WWII battle re-enacted 70 years later
SOUTH JACKSON — The 70th anniversary of a famous World War II battle was celebrated Sunday in West Tennessee. South Jackson looked like a scene from 1944 as re-enactors demonstrated the Battle of Saipan. The second marine re-enactors gave spectators the sights and sounds of a scene from 1944. “It’s a great remembrance for a really rough time for our country, and we’re proud to be here,” First Sergeant George Jones said. A veteran in the crowd also was happy to be there. “It brings back memories from when I was a young marine,” Marcus Foster said. “We’d go out and run field problems.” The Battle of Saipan was fought between Americans and the Japanese 70 years ago. A re-enactor from the Japanese opposition, Justin Jolly, has been doing this for eight years and shared what he thinks the crowd likes the most. “They like the action of the tank rolling around is always good, the explosions, the gunfire,” Jolly said. First Sergeant George Jones tells us why the Battle of Saipan played a major role during World War II. “Saipan gave us the chance for our B-29 bombers to finally hit Japanese mainland,” Jones said. Jolly told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News most of the equipment used during the reenactment is authentic. “A lot of the stuff is actually from World War II,” Jolly said. “All of our rifles that we use are Japanese rifles from World War II.” After the re-enactment, one of the local American Legion organizations had a special presentation. “They’re going to be doing a 13-fold of the flag, and anyone who’s never seen this, each fold stands for something,” Vietnam Veteran Tom Ayers said. Some of the re-enactors traveled all the way from Texas. They said this is to show appreciation and to say thank you to those who have fought. First Sergeant Jones said their next big reenactment will be remembering Pearl Harbor in December at the USS Alabama.
