THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 18, 1996 TAG: 9603180073
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
Roman legionnaires, British troops and modern-day military police mingled over the weekend on the grounds of the Jamestown Settlement.
About 2,700 people attended the 13th annual ``Military Through the Ages'' event, where visitors chatted with Ed Safford, who was suited up in the segmented body armor of a Roman legionnaire.
Safford and his fellow legionnaire re-enactors on Saturday fielded questions about being in the Roman Army, which conquered Britain centuries ago. They also let spectators try on their helmets.
There were similar scenes all over the Jamestown Settlement, as military figures past and present offered a living history lesson.
Each of the roughly 30 groups set up their own camps to give people a glimpse of how they lived, what they wore and the weapons they used.
Safford, who says his interest in the Roman legionnaires dates to translating Caesar in his eighth-grade Latin class, was enjoying the mix of soldiers around him.
``If you do a single period show, you get more mass,'' Safford said, referring to the number of soldiers who show up. ``Here, you get a lot of variety.''
Troops from the Battle of Britain lounged in front of their tents, smoking pipes and listening to a record. Re-enactor Bob Gregory of Williamsburg recalled a battle his 41st Virginia Volunteer Infantry Company I fought in 1864, during which its commanding officer was killed and had to be buried between the skirmish lines.
Just past the 3rd U.S. Infantry troops from the Civil War, who were marching before onlookers, members of the Virginia Army National Guard's 229th Military Police Company were talking to visitors about the military police's role.
``We're basically letting the kids have a good time,'' said Pfc. James Carter, of Petersburg. ``The biggest attraction with everyone, adults and kids, seems to be the Humvee - if they can get one, where they can get one with an M-60 on top of it.'' by CNB