Thread For Anyone Interested in the History of the 2nd / 5th US Rangers During WW2? (1 Viewer)

[arnhem44mad]

Just wanted to say that for any new members I am a member of a reenactment group called Normandy 44 and we reenact the 2nd Ranger Battalion mainly, but also do 5th Rangers at certain events, 2nd Armoured and next year will be portraying Engineer Special Brigade Medics in France!^&grin

If anyone has any interest in the 2nd or 5th US Rangers during WW2 then here is a thread to discuss any information one may have and wants to share or just to talk about a subject they are interested in with other enthusiasts!

I have Ranger John Raaen's personal e-mail address, and also have him on Facebook. John Raaen was Captain of 5th Ranger HQ Company during the Second World War and landed on Omaha Beach with HQ Company on June 6th 1944. He is a great guy to speak with and it is an honour to talk with him. During our conversations he told me a story that is something you could only hear about from a veteran.

He told me that he was isued with a Thompson sub machine gun in training, however one of his Lieutenants really liked it and so Captain Raaen swapped weapons with him and so from then on used a Garand M1 Rifle! It was highly irregular for a Captain to have an M1!^&grin

If anyone is interested in this subject then just post away!^&grin I have an original Rangers Diamond patch in my 2nd World War collection, and would love to see anyone else's pieces of Ranger gear!

Scott

 

[TomB]

Just wanted to say that for any new members I am a member of a reenactment group called Normandy 44 and we reenact the 2nd Ranger Battalion mainly, but also do 5th Rangers at certain events, 2nd Armoured and next year will be portraying Engineer Special Brigade Medics in France!^&grin

If anyone has any interest in the 2nd or 5th US Rangers during WW2 then here is a thread to discuss any information one may have and wants to share or just to talk about a subject they are interested in with other enthusiasts!

I have Ranger John Raaen's personal e-mail address, and also have him on Facebook. John Raaen was Captain of 5th Ranger HQ Company during the Second World War and landed on Omaha Beach with HQ Company on June 6th 1944. He is a great guy to speak with and it is an honour to talk with him. During our conversations he told me a story that is something you could only hear about from a veteran.

He told me that he was isued with a Thompson sub machine gun in training, however one of his Lieutenants really liked it and so Captain Raaen swapped weapons with him and so from then on used a Garand M1 Rifle! It was highly irregular for a Captain to have an M1!^&grin

If anyone is interested in this subject then just post away!^&grin I have an original Rangers Diamond patch in my 2nd World War collection, and would love to see anyone else's pieces of Ranger gear!

Scott

It is unusual for a Scotsman (I presume ) to be in an Ranger re-enactment gp..in Scotland.....Did the Rangers do their pre D Day training in your area during the war ?...was on the net a day or so ago about the SAS beret and and SAS wearing the maroon beret in WW2...some did...some did not..aint going into that again...but,,,I saw an article where the US Rangers are now wearing a simular colour beret to the SAS....do you know anything about that ?.....cheers TomB

 

[arnhem44mad]

It is unusual for a Scotsman (I presume ) to be in an Ranger re-enactment gp..in Scotland.....Did the Rangers do their pre D Day training in your area during the war ?...was on the net a day or so ago about the SAS beret and and SAS wearing the maroon beret in WW2...some did...some did not..aint going into that again...but,,,I saw an article where the US Rangers are now wearing a simular colour beret to the SAS....do you know anything about that ?.....cheers TomB

Hey bud. The US Rangers were trained by british commandos, but I don't know anything about the odern forces haha.

The Rangers did their training all over Scotland and England. At Bude, Slapton Sands, they spent time in an area near glasgow, also at ancharry castle. They spent time in Irvine and other areas too.

Yeah man kind of is unusual to be fair. We are the biggest Allied re-enactment group in Britain with over 150 members. In Normandy 44 one of our rules in is that we can only use original kit at events, none of this reproduction crap that so many others wear. Original uniforms as far as possible too. All class A dress must be original, original mustards, em shirt, jacket, garrison cap. Weapons must be deactivated, and if post war must have all the sights, trigger guard and any other aspects corrected to ww2 spec^&grin

Scott^&grin