bridge Battle
begun in the lower park.
As I stood up on the hill, thousands of rounds of blank
ammunition went off, with the thunderous roar of the tanks gaining control of
the bridge. As the narrator explained
the event over the loudspeaker, the men were fighting and vying for
control. Some 'played dead' as others
continued to fight. I was impressed with
their re-enacting skills for one soldier jumped over the creek and landed right
smack in the middle. As he crawled out,
his body was covered with mud. Another
was shot in the neck and fell helplessly to the ground. Tears slowly started running down my cheeks
when I watched the soldier grabbed his neck, pretending to hold back the blood
as it was gushing out from his neck, draining the life force from his body. His
body rolled back and forth from side to side until it slowed and stopped. His
arms went limp alongside his body and he was (play) dead. I got chills only to
think about our soldiers on the beach sixty-nine years ago, and how the
sacrificed their very own lives for our personal freedom! Afterwards, it took me a little while to
regain my composure. My father fought
the Germans in WW2 and I could only image what he witnessed.
There was a reprieve in the events until last seating was
called at 2:30 for the main beach
landing event. At 3:00 pm, the epic drama of the Beach Landing Battle
commenced as 20,000 spectators watched the invasion. Our camp was completely
deserted except for a few of us who stayed behind to watch over each others'
camps. At the end of the battle, the
crowd roared in applause. It was time
for the camps to close, and the vendors to start packing up. A few companies
remained on site until Sunday. I volunteered
and help to pick up what little garbage remained on the park grounds.
The evenings were full of excitement with an outdoor showing
of the movie "Casablanca,"
the USO-style dance show, a 1940's Evening in Paris,
and the German re-creations show in the Bier
Garten.
There were so many more events that I cannot list them all
here. Each tent recreated a little part of history based upon the re-enactors
own personal interests. Believe me; I was
very impressed with the authenticity. Some re-enactors spend in upwards of 10’s of
thousands of dollars to re-create living history. Commemorative items were for sale in the
military PX tent/building in the upper and lower parks. I hope each and every one of you was able to
walk away with a little piece of history.
Next year, on August
22 - 23, 2014, this same event will commemorate the 70th
Anniversary of the D-day landing, which will also be http://www.ddayohio.us
's - 15th anniversary. And when that happens, I'll be there!
I want to graciously send a special thank you to the
following people for their continued education, dedication, commitment, and
underlying support to make this event possible:
2013 D-Day Board of Directors:
Betsy Bashore - CEO
Lori McLaughlin - COO
Jennifer Palagyi - CFO
Robert Trumbull - Director Allied Re-enactors
Dan Merzke - Director Axis Re-enactors
Chris Bartone - Director
Museum Development
Eric Montgomery - Director - Veterans Outreach
Waye Heim -Director - Media and Communications
Patrick Cavanaugh - Director
Lisa James - Director
Pat Rowbotham - Director
and to all the Sponsors and Veterans. I also need to thank Lisa James and Dan Merske
for the gracious hospitality. It was
also a pleasure meeting Deanna Fleischmann - Assistant Director at Villa at the
Lake, Donna the manager of the Railroad Museum, the Conneaut Historical
Society, Executive Director, Nancy Pape and her assistant Cindy, from the
Conneaut Public Library and to the hundreds of people I met during my two day visit
including, Lisa James, Dan Merzke, Molly Hoffman, Nancy Lare, Betsy Bashore,
Lori McLaughlin, Heathyr Haskins, Bernadette Crumb, Jeanne Onuska, Christine
Albin, Al Parents, Bill, Craig from the OKW group, Unit Commander - Ted
O’Sullivan, Jen from Brighter Horizons, Paul Fischer – The German Cultural
Society of Erie, PA, Gary Weltlich – VP of Auld Crafters & Associates, and
Drew from 1994 Militaria, I thank each
and every one of you for stopping by the German PX and purchasing an autograph
copy of my book. It was a pleasure to
meet you and hear your own personal stories about your family! I look forward to next year's 70th
Anniversary D-day event! Keep up the
fantastic work everyone! God Bless You
All!
Cynthia A. Sandor
Author -
"Through Innocent Eyes - The Chosen
Girls of the Hitler Youth"
