Women In Reenacting: Not here For Your Bull$hit

This week on Blanks Beers & Bull$hit, we shut up (for once) and let the women take the mic.

We sat down with three incredible reenactors. Joining us are Chloe Hale, Commanding Officer of the 45th Evacuation Hospital, Amanda Hedge, Executive Officer of the 45th, and Marissa Sams, a freelance reenactor who brings her own perspective.

We talk about how they got started, what keeps them coming back, and the reality of being a woman in a hobby that hasn’t always made space for them. From leadership roles to impressions, authenticity, and the occasional nonsense they’ve had to deal with, we cover it all.

Whether you’ve been in the hobby for years or you’re just getting started, this episode is one you need to hear.

Bottom line: Women aren’t just in reenacting, they’re leading it, improving it, and calling out the bull$hit along the way.

Grab a drink and tune in.

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:10

And welcome back to another episode of blanks, beers, and local shit by you. Um this is this is gonna be a great episode. I have really great strong feelings about this. It's gonna be a good episode. Um, something that doesn't really get talked about a whole lot within the reenacting community. Agree. Um, and I think it's going to uh hopefully open up a lot of new passageways for what we're about to get into. Absolutely. Um we're gonna we're gonna start off with this to do.

SPEAKER_05 0:44

Sorry, very underrepresented.

SPEAKER_04 0:47

Yeah. In in every single um era that is being reenacted currently. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 0:54

Doing it correctly. Yes, yeah, agreed. Which is why I'm so happy we have the guests that we have. Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 1:00

All right, so let's do a I'm I'm actually doing a little induction here. Um I'm joined here by my co-hosts, Austin Collins, Isol, and Sean Horn. Hola, and our special guest today, all the way from Wisconsin. Stolton, Wisconsin. Stoilton, good old Stockton, Wisconsin, is Chloe Hale.

SPEAKER_08 1:23

Hi.

SPEAKER_04 1:25

What's up, Chloe?

SPEAKER_08 1:27

How's it going?

SPEAKER_04 1:28

Uh you know, it's another day, another dollar, I hope. Um, so today we're kind of gonna get into uh women and reenacting. I got it, I got it. We're missing the important part. Can you just fucking like bump your brakes a little bit there?

SPEAKER_05 1:42

Let him let him do the introduction. Yeah, geez, yeah, no shit.

SPEAKER_04 1:47

Um, first, obviously, we're gonna go over what we're drinking. Sean, what are you drinking?

SPEAKER_05 1:52

I am drinking my blue moon light.

SPEAKER_04 1:53

God, you're such an old man. Thank you, Austin. I have a mix between Schlitz and uh Tawny Port wine.

SPEAKER_05 2:01

Okay, I will be sipping off the Tawny Port wine. Okay, so you're both. No, this is not a negotiable. Respect your old use.

SPEAKER_08 2:09

I am drinking a blue moon light just like Sean.

SPEAKER_05 2:11

Oh, there we go. There we go. There we go. Yes, nice. Someone has good taste.

SPEAKER_08 2:14

Not just an old man beer.

SPEAKER_05 2:17

I take offense to that.

SPEAKER_04 2:19

Thank you, Chloe. Again, Unk and Unk would be very proud of me. Again, yeah. Yeah. Two in a row. Yeah, two in a row. Suspicious? Yeah, and all it's like we're doing these back to back. Wait a second. Never. Never. Um, also, I gotta get out this blanket statement real quick. Yeah. Sorry, St. Sorry, Stan. Sorry, Stan. So Chloe, wait, wait, so Chloe, we do a thing on the podcast. We have a blanket statement that we put out every time we we apologize to Stan before the episode continues. Because there will be shenanigans that Stan may or may not approve of.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

So sorry, Father.

SPEAKER_05 2:54

So there you go. So there will be a countdown three, two, one. Sorry, Stan. So we're gonna go three, two, one.

SPEAKER_04 3:02

Sorry, St. There we go. All right. I love it. All right. So let's let's get a little bit into you. Um, what originally first got in you into reenacting?

SPEAKER_08 3:13

Um, so I originally got into reenacting by someone who shall not be named at this moment.

SPEAKER_02 3:19

Totally fair, totally fair.

SPEAKER_08 3:21

But um, I got invited to an event and I went and just experienced what it was like to be a reenactor and didn't really have a display, just went around, looked at some different things that were going on. Um, my first event was Old Falls Village um in 2021, I believe. So I was 16.

SPEAKER_05 3:41

Wow. Um baby Chloe, baby. Holy shit.

SPEAKER_08 3:47

Um, and I just fell in love with it, and um I wanted to do something that was meaningful, and I've always loved history, and I thought that this was a way to represent something that is super underrated and not talked about in this hobby.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 4:03

Um, so I was looking at a bunch of different displays and just was walking around learning some things and just ended up really enjoying it and wanted to bring um like notice to something that is not talked about a lot in this hobby. When I was at my first event, I didn't see any female reenactors besides the civilians that were there, and I really wanted to change that.

SPEAKER_04 4:26

What what was that like for you seeing your first event and not seeing a whole lot of females?

SPEAKER_08 4:31

It was pretty disappointing, honestly. Especially at 16. Like I was like, oh, it'd be really cool to get into this and have a unit that like for somewhere to go and someone to guide me through the hobby because I didn't really have that. And um, so like it was really disappointing to see a lack of women roles.

SPEAKER_04 4:48

And and in your eyes, at that point, you were like, this is a a male-dominated thing, male-dominated hobby. Exactly. It's not like uh like for Sean for instance, it's like uh Comic-Con. Right, right. That is that is a very broad, like you get so many different characters, male, female, whatever it may be. Which is going on this weekend, by the way. Sorry. And then when you got introduced to reenacting, doesn't matter if it's World War II or whatnot, but you you saw that females were underrepresented.

SPEAKER_08 5:19

Yeah, the only female unit that I really had heard about at that time was the Army Nurse Corps unit out in the Czech Republic. Um and they do a lot of um events out in Europe and they have a pretty big following on Instagram, and so that was the only reason I had known about like any type of female um reenacting unit.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

And sorry to cut you off, but that's that's the unit that uh Hannah went with to Yeah, to like Piln.

SPEAKER_08 5:45

Pilsner I've been there.

SPEAKER_02 5:47

Pilsn's beautiful.

SPEAKER_04 5:49

Sorry to cut you off, but I was curious. I just wanted to know, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 5:52

Yeah, it's that same unit.

SPEAKER_04 5:53

Okay, Czech Republic. Yeah, Czech Republic. It's the same.

SPEAKER_05 5:56

Oh, but whoops. But continue, so yeah. I I'm sorry, I have a question. So going to your first event, right, uh, as a newbie, what was your level of understanding as far as like World War II history at that point?

SPEAKER_08 6:10

At that point, I had kind of known like the basic minimum. When I started getting into reenacting, I thought that an army nurse were the ones in the white dresses with the white caps and the blue capes, and I was severely mistaken.

SPEAKER_04 6:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 6:24

Because those nurses out there were bad asses.

SPEAKER_04 6:27

You saw the propaganda nurses. Yes. That's what you said. I mean, you necessarily weren't wrong though.

SPEAKER_08 6:32

Yeah, because those they have those, but it just the ones that were on the front lines or close to the front lines were severely forgotten about.

SPEAKER_04 6:41

Absolutely. Yeah. And I and and that's something that's I'm glad you partaked and and and took initiative into portraying in that sense. So what exactly do you portray within your unit?

SPEAKER_08 6:54

So within the 45th Evacuation Hospital, I portray an army nurse who was would serve um anywhere from two to thirty miles behind the front lines. Um I serve as a captain or have the rank of captain, I guess. Um, and the rest of the girls in the unit are, well, Amanda's my second in command and she's first lieutenant, and then the rest of the girls in the unit are second lieutenant. Um, but we just portray the nurses who would give immediate care. Um so obviously like there's immediate care.

SPEAKER_02 7:28

Right. You have uh you have battalion aid.

SPEAKER_08 7:30

Yeah, battalion aid, and then um they get brought to an evacuation hospital or sometimes a field hospital, it kind of just depends. Um, and in an evacuation hospital is where the thing they could get the most care without having to go to a general or like convalescent hospital, um, which is like they have to get further evacuated for that. Nice.

SPEAKER_04 7:49

I I I appreciate what you guys do. Uh we've seen it firsthand. Correct. We've also three houses. Yeah, we've partaken in it first to a hospital. In the field hospital. And and what you do and what the girls do is probably something that's not done so much in the United States. Yeah. Right. And if it is, it's it's not it's done poorly. Right. It's not done correctly.

SPEAKER_05 8:11

Yeah. And I I I am lucky enough to have been invited in You're invited into the unit.

