D-Day Conneaut General Rules & Authenticity Regulations

Conneaut Township Park

Conneaut Township Park welcomes the D-Day event, its participants and its spectators. There are a few simple rules they ask us to observe.

  • Do not drive vehicles (except for loading and unloading) in undesignated areas, such as the lawns and tennis court areas.
  • Open camp fires are not permitted. Camp fires can be built in designated locations only. Contact event headquarters for locations.
  • Please leave the park as you found it. Police your trash and personal goods throughout the weekend and as you depart the event.
        o Most garbage cans have extra bags under the bag in use so if its full, take out and tie the bag and put a new one in please.

All Reenactors must Register

All reenactors, military and civilian, must register and check in upon arrival on site. There is no onsite registration available.

Living History Encampment

  • D-Day Conneaut focuses on June 6, 1944 along with the weeks leading up to and directly following the landings.
  • Impressions are restricted to the ETO (England, France, Belgium, Germany) and Home Front from January 1944 to June 6, 1944.
  • Excluding educational materials and display boards, if it is not appropriate to the European Theater of Operations in late May or early June 1944, or if you’re not sure, don’t bring it!
  • Items of modern manufacture needed for basic health and safety (e.g., coolers) should be hidden from view during public hours and discreetly used otherwise.

Encampment and Camp Equipment

  • Tentage and camp equipment must represent items in use in the European Theater of Operations during late May to early June 1944. (Items that were in use during that time but may be of a later manufacture date are permissible.)
  • U.S. GP Small tents are NOT permitted.
  • U.S. GP Medium tents are permitted in certain locations with preapproval.
  • Ground cloths must be appropriate to WWII.
  • Because of space constraints, D-Day Conneaut permits modern camping only for volunteer groups working at the event (e.g., CAP and boy scouts) at our off-site location. Modern camping is available at several nearby campgrounds..
  • Modern vehicles must be parked in the participant parking. No modern vehicle parking is permitted on site during the event weekend (Friday 0830h to Saturday 1700h) unless by special permit. There are NO exceptions.
  • If you need your vehicle close by, we recommend purchasing a weekend parking pass from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (funds support their youth group’s missionary work).
  • Participant must police their own trash. Trash bags will be provided at the reenactor check in or your respective headquarters tents.

General Authenticity for WWII Impressions

 Impressions permitted at D-Day Conneaut include the following:

  • WWII re-enactors representing Allied and German forces that were stationed in England or Normandy in late May/early June 1944.

  • WWII reenactors portraying support troops and functions in the marshaling areas in England or specific State-side impressions.

  • Individuals portraying citizens of the US, Canada, England, France and German from January to June 1944.

    Participants may not wear and are discouraged from displaying (except for educational or comparison purposes) items not documented to the European Theater of Operations or US home front. Educational materials and display boards, as well as tagged or labeled items intended for spectator’s education are permitted. The event authenticity guidelines have been developed to help D-Day Conneaut attain the highest quality WWII representation and living history experience for spectators and reenactors. The success of the event depends on the efforts of the participants and their cooperation in abiding by the safety and authenticity rules. Your cooperation and positive attitude in meeting or exceeding the authenticity guidelines is greatly appreciated. We encourage all participants to take ownership for their own impressions and assist newer reenactors in achieving a high-quality impression. In the rare event a participant chooses to ignore the safety or authenticity requirements, the event organizers reserve the right to terminate the participant’s involvement in the event.

Prohibited Impressions

Eastern Front, MTO, PTO, Specific historical Military personnel (Bradley, Patton, Ike, Rommel, Montgomery, DeGaulle, ect.),and Political or Celebrity Impressions are not permitted at D-Day Conneaut. Those wishing to do a Celebrity Impersonation of non-political persons may contact event staff to discuss the permissibility of their proposed impersonation.

General Reenactor Guidelines

  • Dress and grooming must be consistent with 1944 Europe and North American standards.
  • Clothing styles and ensembles should be appropriate to the wearer’s impression (See our other web pages for specific information on military impressions).
  • Obviously modern hair color is not permitted (e.g. green or pink) and obviously modern hairstyles should be covered or altered to appear "vintage" (e.g., wigs).
  • Military men's hair styles must conform to the military hairstyles of the period.
  • Men's facial hair must be trimmed to be appropriate to the impression they are portraying.
  • Obvious body art (i.e. piercings or tattoos) is also not permitted and must be covered or removed.
  • Certain impressions, such as sailors, are permitted visible tattoos, so long as they appear vintage.
  • NO modern eyewear is permitted during public hours (we recommend Zenni Optical round glasses for military impressions (https://www.zennioptical.com/p/metal-alloy-full-rim-frame-with-spring-hinge/4500)).
  •  NO non-period footwear is permitted. Please see the corresponding authenticity guidelines for appropriate sources.
  • ALL tools, drinking vessels, utensils and other common items (lighters and watches) must look like or date to 1944 or before.

