West Overton Museums Presents:
Operation Market Garden
65th Anniversary Reenactment and Memorial Weekend
September 18-20
Located at West Overton Museums, on Route 819 one mile south off Scottdale exit on Route 119.
This event used to be a generic event, but due to the Dutch and German ancestry of the people who built this village, it has a very Holland-ish feel to it. So we have decided to use this to our benefit and have an Operation Market Garden event. Considering that it is the 65th anniversary of the battles, this is a great opportunity to come out and honor the men who made the ultimate sacrifice.
We have two barns to use for Headquarters/MG nests/Field hospitals, a Homestead with surrounding buildings for cover and concealment, a string of multiple houses to utilize, and adequate field space for campsites, battles and vehicles. Vehicles are authorized and encouraged (Including tracked). We will be building entrenchments, road signs, and other ?props? to enhance the experience for the reenactor. We are also in the process of having some Dutch civilians to add to the entire event.
Impressions should be of units involved within Operation Market Garden. List your impressions on the registration form, and if you have multiple impressions that can be used please list them and bring them with you. We are doing this so that the sides can be even during battles and for us to better plan the fights. We will not turn people away from the event, but if you show up as Imperial Japanese Army, we will ask you to set up a display but you will not take part in the reenactment. We want bivouacs to be authentic and it is possible that barn space will be available for quarters.
Our battle scenario is to simulate airborne drops in the fields north-east of the site and move forward to occupy the homestead and surrounding village. Unfortunately this is no bridge to ultimately try to capture, but I feel that once people see the site they will be quite excited with the AO. The specifics will come together as numbers make themselves known.
There will be a pre-planned battle on Saturday and Sunday. There will also be a tactical Saturday night, if there is interest from reenactors. The Saturday and Sunday Battles will be spectator viewed, but Saturday evening?s tactical will not.
Check out the West Overton website at
http://www.westovertonvillage.org or look us up on Facebook for pictures of the site.
Pre-registration forms will be made available on the West Overton website for reenactors to fill out and send it. They will be in PDF and Word Format. Forms can be mailed, e-mailed, or faxed to us. . I will also post a registration form copy on this forum for reenactors to copy and paste and print out and send themselves Registration Fee will be $15 per reenactor. There will be food and drinks sold on site, but reenactors are encouraged to bring period rations.
Any questions feel free to call me, 724-787-6238 or email me at westovertonreenactorsociety@gmail.com We are looking to make this battle an annual thing and have it grow into a great battle for reenactors and the public. I will post details and news as they come up! Hope to see you at West Overton in September!
Here is site address and fax numbers for registration.
Fax: 724-887-5010
Our Mailing Address:
West Overton Museums
West Overton Village
Scottdale, PA 15683
Our Physical Address:
West Overton Museums
109 West Overton Rd
Scottdale, PA 15683
Directions:
West Overton Village is located on Route 819 between the communities of Scottdale and Mount Pleasant. We are 1.5 miles off the Scottdale exit of Route 119.