D-Day 2009 Special Edition Guaranteed Accu-Weather: Hot, Humid and it might rain
June 8 -14, 2009
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12th Anniversary of D -day Inspir ed by Pla toon Sergeant Enos Ar mstrong, 238th Engineers The origins of the Oklahoma D-day Event, which is celebrating it‟s 12th anniversary this week, can trace its roots back 65 years ago, to when the guns from the world‟s largest invasion fleet blasted the French coastline and Allied aircraft pounded German positions along the Normandy coast of France. It was back then that five hundred men from the United States Army‟s 238th Combat Engineer Battalion prepared themselves for their landing on Utah beach. They were young, well trained, courageous soldiers who would eventually fight their way from Utah Beach all the way to the Elbe River. Along the way they‟d build hundreds of bridges under fire, lay thousands of mines, fight at the Bridge of Remagen and help liberate the Dora-Mittlebau concentration camp. Among these men was a platoon sergeant by the name of Enos Armstrong (see photos). Unlike so many of his fellow comrades, Enos lived to tell stories about his experiences to his grandson, Dewayne Convirs. This young boy loved listening to his grandpa‟s war stories and grew up fascinated with history and
especially with the World War 2 era. When his Grandfather died unexpectedly in 1996, Dewayne was inspired to find something which he could dedicate to Enos, to his service to this country and his memory. Two years later, in 1997, Dewayne found the solution when he hosted the very first Oklahoma D-Day Paintball Event. That first event drew only 135 players. To make it exciting they stormed the beach of a small reservoir using a handmade plywood landing craft. When he decided to hold his second D-Day game in 1998, 335 paintball players turned out. That‟s when he knew he‟d found the per-
fect way to honor the grandfather he‟d grown to love so much.
Prepare for the Heat and Humidity Stay Hydrated!
Growth was inevitable, as friends who‟d played the year before brought more friends and as the word about the event spread those numbers began increasing even faster. A long-time resident of Ottawa County, Dewayne started out by using his family‟s 120 acre farm, but since then he‟s added a number of other nearby properties to bring the site up to the 740 acres you see before you today. From just 135 players back in 1997, Oklahoma D-Day has grown to the point that it attracted over 4000 players from all over the world in 2008. Besides from nearly every state in the United States, players have also come from Canada, England, Germany, Scotland, France, Finland, Sweden, Norway Australia, New Zealand, Greenland and even Russia to play on the D-Day battlefields of Wyandotte.
Use a Camelbak-type system when on the field. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Both contribute to dehydration. Start drinking water before you’re thirsty. Watch your friends and teammates. Remind them to drink during breaks in the action.
Oppor tunities and Special Activities Abound From the time you arrive, till you leave again, you will have an opportunity to take part in a wide range of „special‟ activities which can‟t be found anywhere else. Some of these opportunities will be quite familiar to anyone who‟s familiar at all with the sport of paintball. Among the many opportunities fully covered by your entry fee are events like the daily mini scenario, the night event and the play that goes on late into the evenings on our two illumi-
nated speedball fields. If that and the game on Saturday was all there was to do at DDay you‟d probably come away saying what was all the fuss was about and you‟d be right. What really sets the D-Day Event apart from all other paintball events are the types of things which don‟t typically get mentioned by the sport writers. These include the free obstacle course challenge on
Wednesday, or the optional sniper and SUTAL course classes which offer players the opportunity to experience and learn the sorts of skills generally reserved for those who serve in the armed forces. If that wasn‟t enough for you, there‟s even the opportunity on Thursday, if you‟re old enough, (continued on page 2)
Sergeant Enos Armstrong Inside this issue: Jake McNeice “not heroes”
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Field Map
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Objectives, Times and Points 4 Schedule of Events
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Opportunities (cont page 1) to step up to the firing line with a variety of real machineguns if you wish. It‟s all up to you, check over the schedule and check off the classes and options which appeal most to you and if none of these things we‟ve mentioned here suits you there‟s also the free daily training classes which most units offer to help insure everyone‟s ready to tackle the big game on Saturday. Finally, when you‟re finished with your training, or just exploring the hundreds of acres which make up this site and you‟ve had a chance to cool down and
freshen up in one of our two free shower facilities, take a stroll down the road to what over the years has become a small town filled with vendors. Drop in and check out the latest from the likes of JT, Tippmann, RAP-4, Engler, Underground Mod Shop, and so many more, or drop by the D-Day Café or one of the other fine food vendors for a burger and fries and top it all off with a ice cold smoothie. Remember, D-Day is your event, it‟s here for you, so make the most of it you can and you‟re sure to come away saying what so many others who have come before you have said, it‟s just a game till
Jake: “We’re not the heroes, they are.” As you listen to Mr. Jake McNeice talk about his exploits during World War II you can‟t help but picture this now frail looking 90 year old and the rest of the members of the 101st Airborne Division as heroes, but the first thing Jake makes clear to everyone, is the fact that the real heroes are those who are still over there, pushing up the flowers.