SPEAKER_08 8:19

I consider you a member of the 45th.

SPEAKER_05 8:20

Okay, thank you. Yeah, so not only do I do chaplain, but I am lucky enough to portray a surgeon. Hey doc. Cut me up, doc.

SPEAKER_04 8:29

For the 45th. So what originally got you like hooked into reenacting? I don't I'm not talking like um like going to your first event and seeing like what you just explained, like there wasn't a really big role in the women's, but what originally got you hooked when you started?

SPEAKER_08 8:48

That's a really good question. Um, because I would say that it was just like the fact that there wasn't a lot of women there. But honestly, the community that comes from reenacting was something that really like I had never experienced something like that. Like, I've had a lot of different hobbies throughout my life, and reenacting was the first place that it felt like when you showed up to an event, you were just like it was like a family reunion. Right.

SPEAKER_04 9:13

Like yeah, I do like that. Yeah, yeah, that's a good one. And for some of us, it is a family reunion for the three of us. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Even though we've all worked together for the last two and a half years.

SPEAKER_08 9:26

Yeah, it just like feels like you know, especially right now, it's starting to get to that point in the year where you're starting to get that like reenactor itch. Yeah, because a lot of the events are coming up, yeah, missing people, yeah, yeah. And like doing something like this, it's like really good to just reconnect with people. But yeah, like for me, I think it's definitely the community aspect of it. And biggest thing for me is honoring the veterans. Like that's something that I hold like very dear to my heart.

SPEAKER_04 9:54

My Opa served in the military and and and I and I think what you guys do specifically is uh they're not honored enough. Yeah, it's very they're not very under-represented. What I think you guys do specifically, I think it's very underrepresented. Um because personally, I think most women in the hobby, they just want to wear the flu flu civilian stuff, they want to do civilian, and they don't want to wear the olive drab like you guys do. Yeah, you know, right. And you you and your crew that you put together are are probably the forefront of United States nursing corps. The the greatest thing behind them being the forefront is the age. Yeah, 100%. You you guys, I feel that you guys have started such a movement within the the female reenacting community that it it can it's not just the guys within reenacting that can get down to the nitty-gritty to the spec to the detail. Women can do it too. Yeah, absolutely. And they can and and you guys have gone as far as like the specific bandages that this that field hospital would have had, or so on and so forth, right? Like down to the T of like, hey, yeah, granted, every field hospital would have had this, but we know specifically the 45th had this. Yeah, you know, and I feel like personally, with your guys' age, that shows a lot of maturity in the reenactment community. Yep. Because there's a lot, there's a lot of people that would probably eventually come up to you guys, and or may have came up to you guys in general and been like, Oh, I didn't I didn't know that we had technically quote unquote frontline nurses or rear line nurses that were.

SPEAKER_08 11:36

I get that question all the time. Yeah, people are so shocked by it.

SPEAKER_04 11:39

Yeah. Well, and seriously.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

Yeah. I didn't know I didn't know you get to all those questions, really.

SPEAKER_08 11:43

It's like one of the main questions that I've gotten is that like, oh, I didn't know that nurses or like women were this front close to the front lines on the US side.

SPEAKER_04 11:50

Wow. And I I yeah, I mean I I I'm actually surprised that people ask that question. Yeah, or or surprise that they don't know that.

SPEAKER_08 11:57

Yeah. It's it it's just not something that's talked about.

SPEAKER_04 12:01

I guess I guess it's because I'm so familiar with MASH as you are. And it's like it's just one of them things. It's like you watch MASH and you're like, okay, yeah, like they're within a couple miles of the front.

SPEAKER_08 12:10

That's another thing people say to us as they come up and they're like, oh, so it's like MASH, and it's like, whoa kind of and and there's no gin still, so I don't know what to tell you.

SPEAKER_05 12:21

So but I I will say this, sorry, I will say this. Uh so my you know, Amanda, my fiance, being the XO, like when when she was named XO, like I have learned so much from her. Yeah, and and I've been medical-wise, just in general with females in the hobby. Yeah. Um, I mean, I've been a reenactor since the early 2000s. Old. Yeah, oh, old as dirt. But just um, but just reenacting in general, because I've never in I mean, shame on me.

SPEAKER_04 12:55

I've never thought about females in reenacting anywhere they're and that's something we're we're gonna touch on within the next five minutes. Yeah, and well, and personally, I'd I'd love to break that stereotype. You know what?

SPEAKER_08 13:06

That stereotype is and that is exactly what the 45th is trying to do.

SPEAKER_04 13:09

And you know what, I'm I'm all for that.

SPEAKER_05 13:11

And and you know what? Let's break that right now. Well, and hold on, I'm sorry, let me and like so when Amanda became XO and we were, you know, she was getting links and and stuff from Chloe, like, hey, what how does this look? Um and I I could literally like I felt bad, but we would be like I have no idea. Yeah, we'd be laying in bed and she'd be she would show me a link, and I'm like, you know what? Honestly, I have no idea. Yeah, I don't know if that's the way I have no knowledge.

SPEAKER_04 13:36

I can I could tell you what, you know, uh a captain of infant infantry, yeah, you know, sure, but like as far as and that's kind of where like like I like uh for you instance, Chloe, when you come and you'd be like, hey, I need help with my insignia. And how how do I place it? Okay, well, sometimes I I'm not correct. Yeah, right? And who and I've sent you to other people. I've sent you to Rob, I've sent you to to to blanket, I've sent you to other people and be like everyone does it differently. Right, right. Everybody doesn't differently. There is a standard. There is a standard. There is a standard regulation, but in in World War II, like it it kind of didn't matter. Yeah, it was like very as long as your shit was like within regul within that realm, like you've come to me and like, can you pin this?

SPEAKER_08 14:21

And I'm like, Well, I've seen so many pictures of nurses just having it like any which way, and they just don't care.

SPEAKER_05 14:27

And you know who's about standards. Who? The Marines. Yeah, the Marines. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Dalma, you're Marine.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

Fuck yeah, there it is.

SPEAKER_04 14:36

So we're gonna get into the topic of uh women and reenacting here. And and not only do we have Chloe, we're gonna introduce two other people. One has been on the podcast before, and the other one has not, and this is will be her first time on the podcast as well. Yep, and this will be the first time for one person, and then the second time or third time, one of the two for the other person.

SPEAKER_05 14:57

I think I believe it's the third. Third or second, one of the two. She's jumped in when we need her.

SPEAKER_04 15:01

So not only are we going to introduce them, yes, um, they're gonna introduce themselves. They're gonna introduce themselves, yeah, and they're gonna sit here and uh discuss between each other. We will ask these comments these these questions. Yep, and and uh they're just gonna discuss between each other what women in reenacting in general what they feel like it is to them. Yeah. So without further ado, I introduce Amanda Hedge. Amanda Hedge, who is XO or soon to be Amanda Horn. Thank you. She's the extra of the uh 45th evacuation hospital, and then we are going to introduce Marissa Sands. Marissa Sands, who is who is a kind of a freelance uh reenactor. I sure am. And uh she kind of does a little bit of everything.

SPEAKER_02 15:50

Um she does everything between partisan to uh Warsaw Uprising to Army Nurse Corps to whatever sh whatever decides not really, not Nurse Corps.

SPEAKER_04 16:03

Whatever her heart desires, in my opinion. So uh Amanda, I'm gonna give you my headset and mic, and then Dalton, you give Marissa, and then we're gonna let the women discuss um what they feel like women in reenacting bullions. You guys can go off of the cheat sheet here, and we are just gonna sit and observe, and if we have questions, we are going to ask those questions.

SPEAKER_02 16:25

So by further ado, here we go.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Alright. So we have Amanda. Hello, hello.

SPEAKER_05 16:36

I think we have Marissa.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

First, we need to ask what they are drinking.

SPEAKER_05 16:42

Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. Amanda, what are you drinking?

SPEAKER_07 16:44

Well, I just poured myself a lovely glass of Pinot Grigio.

SPEAKER_05 16:49

And Marissa?

SPEAKER_06 16:50

Well, because I'm Wooly's girlfriend, I have to drink a sword.

SPEAKER_05 16:54

Wait, let me ask you a question. Would he break up with you if you were drinking anything but uh questionable?

SPEAKER_06 17:00

Gun to your head.

SPEAKER_05 17:02

Would he literally put a gun to your head? Gun to head, schlitz or blats?

SPEAKER_06 17:07

Oh dear, schlitz.

SPEAKER_05 17:08

Okay, right. Blast. Ah, blast. All the all right, so uh so just since we have you three sitting here, which is amazing opportunity, what would you three say is the number one challenge being a woman in reenacting? And we'll start with Chloe and then we'll just kind of go around.

SPEAKER_08 17:29

Honestly, respect. I think respect is something that is not given to a lot of female reenactors.