Not Sure? Don't Bring It!

Some WWII camp equipment and personal items were likely not to have appeared in the European Theater of Operations because of their date of manufacture (M-1945 Command Tent, M1944 Mermite containers). We consider these items “questionable” and request you to refrain from bringing them. If you have documentation for a specific “late war” item’s use in pre-Invasion England or the ETO prior to June 6, 1944 and would be willing to bring the information, we would be delighted to share in your knowledge. If you are unsure about the use or appropriateness of any of your items, please ask before bringing it or leave it at home. Modern footwear and sunglasses, post WWII uniform parts, PT shirts etc. are not permitted. A full list of prohibited items is included with specific impressions.

Minor (Youth) Participants

A participant less than 18 years of age but having reached their 16th birthday by the date of the event who desire to participate in D-DAY CONNEAUT tactical scenarios may do so IF ACCOMPANIED AND DIRECTLY SUPERVISED by their parent, guardian, or responsible adult at all timesat all times. Their parent or guardian will willingly assume full responsibility and liability for the minor under their direct supervision. Participants under the age of 16 ARE PROHIBITED from taking part in the combat scenarios but are welcome in the living history encampment.

Real Medical Emergencies
Registered Medical Personnel
Reenactors Portraying Medics

If you are a medical professional licensed/certified to practice first aid or emergency care in Ohio and would be willing to do so if needed during the event, please alert the commanding officer at your respective camp HQ. Unit commanders will be briefed on D-Day Conneaut’s system for determining a real medical emergency from a simulated one so that actual medical needs are not overlooked on the battlefield.

Vehicles

Those reenactors wishing to bring period vehicles to the event, please click here for specific rules, restrictions, and information.

Cameras/Camcorders on the Battlefield

Combat photographers and journalists, served an important role in documenting the history of the invasion and also took part in the events that followed the initial landing. As many units appreciate photos of their members in action, photographers are permitted in the battle field with special restrictions.

Photographers not already attached to a military unit will be assigned to one by the respective army headquarters. All persons in the landing zone must meet the basic infantry standards described in the authenticity regulations. No un-uniformed or partially uniformed individual will be permitted on the battlefield.

Historic photo equipment or "Historic-looking" equipment is required in all battles. If you use modern equipment disguise it. Using an empty period camera body is the preferred method of concealment. A non functional Speed-Graphic or other vintage camera can generally be obtained at a reasonable cost and most modern cameras will fit inside one.

Unconcealed, modern equipment will not be permitted on the beach or any of our other battles. If you have creatively devised a way to conceal a video camera in such a way as it is not easily observed, it may be permitted. Please contact us for review and approval. We seek to avoid marring an otherwise authentic scene with the painfully obvious sight of a modern camera being freely and openly brandished. Still and motion picture photographers who participate in the beach landing are invited to submit their images to our public share gallery. Visit the "gallery"section for more information. This event does involves a simulated beach landing. Waterproof your gear accordingly. D-Day Ohio, Inc. is not be responsible for any damaged or loss to camera equipment or film.

D-Day Has Staff Photographers!

Please refrain from being tempted to take out your camera in the mists of battle. If you can see people, they can see you.... and your camera! D-Day has gathered a team of 7 professional photographers who will be canvassing the event to capture all the great action. Images from the event will be available for purchase from our gallery after the event for a modest cost. Proceeds from photo sales help support the event. If you would like a special "unit" picture or picture of your impression or set up, please feel free to flag down one of our team members or contact our photography coordinator, Pete Lerro. They will be more then willing to assist. Our team members will be dressed in WWII gear and will be identified by a badge and/or arm band. To provide the best possible pictures for our guests they will be carrying and using modern camera equipment. We ask reenactors however to keep their modern cameras concealed while wondering the camp. Even our team is not allowed into the battle field with modern gear exposed so please leave the camera in your tent.

PLEASE NOTE: D-DAY CONNEAUT IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. IF YOU PLAN ON USING VIDEO FOOTAGE FOR PROFIT AND/OR THE D-DAY CONNEAUT LOGO AND NAME, YOU MUST OBTAIN WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE EVENT ORGANIZERS PRIOR TO USE. This does not prohibit taking photos or shooting live action video for your unit or their website. If you have questions regarding this, please contact our Media Committee Chairman.