With his “rifle” in his hands, Tony Reid jumped onto the ground in front of him, rolled and marched forward to join his four-man fire team.
In formation, Reid and his 31 platoon-mates inched forward, quietly pushing toward a small ridge where the allied force would begin its assault on the “enemy” below.
“We’re getting the Nazis,” the 9-year-old Marlow Elementary School student said.
The quick battle Monday afternoon on the wooded lot adjacent to the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force may have been largely imaginary, but it included a bevy of lessons for the youngsters involved, said Heather Thies, the museum’s education director.
Not only did the short re-enactment of the Battle of the Bulge provide a fun way for the kids to learn, but it also provided them the opportunity to understand some of the changes the world has seen in the last 70 years.
“The Battle of the Bulge took place in winter. It’s winter, so we thought since it’s a famous battle that the kids know a little bit about, what would be more fun than to re-create it,” said Thies, who led the museum’s first-ever day camp Monday, that focused on teaching the battle that lasted from Dec. 16, 1944, through Jan. 25, 1945, and severely limited the German Army’s capabilities.
“We want them to understand a little bit of what it was like for our (service members) in World War II, and we wanted to bring it all together in a way where they could have some good, old fashioned fun. Where they could get out, get some exercise … and really learn something.”
Throughout the day-long event, campers learned about the experiences troops faced in World War II, the advancements technology has afforded the military since that time and why it’s important that they understand the significance of a war fought some six decades before they were born.
Museum staff and active duty soldiers from Hunter Army Airfield provided the children — who ranged in age from 7 to 11 years old — with instruction ranging from medical treatment to military maneuvers, Thies said.
She hoped the campers left with an improved respect for the sacrifices military troops made in the past and today.
“I hope they understand that it’s not like in the video games that they have today. We want them to understand that you actually haves these men and women out there and that it probably looks easier than it really is,” she said. “We had them Army crawl on their bellies, and yes, for five feet that’s fun, but I wanted them to imagine crawling across the whole (battlefield) day after day with a hundred pounds of stuff on.
“We just want them to understand the circumstances these people faced and that it was a whole lot of hard work and teamwork, and, really, it was even more difficult and a lot different then because they didn’t have (the technology) we have today.”
Many of the campers, Thies said, seemed to understand that.
“It’s been awesome,” Tony said after the “battle” was over. “I’ve learned a lot about the Battle of the Bulge. It was really cold, and it was really hard for them. It was more fun for us … I love going out into the woods, so we had a good time with the war.”
UP NEXT: LIBERATION OF PARIS
The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force will host a “Liberation of Paris” Day Camp from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17. Registration, including lunch, is $30 per child. To register your child, call the museum’s education department at 912-988-1832 or email email@example.com.