SPEAKER_05 17:38

In which way?

SPEAKER_08 17:39

In the way of like like for instance, at um D-Day Canyon last year, the nurses were supposed to go out onto the battlefield and hand out ice cold towels and water to help relieve the pe like the men who got overheated during the battle. And we were supposed to tell them to take off their gear and sit down, and they did not really want to listen to us, and they would only I noticed that they listened to the men that would come up behind us and yell at them the same way.

SPEAKER_07 18:09

And we were told too when they were like prepping us that you have to be super aggressive, and it was evident after we did that, like the first time, that in order to get them to listen to us, we did have to be like super firm and aggressively like you have to listen to me and almost be yanking on them.

SPEAKER_08 18:25

Like Hannah and I both had to yank rifles off of their soldiers, so Amanda should I I know you have experience in the medical world.

SPEAKER_04 18:37

Did it kind of relate to modern day where you have to be very firm and physical with them and be like, motherfucker?

SPEAKER_02 18:43

Yeah, like for sure. Take your shit off. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_07 18:46

Yeah. Um if if it's not known, I'm a nurse and I've worked in different areas as far as acute inpatient settings, home health is a big one for me. Um, and there's definitely a lot of situations that you have to be firm and put yourself in like a very authoritative type of manner in order to get people to listen to you. Because I mean, in some situations for that person, it can be uh very serious life or death, if we want to get to you know that seriousness of it, but it can't. So sometimes you have to get very like firm and authoritative. So, I mean, for me personally, I was able to pull on that experience, and just because I have a little bit of bossiness in me. So it ain't so kind of easy as to why you're my exo.

SPEAKER_05 19:35

So like that helps, but and also the reason you run this household.

SPEAKER_07 19:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:41

Okay, so on uh Chloe, do you have anything to add to that?

SPEAKER_08 19:45

Um, I've also noticed I wouldn't say it's necessarily disrespect, but there is a lot of like trying to think so there have been times where older reenactors who have been in the hobby for a long time come up to you and they try and like nitpick something about your uniform, and it's just like you don't research what these like nurses research. You are researching something completely different, and while it is still in the same realm, it's still so different, and they just don't really care um when we try and like set that boundary. I've noticed, and it's just like I'm researching my thing, you're researching researching your thing, um, and the women's side is so different than the men's side of reenacting.

SPEAKER_07 20:33

Yeah, it's not universal, yeah, like across the board, and so they can't come up and say, like, you're doing it wrong. You're like, no, I've done all this research and it's not the same. And I think it kind of like even with what you were saying, where like when I was new to it and asking for you know your opinion, you're like, I don't know, like it's different. And I think for some people to be so bold to say like, and you don't even necessarily sometimes even know them.

SPEAKER_08 20:57

And they also come up and just touch your uniform. Yeah, and it's like personal space, personal space, and also we have minors in our unit. So it's like, why are you as a 60-year-old man coming up and putting hands on one of my girls? Right, right. Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 21:09

So Marissa, as as the resident, I I'm gonna say floater. Yeah, because you that makes sense. Because you I I mean, would you I mean, do you face the same challenges or is there something sp you know more specific to what you do?

SPEAKER_06 21:24

No, I would say it's the same thing with me too, and like lack of respect, I believe, and like just not taking you seriously, um is another issue as well. It's like, oh, you're doing Warsaw Uprising, that's cute. You know, it's yeah, it's you know, just people just don't take you seriously. But yeah, what Amanda and Chloe said is spot on.

SPEAKER_05 21:43

So so when you do like a Warsaw Uprising, how many people I mean, at any given event, would you get the like what do you do like have no understanding, you know what I mean? Like what you're trying to do.

SPEAKER_06 21:55

Almost all the public I interact with, and even some reenactors, they don't know. Um, what I'm doing and what it is, what it represents.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 22:04

Um, I even had somebody at Rockford last year, they're like, oh my god, it's a captured German because they would wear German like captured uniforms.

SPEAKER_05 22:12

Well, yeah, and that that so I mean I I'm just gonna throw it out there. I s saw a picture of you on a certain site.

SPEAKER_06 22:20

Oh yeah, Farbfest. Oh, really? Yeah, you're impressed it's a Farbfest, guys.

SPEAKER_05 22:25

But yeah, but but even though they were they were saying uh it was completely off of what they were saying, you know. They were going off to oh, this is a portraying a German, and like, no, you know what I mean? Yeah. Um yeah, I mean, and Wally, please, whatever you tell me how you feel. There's a there's a fucking armband for a reason. Thank you. Exactly. Thank you.

SPEAKER_06 22:50

And I even, you know, I posted a picture side by side with one of my inspo pictures that I based my impression off of last year, and still, you know, and people are gonna be people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 23:02

So yeah. So uh Chloe, uh what roles do you feel that like women should be more comfortable portraying in specifically World War II, but you can go, you know, you can go to other areas as well, but I don't know.

SPEAKER_08 23:20

Like should be portraying?

SPEAKER_05 23:21

Oh I mean, it's as far as like w where they fit in the hobby, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_08 23:28

So there's so many different roles that for women in the hobby, um, not just civilian or army nurse. There's um German roles, there's Polish, there's um British, like there's all sorts of things, but specifically on the US side, there's wax, which is the women's army corps. Um, I've seen a couple decent wax throughout my time in reenacting. Um there's waves, um, which is women's volunteer. I I always forget that one.

SPEAKER_03 23:59

Well auxiliary volunteer or something.

SPEAKER_08 24:01

Yeah, women's auxiliary volunteer for emergency services. That's what it is. Um, and then there's wasps, which were the ones who would they wouldn't plot like fly and like actually bomb or anything, but they would just practice um or not practice, but they would transport the um planes and everything to different bases. And then I think that I'm missing one right now. But there's just so many different roles, and so many people just think that civilians are an easy way to get into reenacting.

SPEAKER_01 24:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 24:30

Um, but even like the waves have a really, really cool, not just like pants and um a jacket, like they have a really cool dress uniform, and like there's so many different ways to still like because some people are like, Oh, I don't want to go away from my femininity when I'm like doing reenacting, but it's like you can still do that.

SPEAKER_05 24:49

And right, you can have you can have both.

SPEAKER_08 24:51

Yeah, you can have both, and even with army nurses.

SPEAKER_04 24:56

Um something uh that I feel also um you said something about the British, right? Uh the Wrens. Yeah. Do you know anything about the Rens?

SPEAKER_08 25:05

Very minimally.

SPEAKER_04 25:06

Okay, so the Rens basically came up with the idea on how to sink the um the U-boats. They're the ones that came up with the quote unquote war games.

SPEAKER_08 25:17

Yeah, I have to.

SPEAKER_04 25:18

And that's to me, and I've never seen it done in the States ever. Me either. I've I've seen very little bit of it um in the uh in England, it was done, but I've never seen Wren's done in the States.

SPEAKER_08 25:33

Yeah, I've never seen it either. And another one that I've never seen from the Soviet side is Night Witches.

SPEAKER_06 25:38

Throw bricks at Germans for fun. Yeah, just gonna throw it. Hell yeah, just bricks.

SPEAKER_04 25:43

You're gonna see Marissa at the next event with a bag of bricks.

SPEAKER_06 25:46

Honestly, everybody gets one. Give me one. Rated E for everybody.

SPEAKER_05 25:50

So Marissa, uh, what what about you as far as roles that you would like to see?

SPEAKER_06 25:56

Um, I think because of my just who I am, um, I like the feminine stuff, but I also like the more intense stuff too, like Polish Uprising, um, Night Witches, things like that. I would like to see more of that. And it, you know, you don't really see it anywhere. So yeah.

SPEAKER_05 26:16

Yeah. Amanda.

SPEAKER_07 26:18

Um, I am very interested in like the Night Witches because I've heard you talk about it, Marissa, and actually read a historical fiction book where they went into it and it was really interesting and cool. And it's not something that I was familiar with before getting into this hobby um or just in general. But um honestly, this will be this year will be my second season, and just doing what we're doing as far as portraying, you know, these nurses that are on the front lines is I really enjoy that because being a nurse in real life, it's showing what they were doing. Um, but there's that medical side of it too, and just seeing personally, just like even the equipment they use in just the 40s or what resources they had when they were on the front lines, you know, overseas is just uh interest interesting to me in itself. So yeah.

SPEAKER_05 27:12

And so I and I just want to add in my own little as sorry, I'm a man.

SPEAKER_08 27:16

Oh god, I know we're talking about we wouldn't read anything. Get your opinion out of here, Pops.

