G NEWSLETTER OF THE GREAT WAR ASSOCIATION RE ON AT IATI Fall 2007 WAR ASSOC awarded him a wound badge. The response from the mem- GWA President’s Letter bers was outstanding and very positive. As a result of our efforts, I believe that we will see more Dear Members, participation of WWI aircraft at our events. A great deal of I have just returned from attending the Dayton Air Show. interest was shown by several Canadian flyers in participat- It was an excellent experience and I had the opportunity to ing at our events. meet many former GWA members and invite them to return It is important to recognize that the WWI aircraft flying to the fields. Some had not attended an event since above our heads with guns blazing helps to enhance our com- Shimpstown! We also had a number of inquiries from bat experience on the ground. We got to see a trailer for a prospective members. Whether or not they join, they at least special that will be airing on the history channel about a are aware of what we do. missing American WWI ace. The host and announcer for the I also want to thank members of the 92nd (Keith, Earl, series, Stephen Skinner, made a comment that without the Rick, Eileen and Eric), members of the 8th Kur (Jim and stories of WWI aviation, the history of WW I is incomplete Merlin) and Steve and Kate Murphy for attending and help- — I agree. ing to build public interest by displaying personal collection It is also important for us to recognize the investment that items, working with the pilots and interacting with the pub- these individuals have made in creating their flying machines, lic. These individuals did a great job representing the GWA. and the cost in traveling to our site and flying them for every- On Saturday evening, I had the opportunity to address the one’s enjoyment and benefit. Many of the pilots who demon- WWI pilots attending the show to talk about our organization strated an interest in what we do were impressed with our and events and to present a special recognition to the GWAA dedication to authenticity and our commitment. I felt their President, Fred Muirin. Fred was involved in a near fatal commitment as well in wanting to participate and help enrich crash several weeks ago; therefore, in recognition of his and complete our battlefield experience. I look for a strong injuries on behalf of the Fatherland and the Kaiser, we and positive relationship with the GWAA in the future. This is my last letter to you as GWAPresident. I have been proud to serve you for the past several years and appreciate Fall Combat Event Schedule much of the support I have received from the G-8 November 2-4, 2007 Administration Board and the members. The organization is Friday, November 2 in excellent financial shape at this point and in approximate- ly four years—or less—we will own our land free and clear; 1:00–6:00pm Registration shed open something to be celebrated. 5:30pm Modern vehicles must be moved from all As your president, I have attempted to be fair to all and areas beyond the registration shed gate (including the battlefield, roads, rear areas, make decisions in the best interest of this organization. Some camps) before 5:30pm and parked in the have agreed and others have not. That is the way that organi- parking lots. The registration shed gate will zations work. Regardless of whether or not you see the glass be locked until 6am Sunday half empty or half full, the organization is in good order. 6:00pm Safety meeting on road between trenches The G-8 Board has functioned more and more as a board 6:30 to 6:45pm Stand To. of directors for this organization. Yes, the president still has the final say, but someone MUST have the power to make a final 6:45 to 10:00pm Night combat decision for arbitration purposes. The president of this organi- Saturday, November 3 zation is sometimes called to act quickly and decisively on 8:00–8:55am Registration shed open issues and needs some freedom to do this. 9:00 to 10:00am Safety meeting formation for all units I believe that Jim Kidd will provide positive leadership (mandatory attendance) for this organization and do a great job representing you 10am to 10pm Combat and accepting the challenges that we will face. Again, my Sunday, November 4 congratulations to Jim and my thanks to all of you for the 6:00am Gate at registration shed opened. Modern opportunity to work with and represent you, vehicles may access roads to battlefield. Respectfully, 7:00–8:30am Battlefield cleanup 8:00–9:00am Executive Committee meeting Rob Zienta GWA President FALL 2007 Letter from the Allied Candidates for Central Powers Combat Commander Representative Pursuit of