Once I had the pleasure of watching the Allies liberate a town from the clutches of a Nazi occupation. The General of the Axis forces was a thick-lipped man, and the fattest weasel I had ever seen. After the Allies had surrounded them, the General emerged from the tank waving a white handkerchief in an up-and-down motion using the weak-wristed method. The Americans and British soldiers approached to accept the German’s surrender. Suddenly, the General produced his pistol and fired at the infantrymen. The Allies mowed him down, and his limp body flopped into the dirt.

It was great fun. I had been invited to the battle by one of the reenactors of the 509th Parachute Infantry Batallion. Aside from driving tanks around and shooting at one another and whatnot, they also take great pride in honoring the memory and sacrifice made by veterans who fought to keep us free. The following is an experience from reenactor Christopher Cundiff:

… After the battle on Sunday, I ran up to the spectator line to hand some shell casings to some kids, when I saw an older gentleman sitting in a wheel chair. He motioned me to come over to him and he congratulated me on a good show.

His wife standing behind him said he was a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge. He shook his head and I think my heart started pounding. I was in awe. I held out my hand to the man and said, “Thank you for everything sir, and God bless you.” His gaze turned to my M-1 Carbine and he motioned to hold it. I pulled back the bolt to make sure it was clear and handed it over to him. He sat and stated at it for a while. He then said, “God I lived with this for a long time,” shaking his head.

Then his wife bent down and said, “You don’t have to anymore.” The man started to cry. “Ouch,” I thought. He handed the gun back to me and sobbed. Then his son asked if he could shoot a picture of a couple of reenactors in including myself saluting his father. We go into a tight line and in unison we saluted … If there was one thing that I got out of the whole weekend, it was spending three minutes with that veteran. He helped me understand. It made me understand the responsibility that we have to truly honor one of the “greatest generations.” That moment with stay with me for a long time.