SPEAKER_05 27:22

But I will say that I I absolutely and I've learned so much. Uh so when Chloe asked me to uh portray a doctor for uh D-Day last year, I started obviously doing what anyway you really dove deep into it, yeah. And it was amazing just to read a male's perspective uh as a surgeon, but you know, talking about nurses and just the um level of respect and caring that they had for each individual soldier that came in, you know. Regardless of I mean, you look at, you know, uh you look at casualties and it's it's a number, it's a it's a situation that you're dealing with, but they're you know, they were got they were guys with hopes and dreams. And so reading these books, it was, you know, like I mean, I could read uh uh a account from a soldier in the 28th, and like, yeah, you know, uh, you know, Billy Joe got, you know, hit and he was taken off the line. But then when you start reading those accounts uh by the surgeons about like what that actually looked like and then what the nurses actually like it it was a whole new level of respect for me, yeah, for what you guys try to portray because it is a hundred percent women are underrepresented in the hobby. Like, yeah, the general public they think World War II, they think Germans, Americans, guns, they think that yeah, yeah, they think the fighting man, you know. Um, but God, there was, I mean, just 100% just as important as to what that guy doing, shooting on the front line was the people who were taking care of him, or the women who were, you know, uh flying planes at night and throwing bricks, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 29:07

Turning their engines off mid-air, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 29:09

Wild. On another note too with the Night Witches, like they had basically their whole own B-17 crews, but all female too, and nobody knows about that. Right. It's never talked about. So it's really cool learning that and wanting to, you know, tell the public that because it's a really cool piece of history.

SPEAKER_07 29:26

And I mean, like, this is what nursing is, right? Like, it's about each individual person and it's about the human themselves, like that soldier that is needing that that attention, that medical attention, but then that nurse is giving that compassionate, like empathetic care that's making them that human side of it, where uh it doesn't matter what side they're on. They, you know, US soldier, German, like it's they're there to help them in their moment. Whether that's they're not gonna get better and they're passing, then that's holding their hand and helping them through that that next phase in transition. So I mean, that to me is very impactful to be able to share that in that way, in that time and during that time period. I think that's huge.

SPEAKER_08 30:13

And I think nurses just like brought a sense of home to a lot of the soldiers and yeah, the wounded that were there in the hospitals. And um, sometimes nurses were wear red lipstick, and a lot of the soldiers, like from memoirs that I've read, soldiers would tell them, like, oh, you remind me of my aunt, you remind me of my mom, you remind me of my sister, and it just would make them think about home. And it's so inside they're not not only are they helping them heal with their injuries, but inside they're just helping them feel better, which can help. Yeah, like physically too. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 30:45

I think I think you guys have come a long way. And with you three women here, um, do you guys think you're you're breaking stereotypical or the stereotypes that people may have about women within reenacting? Like, and and I'm not I'm not talking just one specific unit, but I'm talking just in general throughout like your different impressions that you may or may not do. You know, do you think that women that do the correct research and do everything properly, you guys think you're breaking the stereotypical role of women reenactors?

SPEAKER_08 31:17

I would definitely like to think so. Okay, um for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 31:23

So I hope so. So like let me let me let me rephrase this. Um Chloe, I'll I'll I'll go one by one. Chloe, your your idea of breaking that stereotypical um ideology of a woman in reenacting. What do you what what stereotype or what barrier are you breaking doing what you do in your persona and your impression?

SPEAKER_08 31:52

When I started reenacting, something that I would get a lot, and it kind of disgusts me how much I would get this question was just like, oh, you're just doing this just to be around like parties and like just to be around guys and like getting like to know people in that way. And it was just like that's not at all why I'm doing this. And I'm doing this to represent these women that are just not talked about. And in no way, shape, or form is that something that I would be doing this hobby for. And I've talked with other women who do this hobby too, and they have also experienced like the same types of questions, and it's just like, and like if they have boyfriends in the hobby, they get asked, Oh, you're only doing this to be around your boyfriend. And so I just when I started, I just really wanted to go full authenticity, do it the best that I can to break that stereotype to show that I am here for a reason, and that reason is to make these women remembered and tell their stories.

SPEAKER_04 32:48

So full autism.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 32:51

Full.

SPEAKER_04 32:52

So full autism. Okay. And what about what about you, Marissa? Like I know you you're I would consider you almost like a freelancer. Yeah. Right? Because you you can bounce between multiple different impressions, right? You could do home front, you can do uh Soviet, you can do her boyfriend. Yeah. You can do you can do Polish, you can do American. Um what stereotype do you think that personally you're breaking as a female reenactor that a lot of people, uh, and I'm I'm not gonna say a lot of people, I'm just gonna say a lot of the male um reenactors have against women.

SPEAKER_06 33:25

I think the same thing as Chloe said, like just doing this to be around my boyfriend. No, like I genuinely love history, and I was lucky enough, you know, David has been in this longer than I've known.

SPEAKER_01 33:37

Timeout. You used his government name.

SPEAKER_06 33:40

Don't ever use his sorry wool blanket.

SPEAKER_05 33:43

There we go. No one knows no one knows David.

SPEAKER_06 33:48

As he's known to me, goops.

SPEAKER_05 33:49

Um, he's your sweet little goob.

SPEAKER_06 33:53

But no, like he's been doing this a long time, and I've always been interested in doing something like this, so I got kind of like a shoe-in. Um, but not doing this because my boyfriend does it. It's because I genuinely love history and I love I want those people to be remembered, the men and the women. So, you know, I'm doing this for my reasons and no other reason, you know. So yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:17

I mean that I mean that per and you've also worked a little bit with like Pearl Harbor, haven't you?

SPEAKER_06 34:22

Yeah, I worked at the Arizona.

SPEAKER_04 34:23

Yeah, you worked in the Arizona. Yeah, so I've seen a lot of people. Loki, I'm gonna I'm gonna plug you on that because that's that's cool, that's cool as shit.

SPEAKER_05 34:31

Yeah, that that is amazing. And I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 34:33

I don't know a lot of reenactors that have ever worked. I know I could I could probably talk to a few that um work in museums or something along those lines, but being able to work somewhere where so many young men perished on such a devastating day for the US Navy.

SPEAKER_01 34:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:54

Um, and if I'm not mistaken, that was the largest amount of Navy personnel that were to die in a single day in a single battle.

SPEAKER_01 35:02

Correct.

SPEAKER_04 35:02

Um I think that that is that is remarkable. And for someone that is uh your age, it is very uh outspoken for the person that you are and how you want to preserve the history.

SPEAKER_06 35:16

For sure. Like every day, you know, I would have to tell the story basically to people that didn't know why they were there. And doing that really drew my love to history even more closer to my heart.

SPEAKER_04 35:30

So it's okay to get emotional. I might don't ask me questions. It's all right. So well, not only you worked where it started, but you also worked where it ended too.

SPEAKER_06 35:39

Yeah, I worked at the Arizona and then also at the Missouri.

SPEAKER_04 35:42

So that's that's awesome. Yeah. Now, Amanda, you've only been in this for a year and a half, coming on two years now. Coming into this, you probably had your apprehensions.

SPEAKER_07 35:54

Yeah, because it's new. It's new.

SPEAKER_04 35:56

Everything, yeah. Everything's when you when you get into something like this, it's definitely new and you're definitely uh concerned, anxious, yeah, kind of maybe a little stressed out. Right, the unknown with you being a year into it and having a year of doing different events underneath your belt. What have you seen in the in the first year, full year, of you doing this and having those stereotypes? What stereotypes do you think that you're breaking? Me personally, I'm I'm gonna put it out there right now. You're you're an RN, you're you're a registered nurse. Yeah. I think you portraying an exo of a field evacuation hospital and being a registered nurse goes a long way. Um, and you because and not just because you have the expertise as a nurse, but you can also talk to people about what it is to to be a nurse. Yeah. Um the stereotypes that you're breaking, and in my opinion, are are are lengths and strides. What do you think that you're breaking as a registered nurse that's portraying a nurse from World War II?

SPEAKER_07 37:00

I mean, I think it ties into authenticity. Um, I mean, the I want to go back to like the first question of challenges being a woman and reenacting, and to me, that's just being a woman. So, like, we're like, yeah, it just goes back to like as basic as that, just being a woman and reenacting. So then how, like in my head, like, okay, I'm learning all of this. How can I bring, you know, my knowledge of being a registered nurse forward as I learn this and something that I'm really interested in and enjoying? And it's authenticity. It's not just the authenticity of, you know, learning, you know, what our unit did or our uniforms and making sure that we're, you know, portraying it and honoring those women. But then it's also like showing up as a registered nurse and being able to speak to it in a way that I have that knowledge and background from what I do in my day-to-day life into then what it was like, which is so interesting as far as like how different it was in so many different ways. But um, authenticity, I think, is like the biggest, the biggest thing. Um, and that hopefully as we continue to do this year after year, and it's not just other reenactors as they continue to see us to show up and continue to show that authenticity, but continuing to educate the public too, whether it's people that repeat coming to events or it's new people, then that spreads, right? Like I feel like as we do it longer, then it's gonna spread more, and then hopefully we get recognized more.

