Sound Off trooper!

[OneZero]

This community here is getting bigger.
I think it is best that we all get to know each other before this community gets even bigger.

What if we create a ‘Sound Off’ board?
This is where everybody especially the new members will write a short (or long, if you want) Intro/ background about himself.

Like when or how did you get interested in WW2 ?
Are you into airsoft as well and/or reenacting? Which country and what branch of the military do you portray?
You can also add what profession are you in..
Where are you based right now?
Etc.
You don’t have to write your favorite color or bank account no. nor your sexual preference..hehe (unless you want to…)

Just trying to make this forum more like a place you hang out
with people that you know a little bit of their background rather than just a name or a callsign.
And I think this kinda gives you an idea who are really into this and who are just so so…


I’ll start off-

OneZero sounding off!
I got interested in WW2 because of my dad. He likes watching WW2 films and TV shows like Combat with me.
Plus he likes building ww2 model airplanes when I was a kid and telling me stories about each one of them.
He bought a lot of books about the era as well including comic books like Sgt.Rock, The Losers and The Hunted tank… so I grew up with those together with ww2 stories of my dad's experiences when he was a kid..his father was killed by the japs, he was a guerrilla in their home town of Rizal.

So basically I was influenced by my dad.
And now, I’m hooked in this military thing.
Started collecting US gear when the US bases were still in the Phil during the 80’s.
Got into airsoft here in Hong Kong and formed a group(LRRP-HK)and then went into reenacting when I met kalbs.
Did a number of reenactment photo shoot already with my group like the Phil Scouts, 101stAB in VN & USMC in Saipan.

I’m based in Hong Kong and working for an Int’l Landscape firm.
Doing reenactments makes us escape from our everyday lives here in HK...sigh...

Looking forward to learning more about our military history here in this forum.

[jimmiroquai]

Good idea, onezero!

I've been into ww2 since i was 8 or 9 when i found my brother's 1/35 tamiya german soldiers. Then i became obsessed w ww2 fighter planes and bombers and built a lot kits back in the day. But i was always fascinated by the menacing look of the german landser. Got into airsoft in the early 90's. Mostly non-themed, modern what-ever-could-fit-me stuff. Went on an airsoft hiatus after the biazon expose, then restarted 2 years ago because of the ACM boom. Still being obsessed with the German Landser, i decided to go ahead and do it. I first came across the posts of Waffen and Bathala in FAS. Then, after 3 months and a lot of secret spending...i was finally able to complete my wehrmacht loadout and haven't played in anything else since.

Some other random stuff about me:
I've been in a rock/ska band
I scratchbuild toys, action figures, space ships
I like modding and scratchbuilding my guns and gear
I'm an opthalmologist

[Pumba]

oh boy....i think im as old as your dad

I used to build WW2 model airplanes but ended up burning them as if the base got attacked. I also had a lot of Sgt Rock (my favorite back then) comics. I just found it weird when her fired off his thompson the sound it made was BUDDAH BUDDAH BUDDAH BUDDAH!!!!!

I got into WW2 re-enactment because of airsoft. Id see the re-enactors with their ultra expensive A-stan, shemagh, operator looks and honestly I could not tell the difference from each other. I wanted to be different. So after watching private ryan for the nth time I decided to try to put the load out together and play in a game.

My Thompson

My wife would never get me a gun. It was my birthday and I was worried that she'd just get me some other item that costs as much as the gun but not the gun. So I bought the gun myself, wrapped it in giftwrapper and put it under the bed night before my birthday. When we woke up, I looked under the bed then I put on a show and acted all surprised and thanked her. She was even more shocked than I was for sure

other facts

Army reserves sergeant of the 1505th ID RR
Likes the old musical movies (i know its gay but back off!!!!)
Burned a 5 piece Voltes V toy for fun. I think its valued at P60k these days if intact
Into running and joins running events. Doing 5 km so far
Used to be a Commercial Pilot with 350 or so flight hours
Will never join Fear Factor because they always have big rats
Likes to sew because I used to have a small garments business
Member of the airsoft team War Pigs hence getting the name Pumba

[joshua]

I'll go on fourth,

Joshua reporting. I got into airsoft about 5 years ago. I never had a fixed team until me and the boys in Lamma Island formed a group of airsofters named BMTU (Black Mamba Tactical Unit). From then on my interest in airsoft games grew more intense.

