World War II history comes to life this weekend at the Volusia County Fairgrounds. Reproduction of actual moving tanks and battles.
Volusia Valor Days returns for its third free annual event on Saturday and Sunday. It will feature more than 40 active military vehicles, including tanks and artillery, as well as living history exhibits, veterans organizations, first responders and more than 100 battlefield reenactors.
The family-friendly event begins each day at 10 a.m. with the national anthem and a gun salute from the tank lines, followed by an educational lecture on World War II armored warfare by author William Hogan. The afternoon begins with a small arms demonstration, followed by a parade of tanks and vehicles.
The afternoon brings excitement in the form of a battle reenactment, the “crown jewel” of the event.
Event organizer WW2 Armor Chief of Staff Mike Hawke said, “This year we will carry out Operation Dragoon, in which Allied forces will land in southern France.” “It’s meant to represent a particular piece of history, or part of a battlefield.”
Hook said he hopes seeing the tanks and cannons in action will help visitors, especially school-aged children, learn more about history.
“Watching that battle is a sensory experience. You can feel it in your chest. You can smell the smoke, hear the engines, hear the thump, hear the machine guns firing,” he said. “It will leave a strong impression on the child who goes home and opens the book.”
Hook said keeping the story of World War II alive is especially valuable at a time when fewer veterans remember that chapter of history firsthand.
“It’s been several years since we’ve seen World War II veterans come to our events. Someone has to carry the torch and tell that story, because we can’t forget it,” Hawk said. “First-hand experiences are diminishing in people’s consciousness. When they drift away and disappear and everyone forgets about them, the value of the experience is lost.”
Event organizer WW2 Armor is owned and managed by Rabbi Rob Thomas, a Navy veteran and technology investor who founded a cybersecurity company in the early days of the internet. His collection began with a 1942 Jeep equipped with an M2 .50 caliber machine gun and has since expanded to include more Jeeps, an M3 half-track armored personnel carrier, and an M20 armored reconnaissance vehicle.
Tanks came next, and the collection grew to become “one of the most diverse assemblages of fully operational World War II armor in the country,” according to the WW2 Armor website.
Although its mission is to give the public a taste of what life was like in World War II, the group’s staff and volunteers find that the tanks are a fun way to bond.
“We want to ride in tanks and teach people about World War II. That’s something we all have in common,” Hawk said.
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If you go
Volusia Valor Days will be held Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3050 E. New York Avenue in DeLand. The event is free and open to the public. We recommend hearing protection, especially for young children or children who are sensitive to loud noises. More information: ww2armor.org