SPEAKER_08 38:29

And the 45th um has already been seeing some recognition over like the past two years, and especially I feel like since you've joined and since we've really focused on like racking up the authenticity and making things yeah, better. Yeah, we've been noticed and people reach out to us to ask us to come to events. And in my mind, that in itself is breaking that stereotype. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 38:53

And I mean, I would think that would as if we stay true to that, I would just think that that would continue to grow. I agree. Solidify even more, which I think is awesome. And that's why we're doing it.

SPEAKER_05 39:03

So and I I so I just Amanda, I just want to ask you one question as a nurse, because though and I I'm speaking for myself as a man that was in the army for 15 years and uh Dalton being a army, yes, um but and be being uh um being a nurse, like be I mean, in your day-to-day profession being a nurse, what what um level of um I mean how does that affect you as portraying a nurse, you know, because you're you're portraying those who became for you, you know what I mean? So like for me, it's it's very, you know, heartfelt like to portray um I feel a sense of pride.

SPEAKER_07 39:51

Like, I mean, even like thinking about it, like it makes me want to like get a little emotional thinking about it, you know, because like there's such significance and meaning behind it. Um not just my own, like how I personally feel about it, but then just thinking like bigger picture. So, and I felt that way too, like during events, talking to the public as well, where I feel a sense of pride. So uh I can feel a little emotional.

SPEAKER_04 40:19

So so that we're gonna tie that into like acceptance. Like, how do how do you ladies feel? We're gonna do a little around Robin here. How do you ladies feel acceptance into other groups at that point? Like whoever wants to start off first, we can we can go down the list. I don't care what, but what we're gonna go in acceptance of like how do you guys feel acceptance in within the hobby, within the units, with whatever it may be. So uh what's uh Marissa, let's start with you first.

SPEAKER_02 40:49

Oh, um, this is the on the spot here.

SPEAKER_06 40:54

Um, I think for me is just like, I mean, I have all of you guys too surrounding me, so that's acceptance, but also encouraging each other to be better, even if we're not, you know, I'm not part of the 45th, but we encourage each other to be better every day, you know, um, with our impressions and if we're feeling down about something, you know, we we lift each other up and even with the guys too, the 28th and what have you. Um, but yeah, it's just a really it's an accepting community for the most part. I mean you get your one-offs, but that's besides the point.

SPEAKER_04 41:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 41:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:29

And acceptance and and not just within our group of friends, but within other groups. How how do you all feel about that? That's the biggest question because I because yes, we are technically a one. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 41:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:44

We are technically cool technically one. Yeah. We're we're all falling underneath the kind of the the same umbrella, let's say.

SPEAKER_08 41:50

I just always refer to the 20th as the brother unit to the 45th.

SPEAKER_04 41:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 41:54

Um, but I would say that like from other female units, I um like have felt no divide. Um, there's this unit called the Cats Meow. Um, they come to Rockford and they that's the only event that I've seen them at, but at Rockford, I think it was like two years ago, um, at SNA one morning, they all came up to us and told us that we looked really good. And we were like, oh my gosh, you guys look really good too. And we took this big group photo that had like I think I remember that. Yeah, it had like 40 women in the photo, and it was such a powerful moment to me. Because I was like, Oh my gosh, look at all these women in reenacting when I started, this was not a thing. Yeah, and so I think like when I started the 45th, um, the Katz Meow like was also just starting to grow a little bit too. Um, and I think they've really grown. And so at least from that unit in particular, I've felt just like open arms. Um, and then like kind of what I hinted on with community earlier, um like every other unit that I go to, like when I walk around at night and I'm talking with people, they're all just like, oh my gosh, Chloe, it's so good to see you. And if I'm with new girls in the unit, they'll like be like, Oh, who's that? Who are you like who's this with your new unit now? Or who's new in your unit now? And I've only ever felt acceptance from other units.

SPEAKER_04 43:12

So do you do you think you girls, and I'm I'm talking you three in general, and then girls in broad spectrum, do you think you guys kind of broke that stigma?

SPEAKER_06 43:24

I would like to think so. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 43:27

Like you broke that stigma, like like would you were just I'm gonna hint on what you were just talking about, like at Rockford two years ago. You had a picture of 40 plus women, right? Was that a thing?

SPEAKER_08 43:38

I have never seen a photo of that ever done before.

SPEAKER_04 43:41

Right. And so, like, I I and I think that stigma is getting broken of of more women coming into the hobby.

SPEAKER_08 43:50

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 43:51

And and and being like, hey, this well, we were actually in this.

SPEAKER_08 43:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 43:56

Like it wasn't just men, you know, and you guys are breaking that. Stigma, whether it be nursing or a free floater of weting Germans. Right.

SPEAKER_07 44:06

Be that big group photo and Kanyat, too. Yeah, that too.

SPEAKER_04 44:09

So when it's continues, it's continuous. And whatever it may be, you guys, I think, are on the leading edge of breaking that stigma. Whether it's whether it's the nursing or whether it's your your other floater impressions, because it's stuff like that is underrepresented.

SPEAKER_08 44:26

When I first started reenacting, I was told by some other um female reenactors who just did like civilian stuff that the women in this hobby were really cutthroat and really mean. And I have not experienced that once.

SPEAKER_04 44:42

So on on the on the whole cutthroat thing for you for you women, like have you seen lack of authenticity? Have you seen high authenticity? Have you seen low authenticity? I've seen both. Because for us guys, it's very easy. Yeah. It's very easy to tell that guy's a fucking thing. I mean, I'm a little bit on the table. That guy is a horrible, horrible representation of an airborne or of an infantry guy.

SPEAKER_08 45:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:11

For us guys or a Marine, right? Us guys, yeah. Were you in the Marines, bro? For us guys, we are we we know, we know what to look for, but we may not know what to look for for the women. So what do you ladies see within authenticity-wise for women in reenacting?

unknown 45:30

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 45:31

Oh, yeah, that's a tough question. I know.

SPEAKER_06 45:34

I mean, like when I first started getting into reenacting, I was very like hyper-focused on wax. And when I see wax, I do really, I kind of I'm a creep. I really look a lot at their uniforms and inspect it. Um, and I've noticed that there are really great impressions out there. I haven't seen any really, I want to say like Farby whack impressions. Um, I don't know much about other um female impressions, except for the ones that I study. Um, so I can't speak on those, but the whack ones so far, so good. Yeah. You know, so that's nice to see.

SPEAKER_02 46:09

I've seen some good and bad. Good and bad.

SPEAKER_08 46:13

I wouldn't necessarily say the bad is like really bad though. It's mostly just like little things, little nitpicky things here and there. Um recently something that I've noticed is Lack of Education. Lack, yeah, lack of education for sure. Um, lipstick is something that we used, even the 45th used to do, but I have recently like found from pictures of the 45th, like, oh, that wasn't really commonly done. It was like one to two girls that would actually have lipstick on. Um and so that's of like a very common misconception with a lot of nurses, is I see girls like with bright red lipstick on, full makeup done, and like that's just not the same.

SPEAKER_02 46:49

It's not the norm.

SPEAKER_08 46:49

Yeah, it's not the norm. Um, and we always do the norm, not the like one percent.

SPEAKER_02 46:54

Yeah, you you you do the there's a same thing.

SPEAKER_04 46:58

You do the quality over the quantity, yeah. And there's a an exception over whatever else.

SPEAKER_07 47:03

Yeah, and exactly. I feel like it it also is just kind of like we're the same as the guys. There's gonna be some impressions that are better than others, yeah, and same with the guys, you know, like the same thing.

SPEAKER_04 47:16

And there's there's some touch, there's some shit to be touched on about that for sure.

SPEAKER_06 47:20

Yeah, can I just say one thing?

SPEAKER_04 47:22

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_06 47:22

Okinaw dresses. Oh yeah, and I'm gonna end it there. So you're talking like late 50s dresses that are worn at all the 40s events and the seamed stockings and stuff. But I'm not, you know, you know, you know, nope, hey, you know what we're gonna end there.

SPEAKER_04 47:40

You know what? Honestly, I'm glad you guys brought that up because it's something that us guys personally may not fucking know. You know, we know you know we don't as myself in blanket, we know that's not a fucking thing. No right, but as some people don't, they're like, oh hot lips.

SPEAKER_08 48:02

Exactly. The amount of I that's why I said that because I'm the amount of times that people have come up to me at events and said hot lips hula hand, it just makes me want to like punch them punch them in the face, like absolutely not. That's disgusting.

SPEAKER_04 48:15

Yep.

SPEAKER_08 48:16

I you saw that at Morengo last year.