As a kid, the first war movie that I ever watched was "The Longest Day". Then I became a fan on "Combat" and "Rat Patrol". I planned to join the PMA when I was in high school but my parents were telling me that priesthood might be my calling. I tend to dislike ROTC during my college days and was trying to avoid it. Unknowingly, I will be doing my ROTC in airsoft camaraderie.

Last April. I joined the re-enactment of the Phil. Scouts with our comrades in LRRP-HK. My late grandfather was one of the Phil. Scouts who fought in Bataan. He fell along the way through Death Match, due to malaria. The enemies thought that he was dead and made a pass on him. He was one of the survivor and continued to live until my first born.

The callsign "Joshua" is the character from the Bible. Joshua as a general of Moses never loose a battle with the help of God.


"Now you know"

[kalbs]

My Mom, My Dad and my Grandparents are my motivation to honor those who fought and died. They are my heroes and my inspiration to never forget.

-kalbs-

[veevee]

I started playing airsoft in 2003 but I've been fascinated with WW2 history since a kid. I also watched the same things on TV, Combat, Rat Patrol, Baa Baa Blacksheep. Tora Tora, Midway, The Longest Day, Bridge Too Far, Sands of Iwo Jima, and so on.

I've always had a fascination with early WW2 history in the Philippines, specifically the Bataan campaign. I don't know why. Below is a drawing I made when I was a kid.



Even at a young age I drew stuff like the Death March. Notice how I tried practicing how to draw the doughboy helmet. There's also a Japanese on the right hauling down the American flag and replacing it with the Japanese one.

I'm a big fan of the Philippine Scouts but I admit it was initially because of the doughboy helmet they wore. I like that helmet. It wasn't until later on that I found out that they were actually elite soldiers. I also found out a few years ago that there was a Phil. Scout with the same first and last name as mine who was killed in action in Abucay Hacienda. That fascinated me.

Anyway, as for airsoft related stuff... I've played at regular airsoft games in WW2 airborne impression using my Marushin garand. I have two legit kills with it. Both ambush style hits. Shoot some then run like like hell to escape the hail of automatic AEG return fire. I also have one kill with my gas WE1911.

A big thanks to Kalbs for creating this forum for us.

[DAN SAN]

dan reporting!!!
===> 80's me and waffen are well much influence what our dad is watching and our grandmas stories during the war...specially the "phantom" aka pontoon bridges in pasig.. combat, toy soldiers, and model kits my brother waffen had this battery oprtd scimitar tank that looks like a scorpion tank, with toy soldiers of the red coats, the original helmet liners, the pump action airgun,and real beng bengs on my dads collection...n a trip to ronins haus in paranaque is one of our favorite trips bec they got the daimos and voltes5 toys and legos..hehe

mid 80's g.i joe,afternoon balck and white pinoy movies with big stars ambushing japanese convoys,punk era with the boots on my brothers feet.. gradeschool boyscout leading patrol group,jamboree,having an original phils marines bdu, highschool CMT officer at the same time being a traditional skinhead going to pub telling the brittons how i love the war history.going to antique shops.. hehe..im still doing it till this day.building tanks from german to russian and building dioramas on 1/35th scale. latelly we found out that 2 of our grandad where from the pc before the war and one of our grandma married a japanese doctor here in manila before the war..turned out to be a reserve medical man... hope my bro waffen can add some.

[bravotwozero]

bravotwozero checking in.

