From: Darrell Ramsell (daram@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Feb 14 2006 - 00:58:13 PST
our group as "Alamo Military" when in fact we were to have been announced as
TJ, just a thought here. Maybe you could create a magnetic banner to put on
Darrell
----- Original Message -----
"Alamo Military Vehicle Preservation Association."
a vehicle or a bigger banner on a trailer that says "Alamo Military Vehicle
Preservation Association.". It would trump any foul ups by parade
officials.
From: <timothy.smith1@att.net>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 10:20 AM
Subject: [MV] Soothing HMV angst
>
> Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
>
> For Americans, the best way to ensure such a buckshot attack on private
> ownership does not succeed (and there have been and will be future attacks
> on our hobby) is to cultivate public support for the private ownership of
> HMV's.
>
> In order to accomplish this we need to get our vehicles to public events
> and display them in a historical context. It is not enough that we ensure
> we tack the word "historic" onto the phrase "military vehicle." These two
> thoughts need to be inextricably linked by deeds.
>
> For example:
>
> HMV owner #1 drives his HMV in the local parade completely kitted out with
> all the gear, guns, etc.
>
> HMV owner #2 drives his HMV to the town's Veteran's Day celebration
> (provided there IS one) and sets up a small, well balanced historical
> display around it. By well balanced, I mean that there is at least as
> much attention given to displaying the more mundane items as there is to
> weapons. Remember, the popular view is that weapons are "bad."
>
> Now, there's nothing wrong with what either HMV owner did, but which is
> better? Well, in my humble opinion, HMV owner #2 has done a better job.
> Why? Because his vehicle is being shown in a historical context. And at
> the end of the day, FEWER people will be going home saying, there's some
> guy in (insert your town here) who owns a really dangerous military
> vehicle and he has lots of guns on it!
>
> This is not to say that we should hide our HMV's from view if we aren't in
> a position to display them in a historical context but we need to help the
> casual observer of our HMV's make that connection to the preservation and
> appreciation of history. Some suggestions for this would be; make sure
> your HMV or HMV display always prominantly (and properly) displays your
> nation's flag or colors. Surround your vehicle with the music of the era
> (guaranteed to sooth the savages). Try not to engage in political
> commentary; i.e. first and foremost, be an HMV collector/restorer
> (hobbyists get more sympathy than hobbyists with political agendas). And
> one other suggestion...
>
> This last suggestion is gonna generate a lot of discussion but I'm going
> to throw it out there for discussion..
>
> The wearing of military uniforms when in and around our HMV's has its
> place especially in living history displays and reenactments. So let's
> just whittle this down to parades and local displays. From the standpoint
> of smoothing easily ruffled feathers and gaining popular support for the
> private ownership of HMV's we cannot afford to go around looking like some
> kind of MILITIA. (On the topic as being perceived as some kind of kooky
> militia types, imagine how I felt when, for the third year in a row, our
> parade officials announced our group as "Alamo Military" when in fact we
> were to have been announced as "Alamo Military Vehicle Preservation
> Association." By the way, I have told the parade organizers we would NOT
> be returning to the local parade if this was not resolved!) So, it might
> be more appropriate to invest in a mannequin for that military uniform (a
> small expense compared to our HMV's!) and attend your local display,
> neatly dressed in some of our fine MVPA clothing (which you will look
> better in if you are in shape (read that, ROUND....hey, round is a
> shape!), like me!.
>
> This is all I have for now...food for thought.
>
> TJ
>
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