SPEAKER_04 48:18

Yeah, and that's and that's kind of why like it's just one of those, it's a stereotype. Yeah, it's a stereotype, like oh porka dot four. Like, no, like that wasn't a thing. It was not a thing, that was a fit late 50s outfit. Like that was a that was what was it? It was we're not in the fucking 50s, we're not in Korea. Mm-hmm. You know, it's one of those things. So as as we're talking about this topic of outfits and clothing, how do you guys perceive gear availability? I mean ladies, ladies, thanks for the question. How do you ladies uh uh approach gear availability for women? Oh are there are there decent amounts of- Amanda's got something to say.

SPEAKER_08 48:59

I got something.

SPEAKER_04 49:01

Are there a decent amount of reproductions out there? Can you can you guys find originals? I know for some guys it's hard to find originals and they have to fit into uh reproductions because they can't fit into originals. I don't I don't I don't know the difference between women and men's. I know it can be difficult on both sides. That's all I know. So let's hear your guys' input, your ladies' input on on that. So we're gonna start with Amanda. How do you feel?

SPEAKER_07 49:27

So um with my body and uh my body type, it's I would say not the same as maybe the average 40s woman. So um I would say a little bit of a challenge trying to find you know the the right size, but I was happy to be able to do that and then you know make the alterations that I needed. But I mean, you know, as a woman, that's you know, it's kind of like, oh god, that's feel great. Like, is this gonna be, you know, like really challenging because you know, overall average is not maybe where I'm at. But um, yeah, it worked out to where, you know, I feel like I'm authentic and I'm not, you know, good luck finding original gear to any of the women in this hobby.

SPEAKER_08 50:16

But unless you're Serena. Yeah, right?

SPEAKER_00 50:19

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:20

Marissa, I I'm I'm curious. Well both you and Chloe and every I'm curious about all.

SPEAKER_06 50:25

Well, when you're a woman that's built like a linebacker, it's kind of hard. So when you're full, it's like Amanda said, you know, when you have the not average body type of a woman in the 40s, it's very hard. And I'll scroll eBay and all these other sites for hours, and David can attest to this. I will have a full-on panic attack if I can't find what I'm looking for. Yeah. Um, but reproductions are so far so good, but a lot of them get sold out so quick. I don't know if it's because they don't make enough or I would I would have to assume. I would assume so too.

SPEAKER_04 51:00

I mean, I mean, even blanket myself. I mean, yeah. There is times that we we get struggled to find in our size.

SPEAKER_06 51:08

I also have large feet, which doesn't matter. Oh, maybe. Yeah. I wear size 10. I wear an 11.

SPEAKER_02 51:13

So you know uh Wow Austin. Sorry. Uh Chloe, how do you feel about it? I did it again. I know. Sorry.

SPEAKER_08 51:22

I know we're like basically twins. Um, yeah, it's definitely really hard. Um, and over the years, um I've collected a lot of stuff and it's been through mostly reproduction. Um, women in the 40s didn't really have hips. No. And so trying to like fit into something that maybe might fit my waist isn't gonna fit my hips. And if it gets over my hips, it's gonna be like three sizes too big for my waist. Um, and so finding stuff like that, um, specifically like right now for um D-Day Canyon, they do a like ball type thing where a lot of the women wear ball gowns or like evening gowns. Not ball gowns. Um trying to find evening gowns for um that event or like that thing is so hard for like women, I feel like, because one, they're just so scarce, but then when it comes to like regular uniforms, finding an original like women's uniform, HBTs, HBT pants, slim to none. Like I've found maybe one at vendors so far, and like throughout my however many years of reenacting and most of my stuff, like I try and look on Facebook Marketplace, I try and look on eBay, and like Marissa said, like panic attacks that come from that when you're not finding what you need. It's like it's tough. It's so tough.

SPEAKER_04 52:55

So do you do you guys find some sort of comfort in modern reproductions at least?

SPEAKER_08 53:01

QMI has some pretty good reproductions for like HBTs. Um there's like at the front did release one I think they don't have it anymore.

SPEAKER_02 53:11

Not so not shocked. Yeah, but not shocked. Like two years? Yeah, about a year or so. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 53:20

There was one site that had a full whack dress uniform, and I was yeah, World War II Impressions, and they don't have it anymore. And I was about to buy it, and yeah, no, it's not there.

SPEAKER_08 53:31

I bought it and um like it like was pretty good quality overall, but um like the sizings of it are just so so messed up and so up. Yeah, I definitely yeah, I did. And I still have to put the lapels on because they don't come with that.

SPEAKER_01 53:47

So the epilets?

SPEAKER_08 53:48

Yeah, the epaulets that did you buy the the whack one and so the nurses, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 53:53

So going into the realities of being a female and reenacting, um I know that there's a lot of differences between obviously male doing a combat impression versus female doing a nurse impression. Um but so uh just speaking specifically, hygiene struggles. What what do women face as far as hygiene struggles go versus you know, I mean, we we we we can show up on a Friday, throw a uh a blanket down in in a water-filled hole and be like, yep, that's where I'm sleeping all weekend.

SPEAKER_08 54:32

Yeah, no, but as far as I I have always been envious of how you guys go to bed like at a decent time, well, unless you're around the fire drinking, and then that that has never ever happened.

SPEAKER_05 54:49

You know why? Never that would be having too much fun at an event, and we don't do that.

SPEAKER_08 54:55

We we don't have any fun, you just drink too much and then you lay down in the cuddle puddle.

SPEAKER_04 54:59

Also, that's so there's there's a key word in there drinking, right? I can tell you from experience, doing it drunk sucks ass. Yeah, it sucks ass. So yeah, sober cuddles suck. Sober cuddles suck.

SPEAKER_02 55:14

It depends on who you cuddle.

SPEAKER_04 55:16

Yes, I can I from experience, yep, from experience, can can can say Woolly is definitely a great Polish cuddler.

SPEAKER_08 55:24

Yes, he is. All right.

SPEAKER_04 55:25

Well yeah.

SPEAKER_08 55:27

But I've just been so envious of how you guys go to bed, yeah, you get up like right at like seven-ish, and you go and sit around the fire, maybe crack a beer, smoke a cigarette, as we're getting up at the crack ass of dawn, putting on like doing undoing our pin curls, putting up our hair, getting the rest of the display set up because like that does not even hygiene related, but then going to the bathroom because you guys just get to piss in the woods. Let me let me ask you. Except with Amanda, her pee-wee.

SPEAKER_05 55:57

Yes! There it is. There it is.

SPEAKER_07 56:01

Amanda. You know what? Technology is great, Amanda.

SPEAKER_05 56:05

Let us speak on your what is what is your pee-wee?

SPEAKER_07 56:09

It's my version of being able to pee in the woods like a man.

SPEAKER_05 56:13

What does that entail?

SPEAKER_07 56:15

Well, you know, it's uh uh a plastic contraption where you can go to the bathroom standing up as a female without getting it all over yourself.

SPEAKER_05 56:25

Okay, and Marissa, do you have anything to add about this?

SPEAKER_06 56:29

Um, well, when it's really dark out and I am pretty sure everybody's asleep, I'll just pop a squat. Yeah, when everybody is just not in the vicinity. Yeah, I'll just walk enough feet away.

SPEAKER_08 56:42

Hopefully, nobody will see the amount of times I've gone tents for that.

SPEAKER_04 56:45

So that explains a lot of your Irish goodbyes.

SPEAKER_06 56:48

Boy, you have no idea. This girl is hydrated.

SPEAKER_05 56:55

So Amanda introduced a pee-wee to you all.

SPEAKER_06 56:57

It sounds like it's a Shi Wee.

SPEAKER_07 56:59

She wee. Shiwi, sorry. That's my mean, but the peewee. The peewee is kind of funny. It tells you what it is.

SPEAKER_05 57:07

That is amazing.

SPEAKER_08 57:09

It's on Amazon. And baby wipes are also like God's end. You have to have them. You have to have dry shampoo, baby wipes.

SPEAKER_05 57:16

As some ex-military members here, we love our baby wipes. Yes. For that, that's all you need. Um, so as far as but I mean, besides the Shiwi, um Yeah. So I mean, you you mentioned it, you you wake up, you guys get things out of your hair, and and then we're just kind of rolling out of like yeah, envious, you know.

SPEAKER_07 57:41

Yeah, and it's like we could we have to go find like a bathroom too. We can't just porta potty.

SPEAKER_08 57:46

Some events don't have real bathrooms and they just have porta potties.

SPEAKER_05 57:48

Well, why it so why can't you guys use porta potties?

SPEAKER_07 57:52

I mean, I'm not trying to like do my hair or like use body wipes in a porta potty. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 57:58

Right.