I kind of started a brief blurb about me on my thread about my uniform collection. Here’s what I said: “I’ve always been fond of the period World War II. Maybe it’s because of the TV series like Combat, Rat Patrol, etc , that I watched when I was a kid. Naturally, movies like The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far, Cross of Iron, were even a bigger treat. When I was in high school, I read Cornelius Ryan’s books, The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far. I just loved how he told the story from different points of view. Through interviews, he retold the story from the perspective of the participants: Allied & Axis servicemen, from the Generals to the privates. He also showed it from the aspect of the civilians and resistance. These are very well written publications. All must reads, including his third book, The Last Battle. If you haven’t read these books, I suggest you do. He was the Stephen Ambrose of his time. If you liked how Stephen Ambrose wrote The Band of Brothers, these are excellent precedents”.

After reading your posts, it’s pretty obvious that we have a lot in common. This is not surprising at all. Joshua, I didn’t like ROTC too. When I was in college, I worked out a way where I don’t have to do drills. I would report to the ROTC office and do artwork for them in exchange for the ROTC units. I would copy illustrations from Field Manuals and they would use it for presentations. I was also interested in joining the PMA, but my parents wouldn’t sign the release. They were afraid of the hazing.

It’s funny that you guys mentioned Sgt. Rock and The Hunted Tank. Those were my favorite comic books too. Brought back memories when Pumba wrote the sound effect of the machine gun, "BUDDAH BUDDAH BUDDAH BUDDAH!!!!". Hey Pumba, you’re not alone with musicals. When I was a kid, my parents took us siblings to see a retrospective showing of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music” on the big screen. I was so in love with Julie Andrews. *sigh*. Ahem… I remember during the Martial Law years, they would air musicals on TV like “King and I”, “West Side Story” and “Camelot”. I love watching these and know most of the songs by heart. I still have a fondness for musicals, during my recent honeymoon in New York, my wife and I watched “The South Pacific”. You burned Voltes V? I would soak mine in a big drum. You know, Steve’s jet? It would be at the bottom of a fully filled drum of water. I was imagining that the rest of the Voltes team were trying to rescue him. Hehehe..

Veevee, I used to draw stick figures too. But mine were mostly tanks. But, like you I was fascinated with the Doughboy helmet. I remember when we went to the Bataan Memorial (you know the one with the big cross?), I saw that helmet and on top of a rifle to mark the grave of a dead soldier. I liked that helmet too. Good catch on mentioning “Baa Baa Blackship”. That was another one of my favorites.

Did anyone looked forward to watching the TV series “The World At War” as narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier? I was so excited when the Betamax came out because I can tape them and watch them over and over. Let’s also include these movies in the fray, “Sink The Bismark”, “The Blue Max” and the ones they show in Channel 9, “The Zeppelin” and “PT Boats”. I used to love watching these. Ahh….the memories.

Aside from Voltes V, I also had those 12 inch GI Joes. I had several of them, the Japanese soldier, and a couple of those with flocked hair and “Kung Fu” grip. I loved building models. I would go to Lil’s and Fontana in QUAD Makati to browse and day dream.

I’ve been here in the U.S. since 1992. I had the fortune of making some pretty good dough during the Y2K scare, enough, that I was able to collect those uniforms. Those were the days. Sadly, it’s a totally different climate now. Different interests and priorities now. But it’s still good to connect with you guys. My ex-wife thought that I was one of a kind. Wrong!

why the call sign "bravotwozero"? In the 1980s, I saw this movie called "Who Dares Wins", it's about the SAS and how one of them infiltrated a terrorist group to get info. Anyway, it's a fictionalized version of Operation Nimrod. I became an SAS fan. When I got into the hobby of collecting militaria, action figures, airsofts, etc and I was required to think of a callsign, I thought of this one because I just finished reading Andy McNab's book "Bravo Two Zero" about the SAS exploit in the First Gulf War. So there you go!