4th Infantry lands at Utah Beach — June 6, 1944
when the war came along and catapulted him into a leadership role for one of the toughest platoons in all of the 101st Airborne Division, a platoon that came to be known of as „The Filthy Thirteen.‟
From the day he joined the Army till the day he got his honorable discharge Jake was a guy who didn‟t fit in, a true nonconformist if there ever was one. Yet despite the rocky road he traveled he managed to earn the respect of not only his fellow soldiers, but also his superiors. By the time his unit was pulled back following his Jake McNeice is a life long resident of second combat jump Jake was ready for Ponca City, Oklahoma and co-author of a some good food, a bottle of whisky and book entitled „The Filthy Thirteen.‟ He some time off, but instead of pulling what embodies all of those attributes NBC news- he thought would be „easy service‟ as the caster and author Tom Brokow wrote about platoon leader for a newly formed pathin his book „The Greatest Generation.’ finder unit stationed in England, he found Born during the dust bowl days of the dehimself and his team jumping instead into pression, Jake was already a hard fighting the besieged town of Bastogne. There they young man, bound for a life full of trouble
set up radio homing beacons which hundreds of cargo laden resupply aircraft used to drop their loads of ammo and fuel to keep the beleaguered members of the 101st Airborne and others supplied. After the war Jake returned to the states but he had a hard time fitting back into society. He never gave up, instead he challenged himself as well as anyone who‟d give him a chance and in the end he found peace as well as his second wife Martha, to whom he‟s still married today. If you‟d like to meet and listen to this remarkable man, drop by the JT Sports‟ Steel Beach area either Thursday afternoon, or most any time on Friday. At that time you‟ll also be able to purchase a signed copy of his book, as well as one of only fifty discount priced, limited edition prints of a newly completed painting entitled „Filthy Thirteen,‟ depicting Jake and the
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rest of his group making their final preparations for D-Day.
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What does Jake McNiece mean to you guys? I wasn’t quite sure what to type. There’s really so much to say. To say what Jake mean to us can really be summed up in one word, Hero. Every soldier in the 101st Airborne Division is taught our history from day one and that history started on June 6 1944. Guys like Jake and the rest of the greatest generation are heroes and role models for us. What we do now is to honor what they did way back then, as best as we can. You get a real sense of pride the moment you have the screaming eagle on your shoulder, because once it’s on you no longer have a history, you have a rendezvous with destiny. It’s all thanks to Jake McNeice, the rest of the Filthy 13 and all others who have come before us. Signed Frank Lathrop 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, KY
Travis Posey Maps ©
2009 Points / Objectives / Times
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2009 Unit Camping Map
Players wristbands are sponsored this year by Eastern Shawnee Tribe’s
BORDERTOWN CASINO Anyone coming into the Bordertown Casino with a D-day Adventure Park wristband will get a $5 Free Play
Sniper Course
$18 - Sign up at the Registration Building Courses Thursday or Friday Machine Gun Shoot
Thursday See “Harley” at British / Canadian campsite for details Stars and Strips: D-day 2009 Special Edition is a private publication, and not owned or published by D-day Adventure Park. Editor and Publisher: Andy Van Der Plaats
Test Your D-day Knowledge DOWN 1. British Beach
1. WW II British Fighter
2. Bridge
5. Defenders
3. French coastal region
6. WWII British glider
4. WW 2 German tank
9. WW II American tank
6. Boat builder
12. Who’s Rangers?
7. Attackers
13. German CO
8. 101st AB CO
14. British objective
9. Water smell 10. SAC’s nickname 11. Longest Day
From our German friends…. Around the time the US Navy was developing its Underwater Demolition Teams, similar German units were formed at the command of Admiral Karl Dönitz. His subordinate, VizeAdmiral Helmuth Heye helped form and eventually took command of these “small naval forces”. This group, given the name Kleinkampf Mittel Verband (Force K for short), was responsible for developing some of the technology used by some of the most elite German fighters of their day. These men braved uncharted depths in their fight to serve their homeland. One of the original members of Force K was Alfred von Wurzian. While Jacques Cousteau, a Vichy French naval officer, is credited with the creation of the Aqualung, Austrian diver Hans Hass developed the rebreather, which is ideal for military use as it leaves no tell-tale bubble exhaust. Von Wurzian aided Hass in his work, but also worked diligently to achieve military use of the rebreather and other equipment. Eventually, with the help of Brandenburger Kommando Richard Reimann, von Wurzian was able to develop other devices to revolutionize military underwater combat. These devices included underwater compasses, reliable depth gauges, and so on. In the end, it was a brief stint in the training facilities of the Italian Decima Flottiglia MAS (counterpart Italian frogmen) that allowed von Wurzian and Reimann to form Lehrkommando 700, which was the predecessor unit to the Marine EinsatzKommando (MEK). The MEK units became active in 1944, though they were not ready for DDay. Those units went on to have noted (though under-sung) successes until the end of World War II, including destruction of numerous enemy-held bridges and daring destruction of ships in the English Channel.
ACROSS
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