SPEAKER_08 57:58

And then also at a venture. So it's so it's I'm sorry, so like mostly wise and it's gross.

SPEAKER_05 58:04

I just want to get this out here. It's not just specifically you do not want to piss in a porta potty.

SPEAKER_07 58:11

Correct.

SPEAKER_05 58:11

It's because you have to look in the little foggy ass mirror on the porta potty wolp door trying to get shit out of your hair. Like, okay. Exactly. Because I think there may be a misconception somewhere that women are just uh I don't want to use a porta potty, but no, it's not.

SPEAKER_08 58:30

I've used a porta potty to piss. I just don't want to do all that in there, especially when it's hot. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 58:38

You don't want to shit where you do your hair.

SPEAKER_07 58:39

Exactly. Exactly. That's basically it.

SPEAKER_05 58:42

Thank you, Dolphin. So uh and this and this is something that uh so if for people who don't know um the 28th or um sorry, item company is is very like the 45th is a sister unit, companion unit to us. So we're we're very protective of the nurses, uh vice versa. Um but with that comes, you know, uh you go to a public event, you have people who may not be part of item company um and aren't part of 45th at night trying to insert themselves in situations they shouldn't be in. Uh so sleeping arrangements. Um so how how does that differ from I mean, you know, us guys, we can we can throw down anywhere. We can throw a blanket down and sleeping on the fire. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 59:41

Yeah. Um sleeping foxhole. Yeah. So especially as like the CO of the unit, I have well, we're down to one minor now because Abby just she's 18.

SPEAKER_05 59:52

She's 18. Uh happy birthday, Abby, by the way.

SPEAKER_08 59:54

Happy birthday, Abby. Um, but we have one minor in the unit, and um even without minors, like I want to make sure every single girl in my unit is safe, and that extends to outside of Oh yeah, and that ex that extends to So what what do you say?

SPEAKER_05 1:00:15

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:15

Um it extends to any girl outside of my unit. So if I meet a girl um who doesn't really have a unit yet, she's just trying to get into reenacting, but she doesn't have a place to sleep, I always tell her that our tent is open. So I usually try and bring one GP medium, if not both, to um which I don't if you don't know, a GP medium is 600 pounds of canvas and plus the poles and everything that has to be set up with it. Thank you, the 28th, for helping us with that. We could not do that without you. Item company, sorry. Pops just did it too, it's not just me.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:50

Um so for those that don't know, uh, we have officially changed our name from Item Company 28th to just item company, so we can uh fit in wherever we're needed. Oh, cool. Yeah, so we are no longer the 28th Infantry Division. Uh yeah, so we're we're item company. Breaks my heart, but I'm okay with it. We did we did talk about it. It was it was a discussion, yes. Uh yeah, so yeah, anyways.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:19

So, anyways, we set up those big tents and we um most of the girls have their own cots, they bring cots, and then we um have a sign that says, Oh, it's like nurses only ring before entry, just like as a as kind of a joke, and people always ask us questions about that, but they're like, Where's the doorbell? Um, but we don't let any men in those sleeping quarters. Um, that's where the girls are like changing, that's where they keep all their stuff, that's where they're sleeping. Um, Amanda or I are usually sleeping in there. Um I sometimes have a wall tent that I set up, but I mostly will be just sleeping with the girls.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:58

Um and it and I'm sorry, I just want to point out too that uh on the beginning of an event, so say we we all show up Friday and you guys are sitting, it's well known to all of us like, hey, this is our sleeping quarters, and what that means to item company is a keep an eye out. Yeah, if we see someone that is not part of ID company trying to be bash antique.

SPEAKER_08 1:02:21

Yeah, yeah. And even if like last year, um Austin saw someone who I knew just like cat, or I don't know which what twin it was, but Austin or Dalton.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:32

It was me, Dalton. It was Dalton.

SPEAKER_08 1:02:34

Saw like someone who I knew just.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:36

They're both they're both handsome sons of bitch.

SPEAKER_08 1:02:39

It was the Marine, the crazy um he just saw someone like walking past the tent, and he didn't know who he was and at that point, but I had known him, and so I didn't really think anything of it, but he brought it to my attention, and to me, that just like proved to me that they're always watching us and they always have our backs.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:55

Yes, and that, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_08 1:02:57

And it's every single person in item company, not just like you guys that are in this room.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:01

And and so people know, like if you go to an event and you're looking at, like, hey, I want to find the guys from item company, I know they do this podcast, and we know, like, oh, yeah, you guys are involved with nurses, I want to learn more about it. That's fine. Uh they're all they're your nine times out of ten right next to us. Yep. And we will introduce you happily. Just don't stay after hours. Because then there will be a problem.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:30

So uh now as far as weather goes, is there do you think there's a difference between what we face as male reenactors versus females as far as like you know, bad weather or I think you guys embrace the suck a little bit more.

SPEAKER_08 1:03:50

Um but I think um I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:56

I've I think we hold our own.

SPEAKER_08 1:03:58

Yeah, I think we hold our own. I don't love being, you know, we do our hair so nice, and then to for it to just get rained on and all of us have to like redo it again. That kind of sucks. That makes it harder. But like we do hold our own. You guys will just be out in the rain sometimes, and I'm not doing that. I'm gonna be under the protection of the tent.

SPEAKER_07 1:04:16

Yeah, for sure. I mean, and even like not just talking about like rain. I had a little bit of a hard time um at Kanye last year with the heat. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:04:25

Same, yeah. Both of us got pretty affected by the heat.

SPEAKER_07 1:04:28

Yeah, yeah. You that one day, and then me the next. It was just like it took us out quite. It did, yeah. So it's also like we want to like try to push ourselves, but I think it's like also being smart too, about like reminding ourselves that okay, that this weather misery is not just related to rain, but it can be sun and it can be heat, it can be wind, it can be like anything.

SPEAKER_08 1:04:53

Yeah, cool. Like we were leaving Kanyat last year and we were packing up and saw that storm from across the way. And that was wild.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:00

Everybody did pretty good at Moringo, though. Yeah, well moring the first year.

SPEAKER_08 1:05:04

Oh, with all the rain, yeah. That was I mean, we just the nurses kind of just hid under the fly the whole time.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:09

Yeah, you guys, you guys definitely did.

SPEAKER_08 1:05:10

You guys definitely did I stood in front of the fire for a little bit to dry off, but then it just we were keeping the thing cooking.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:16

Yeah. That thing was cooking.

SPEAKER_08 1:05:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:19

Um all right, so between between the three of you, I'm gonna I'm just gonna do round robin here, right? And we're gonna start with Chloe, Marissa, and then Amanda. Um, what is your most badass reenacting story?

SPEAKER_08 1:05:34

I'd say mine is definitely um, so you know, started this unit at age 16. Um, and that in itself, I feel like is pretty cool. But yeah, um, I've recruited, I think we have over like eight girls in the unit, nine. Um, and last year, um, we as a unit were individually invited to D Day Canyon in Ohio, which is an invitation only. For your unit to go. You can sometimes fall in with other units, but our unit specifically, the 45th Evacuation Hospital, got invited. And not only did we get invited last year, we they thought we did such a good job this year that we got invited back. And as a CEO of the 45th, that in itself just like fills me with so much joy because that it is a huge honor.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:19

That's a that's a big tap in the back right there as a CEO. You're kind of like, okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:06:23

I'm doing the right thing.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:24

My my girls and I were doing the right thing. Yeah, exactly. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. What about you, Marissa? What's your most badass story as a reenactor and uh a female reenactor at that?

SPEAKER_06 1:06:34

I think for me, um, it was it was my first Rockford, so two years ago. Um, I had one of the Polish reenactors who came up to me and actually thanked me um and got emotional for doing the Warsaw Uprising impression that I was doing. So that was really cool feeling like I was doing the right thing.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:51

That was when I did it with you.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:52

That was yeah, we got those cool those those sick ass pictures.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:55

Not gonna lie. Those are dropping a mixtape. Yeah, dropping that mixtape, yeah. Yeah, Warsaw, Warsaw 1944. Yeah, we we did we did get some fucking hard photos of that.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:05

Um we don't talk about the trigger finger though.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:07

No, yeah, fuck modern ass bullshit. Fucking what about you, Amanda? All right, I I know you have been in for roughly a year and a half, two years now coming in. Um you I guarantee you you have some sort of badass story that in in your opinion, you're like, hell yeah, I did a good on that shit.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:27

I mean, honestly, it was when I really like this. It was when we were at uh Kanye and we were going down after they were coming onto the beach, and we had to go like give them cool towels and water, and they were like, you know, hey, you gotta be sometimes firm and you know, really make sure that you know they don't have heat stroke. And so I'm like, all right, yeah, let's do that.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:48

So so you're getting into your actual nurse duties there.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:51

Yeah, and there was a guy I saw him. I'm like, ooh, I got one. And he like he didn't want to listen. And I'm like, listen, man, you you need to listen to me. It's time to start taking your stuff off. And he's like, You're right, I don't feel good. And then he like kind of fell over, and I'm like, Oh, I got one. This is it, this is this is it. I'm gonna go. She came up to me afterwards and she was like, I got one. Yeah, and I'm like helping him out. And then I got like the, you know, they got the little gator over to take him off. And we saw him next the next night at the dance, and it's like, oh great, he's doing good. He like left his, you know, he left his gun and everything. Like he was out. So yeah, that made me happy to like be like, okay, I actually got to like help someone and like fulfill the duty that we were given um and be able to do the things I needed to do, but then like know that he had that like successful ending.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:38

Oh yeah. But I mean, I mean, as a nurse, I probably made you feel a lot better because you you all your training had really paid off.