[Waffen Ryan]

Well, Dan already told how we started...but I have something to add. When I was still in my kindergarten and grade school years, I was so fond of drawing stick soldiers with flag of the swastika...well that's because of influence I got from my father, and also of my punk uncle. Drawing aircrafts bombing the stick soldiers on the ground...when you're a kid, that's the coolest thing that you do.

[mcshine2]

I have always been fascinated by war since I was a young boy living in the province. I grew up in a neighborhood that "reenact" what we have seen in the movies in the late sixties together with my childhood buddies. From the Greek and the Romans, to the knights of the medieval period, American Civil Wars, Cowboy-Indian wars, Rat Patrol and Dog Fights with "Paper Planes " which we equip with pins to impale the opposing plane by ramming it. I love the greek and roman costumes which i use to make out of cardboard paper. We copy whatever we see in the movies.
Summer vacation is the time for action. At a very young age, we fought with home made swords, slingshots and blowguns. We however, does not use projectiles and slugs that pose any danger to the players ( only paper soak in water used in "sumpaks" and projectiles and slugs from fruits of local plants ) This is the equivalent of what you call now as airsoft skirmishes but rules are also being observed.
The influence of world war 2 also comes from my father and the volumes of books he had about the great war and ww2. I would climb and perch on a tree donning my neighbors M1 helmet and raincoat and pretend to guard the camp until the late hours of the night and would ran back home only after seeing my mom waving the rattan stick while looking for me.
Airsoft came last quarter of 2007. It brought back fond memories of my childhood years. My first Impression is a US Infantry, followed by a Ranger Impression in "Pvt. Ryan", US Airborne in a Camo Jump Suit and my favorite, the Phil. Scouts.
I work for a Food Manufacturing Company, occupies a senior management position, and is in charge of Exports and Domestic Marketing.
To continue whether you like it or not, I am a peace advocate. I am not a war freak, I just need the exercise ;D ;D

[bathala]

hello, im bathala.
well lets just say its been passed down i guess..
im the grandson of lt major urbano de castro, founder of the anti japanese resistance group in mabitac laguna.. never meet him as in 1944 he got captured and beheaded by the kempitai. but he did achive a lot during his stint, so as the government papers say and a steet in laguna named after him.. for me its his sidearm a type 26 pistol.. that got me to wonder bout wwII.. I started to wonder.. what was the enemy like.. what is the other side of the story? where they all bad?..and so forth. Now i concentrate wy airsofting on the axis side.. knowing the enemy is winning half the battle right?

[masterchief]

masterchief reporting in, or MC for you troops.

I got my call sign with the masterchief in the xbox game Halo, not really ww2, but the character for me was really cool, besides my wife choose it for me when I was staring out with airsoft.

I grew up with ‘Combat’ in my dad’s black and white Sanyo TV, you know the one that looks more than a furniture than a TV (weighs a tone too). During the weekends my dad is a lawyer and had to leave me with my grandpop who was a judge at the time, and we would stay in the study with old law books and the smell of tobacco hanging in the air. So that my grandpop would make me sleepy, he would spin yarns of what happened to him during the war. He would say that I was lucky that I would never have to feel what it was like going hungry and fear of being caught or even killed. For some reason I was really fascinated by his stories, and even countless stories by my barkada’s grandparents, on how they got their first rifle by killing a Jap with their bare hands. That was one heavy influence for me. When I got into high school I started out doing ww2 tamiya kits, then dragon Vietnam kits.

What I do off airsoft:
Full time dad
Full time muslim
Paper pusher in a Canadian company
Stay in the ‘Libingan ng mga bayani’ just for kicks during some afternoons
Fiddle with some wood kits for you guys

[mikevictor]

Hallo, mein Kameraden! Mike Victor hier.

I got into military history, more specifically, World War 2, ever since I was, around five years old. (I never really knew when I started; I'm just estimating based on the year Saving Private Ryan was released, because I knew I was interested in WW2 even before that).