an advanced degree in the United Kingdom pre- cludes my attendance at the GWA fall 2007 event. Acting Merlin Hanson Captain Jon Kulaga will act as Battalion OC in my absence. Please continue to afford him the respect and cooperation Hi folks, graciously provided during past events. I am running for CP Rep. So far I feel that I have made I will be present at the spring 2008 event next year. Feel sure our views have been represented to the G8. I have also free to contact me by e-mail with any inquiries or just to say worked hard to make sure our growing CP community has hello. the space to play in. I want to commend everyone on our side Best of luck to all during the forthcoming Neuville sec- for their flexibility as units have moved around, and for their tor tour! work as units have maintained and upgraded trenches, Michael LoCicero mowed grass and more. I think the CP side will continue to a.k.a. Captain Lowe grow and improve and would love to continue serving if folks still want me. Have fun out there, GWA Elections Merlin Uncontested Candidates Frank James For President: Jim Kidd Gentlemen, For Vice President: Jeff Redrup My name is Frank James (many of you may already know For Treasurer: Randy Gaulke me as Max Stiebritz) and I am running for the position of For Secretary: Tim Kuntz Central Powers Representative (CP Rep). I have been reen- For Allied Combat Commander: Michael LoCicero acting one time period or another since 1979, and for the last For Allied Representative: Jon Kulaga twelve years I have been reenacting the Great War. Now, why should you elect me? Mainly, because I care about this hobby and with the 100th anniversary of the Great Contested Positions War, I wish to see our hobby grow and truly become the Ballots will be cast in person at the Fall 2007 Event as part “Reenactor’s Reenactment.” of the event registration process. Absentees voters must fill out I would like to open a line of communication between the the ballot form below and send it to the GWASecretary by reg- Central Powers membership and the G-8. Not knowing what ular mail. Ballots must be received by Oct. 31, 2007. is going on each year has been one of the shortcomings of the GWA. I would like to change this and provide more commu- nication to the membership. Absentee Ballot for 2007 GWA Election In my opinion, the CP Rep is a very important job. It should be the voice of the Central Powers units. My intentions Name:__________________________________ is to bring this voice out and make the suggestions and ideas Unit:___________________________________ of the CP side known! Thank you, Central Powers Combat Commander Frank James NOTE: Members of Central Powers only may vote for (aka Max Stiebritz) Central Powers Combat Commander. Lou Brown Robert Zienta Central Powers Representative NOTE: Members of Central Powers units only may vote for Central Powers Representative. Newsletter of the Great War Association Merlin Hanson Frank James Published by the GWA Executive Committee Mail ballot to: Tim Kuntz Mark Graef, Editor 109 Hawthorn Cir. Articles and letters to the editor are welcome and encouraged. Electronic Lancaster PA 17602 files should be sent as e-mail attachments to: [email protected] Your yearly membership dues ($25) must be paid up or included Submission deadline for the Spring 2008 issue: March 11 with this form. Ballot must be received by October 31, 2007. Spring 2008 publication date: March 20 2 FALL 2007 period reports and reviewing captured German docu- Candidates for Central Powers ments, I feel that we can do a better job of creating and Combat Commander using period documents for communication and other administrative functions (i.e. leave) similar to what was historically used. Lou Brown ● Establish an effective command staff to work with unit I have been the Central Powers Combat Commander for commanders to ensure coordinated efforts for offensive the last four years. During that time, the Central Powers and defensive actions. has—despite being consistently outnumbered, often as much ● Review with the unit commanders the Rules of as two to one—given as good as we have gotten. We have Engagement for possible revision and/or clarification. done this by adopting more flexible tactics, and planning our ● Resolve combat issues between Allied and German operations against Allied weaknesses vice conducting end- Forces less “smash and grab” raids with no other purpose than to ● capture prisoners to provide entertainment for interrogators Encourage and promote membership and unit growth. in the rear. In short, we have carried out operations against ● Work to establish solidarity of German units.