SPEAKER_07 1:08:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:45

You're like, this dude's going into it. I need to stop this guy real quick. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:08:49

So not looking good.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:52

This is gonna be this is gonna be a quick little uh rough topic. Um, this is also going into like closing thoughts of like everybody. Uh roles of women in tactic. Okay. Now I'm gonna I'm gonna preface this because there can be roles and women as tacticals for different theaters of operation. Right. And and this is where it gets this is where it gets super technical, right? As a 45th. I'm gonna I'm just gonna put a blanket statement. As the 45th, as a woman, you wouldn't have been at a tactical.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:28

Correct. Now, if you're doing an eastern theater operation, right? So you're doing Soviet.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:36

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:36

There would have been women.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:38

There would have been infantry women, snipers, all that.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:41

Correct.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:42

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:43

Amanda, you as a 45th as well, wouldn't have been women. What is your and I'm gonna go I'm gonna do the same thing, Chloe, Marissa, Amanda. Your opinion as a woman partaking in a tactical.

SPEAKER_08 1:09:58

So um I've been to one tactical, um, and I wanted to have it set up so that there would be an actual like hospital for the wounded and like have actual wound cards set up. I had a whole thing set up and the event coordinator just didn't follow through on it. So it kind of ended up being like not great. It was in February, so it was really cold. So I was like, oh, it's a perfect time for people to come warm up.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:10:21

Um, come to the hospital. It gives me a role to be there. You know, I would love to do reenactments all year round. And if that means going to a tactical and figuring out a role in a tactical, then yeah, I love that idea. Yeah, but obviously nurses are not gonna be like in the field like that.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:37

I'm I'm right there with you. I think that I think that's also a big thing that is missing within tacticals is that role.

SPEAKER_08 1:10:45

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:46

And I and I think I think you hit it spot on, right? You have the guys that are quote unquote uh dead, right? They if they need to get warm, maybe you have a fire that's outside the tent or they just need to get out of the wind because it's cold. They can just stump jump inside your GP and they're getting warm, they're getting out of the wind, you know, so on and so forth. You're you may not necessarily be portraying the nurse's role, but you are in a sense, because you're you're still taking care of the guys that are out there fighting.

SPEAKER_08 1:11:15

Exactly. So the Gothic line tactical, um, they have a like running field hospital there that they um have guys come back to with like wound cards and they have to get signed off by a norse nurse in order to go back because that's a week-long tactical.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:11:30

So they also have to like make sure that they're like okay and like ready to go. Yeah, that's cool shit. Yeah, and it just like gives them time to rest and like make sure that people are actually resting too. And I would love to bring that to some of the tacticals here. And um, when the Pennsylvania tactical was going on, there was some talk about doing it. Um, but I don't think that's happening anymore.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:49

We'll we'll get to that in a further we're a further episode, but yes. Now, Marissa, you have more experience with the Eastern Front and and Soviet. How do you feel with women being in tacticals just in in a in a in a general stance?

SPEAKER_06 1:12:06

Um if it's done correctly, yes. It's fun, it's a good experience. Um, I also did a tactical where I was a photographer for a Vietnam tactical, which was really fun. Um but if it's again done correctly, I think it's good.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:22

All right. Oh yeah. Yeah. Uh Manda, um you haven't done a tactical yet.

SPEAKER_07 1:12:27

I have not. Yes, I I was gonna say I don't don't have any experience with that.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:30

All right.

SPEAKER_07 1:12:31

Um I did like hearing um what Chloe said about it and her ideas with that. Like hearing that, like, okay, I feel like that's something that I could see myself doing in that regard. Yeah. Um, but yeah, that that's all I can bring to the table on that question.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:49

I want to say uh thank you to all three of you women on uh behalf of myself, Sean, and Austin. Uh it was a pleasure having you guys on the podcast. Um, I feel that we have definitely brought a uh new light to women within the reenacting community, whether it be World War II, World War I, Civil War, French and Indian War, Revolutionary War. Um, I think all the three of you are guys are definitely the forefront of women within reenacting. Um, every single one of you has brought a new um level to the reenacting community. And that's not just trying to like boast your guys' ego or anything like that. That's that's my actual personal honest opinion. Um, because there are women out there that just do it to to dress up. And I think you guys, I think you guys are doing the right thing, and I'm very, very glad that uh I can call you sisters within reenacting. Um and you know, it's it's a hard thing for women to get into something that's male dominated. And it definitely I think we're trying to bring the light out, and having you guys on here is going to uh boast that. And I'm hoping that there's you know, there's guys out there that are gonna listen to this and be like, you know, maybe my my my wife or my significant other has has produced interest in wanting to at least go to an event and you know maybe partake in it. Um maybe she at first she may not be the greatest, but she's gonna she eventually she's gonna learn. And I think you guys are going to be the forefront of this, and you guys are definitely are. Um, and there's a great step forward, especially with the age range that you all have within this community. Um other than that, do you have any closing comments?

SPEAKER_08 1:14:37

I just want to say thank you so much for having me. Like this has been so great to be able to talk about all of the tism that goes on in my head when it comes to women reenacting um and like talk about it out loud, and it's just really good to um talk about it with other women too and experience like especially like Marissa's side. Like, I feel like we don't talk a whole lot about it. Um, so it was like a pleasure being on here.

SPEAKER_07 1:14:59

Yeah, sure. Thank you guys. Yeah, I agree. Thank you for having us being able to talk about our experience and you know what we think and how we see it and how we enjoy it.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:11

Yeah. So thank you. Obviously, thank you so much for coming and speaking to us. But it has come to that point where we are all of blanks.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:20

All the fucking beer. I don't think we're out of bullshit yet.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:24

Well, we're we're close enough. So um we have our Instagrams, our Facebook. So Facebook, you can find us at blanks beers and bullshit. The S is the money sign. You can find us at Instagram at blanks underscore beers underscore BS. You can find Austin at Midwest underscore reenactor19. Please send him a message just congratulating him on the baby.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:52

Or just to keep himself occupied.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:54

Yeah. Uh, you can find Dalton at Midwest underscore USMCR. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What does that stand for? Well, you're marine, dude. United States Marine Corps reenacting. You're a marine, dude? Yes, sir. You can find uh myself and Stan at MWCC underscore chaps. Uh we're on Instagram. We are on Facebook as well. You can find Chloe at Captain, I'm sorry, Captain, which is CPT underscore hail 1944. Uh Amanda, do you have an Instagram or Facebook you want to put out there or no? You don't have to.

SPEAKER_07 1:16:35

Uh no, it's just the 45th. Yeah, okay. Yeah, just the 45th. Yeah. The 45th Instagram.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:42

We can also plug uh blanket and marissa share. Yeah, they're an acting Instagram.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:48

She does her own Instagram.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:49

Okay. Well on Instagram. Marissa, would you like to plug your Instagram?

SPEAKER_06 1:16:53

Uh sure. It's life.with dot mcgriddle. Um, nickname McGriddle's from Jaden. We love Jaden.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:01

We do love Jaden. Um, and then I'm gonna take this moment to also plug uh please. If if you love animals in any way, shape, or form, Dud. Yes, Dudley, yeah, then you need you need to go to Dudley dot the dot reenacting dot corgi. And if you don't, then you hate animals. And you're a horrible person.

SPEAKER_06 1:17:22

And also tomorrow's his fourth birthday. Yeah. Happy birthday, Dudley. March 22nd. So if you don't register my happy birthday, I wish Disons are you.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:31

No, uh, so this will be terminated or timeline. So by the time you hear this, his birthday will have already happened. But if you hear this episode and you don't go to Dudley dot the dot reenacting dot corgi, then uh you're a piece of shit. Yeah, yeah, pretty much.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:48

Send him a birthday message.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:50

Or again, anyways, folks, we're definitely out of beers, we're out of blanks, and we're full of bullshit. Full of bullshit. Catch you next time. All right. Bye. Bye.