My dad really inspired this fascination with all things WW2 because he used to watch war movies with me. And although he kept repeating to me how the Germans were great warriors and their tanks the best in the world, since the good guys in practically all war movies we watched were American (yeah, Hollywood , I became interested in the American forces during the war, especially in the ETO (again, I believe it was because of the movies).

That is also the reason why my callsign is Mike Victor, M and V being my initials, and Mike and Victor being their counterparts in the US WW2 Phonetic Alphabet.

In fact, I was so obsessed with the US forces that I gradually familiarized myself with a lot of US military stuff (especially the Airborne).

However, I recently shifted to the German side. It was only recently that I realized that (no offense to the Allies, and I still think that their uniforms are great) the German uniforms were better-looking and that they were superior to the Allies in a lot of ways (of course, except air support .

It was also during this time that I grew interested in airsoft. I just read up on it, as I had no time to pursue this time-consuming hobby.

Even if I had planned it for a long time, I had lost the heart to create a German impression ever since last year, but when Sir Jimmi and the others formed a WW2 group, I became inspired. I am now slowly building my impression, piece by piece.

I have never actually played in an airsoft game yet . I promised to myself that I would only play airsoft in a WW2 get-up, so next time, Kameraden!

Because of the above statement, and inferring that all of you are professionals, I can conclude that I am the newest in the group, both in experience and age (no offense)

Thanks for including me in this wonderful group!

[darktide]

I guess I've seen the same movies and read the same books that a lot of you have and I've been fascinated with military history/ uniforms/ equipment in general, from different wars and eras.

I used to be a Camp Couselor for a camp where schools used to go for bivouacs (it used to be required) so the military personnel that would accompany the students would tell me stories of the battles in Mindanao and teach me how to take apart, assemble, and fire different kinds of weapons. I've also had some military training (both Philippine & US).

By pure coincidence, I end up in a lot of places where battles were fought. A friend ran the hotel in Corregidor for several years, so we used to walk around looking for stuff. Eventually, this got me into collecting. I kinda concentrate on helmets (from WW1 up to now), uniforms, and anything that I can pick up from battle sites.

I am a scuba Instructor Trainer/ underwater cinematographer by profession. Because of this I get to travel a lot, which is why I'm able to find and aquire military gear from different countries. It's also because of scuba that I end up in places were battles were fought (Palau/ Peleliu, Truk Lagoon, Coron, etc). Sometimes I'm also able to find stuff underwater.

Got into airsoft because I have an airsoft gamesite (jungle with abandoned buildings). A team started using part of my place for playing and one day they asked me to try and I was hooked.

Interests? Collecting military stuff, diving, sailing, anything to do with the water and topside/ underwater video/ photography.

[medic]

I introduced myself elsewhere, but I guess this thread is different. I've always been into WW2. My dad used to build model kits back in the day and my first model was the Tamiya Panzer lV. I resurrected my modeling 4 years ago but it's in hiatus right now because we're going to move house in preparation for a total rebuild of our current home. I also got into airsoft a few years ago, but I think I found my true calling with WW2 re-enactors.
Like most of you out there, I watched Combat! on a black and white Zenith TV (the one that was dropped from a plane in their old ad) which we bought (where else?) from Clark. I was a medic back in college Citizens Military Training because I was a pre-med student and a card carrying member of the Safety organization of the Philippines back in high school. I was the Corps Commander with a rank of Colonel in High School. I loved being a medic because I didn't have to drill and I'd even take appointments for troopers who 'pass out' from marching all day, heh heh. My professional fee back then for certifying that a trooper was unable to march was a 7-up (in bottle of course) and a stick of banana-que, standard fare for U.P. infantry. I tried out for the NCO's but couldn't handle their training schedule (I lived in Bulacan back then and commuted to UP everyday). I also qualified for the UP Rifle Pistol Team but couldn't hack the distance between Bulacan and Villamor where they practiced, a lost opportunity I regret now.
So I suppose WW2 is in my blood, and to re-enact it would be a dream come true for me.