In respect for Veterans who have served, those servicemembers currently serving their Nation, and for those who made the ultimate sacrifice, the City of Baton Rouge held many official events on Saturday November 11, and Baton Rouge Scale Modelers was most fortunate to be part of the Veterans Day activities held at the USS Kidd and Louisana Naval War Museum in downtown Baton Rouge, along the mighty Mississippi River.  There were numerous tours given during the day, official speeches made at the old State Capitol building, members of the United States Marine Corps were on hand and the Living History Reenactor group paid respect to those servicemembers and volunteers who came before, on this day protraying members of the 3rd Infantry Division.

Baton Rouge Scale Modelers (please see links below) holds monthly modeling demonstrations at the USS Kidd museum, bringing our artform to the community in a unique venue. 

A-7E on permanent display in the Mall of Honor with the names of local servicemembers who died in service located around the Mall. The Eternal Flame burns for all those who gave thier lives in service.

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Throughout the day we talked with people who visited the Museum, many of whom had no clue that model building is even a hobby! I'm sure several of you have had the same reaction.  We take many, many questions, from what are they, are they remote control, are they toys, what are they made from, how long to complete one, and the one that sticks in my mind from yesterday, are they carved from wood.

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Saturday turned out to be our largest turnout yet, with more members present, more models on display, more public interaction and more exposure than we have had since we began doing these demo's early this year.  Being inside of the museum is a great experience, with the rich history represented, amount of veterans and old "Tin Can Sailors " visiting, and very wide eyed youngsters, we find this to be one of the most rewarding things we do.  We normally try to set up our dates to coincide with the Living History Reenactor group, an all-volunteer group of young men portraying those who served before them.  They walk the walk and talk the talk, using as much authentic equipment as possible. This is a fascinating group, portraying all eras when Americans served. Please visit their link below for more on joining this fascinating group. 

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We put a lot of models on display, I always seem to bring more than I can carry

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We manage to get some work done as well.

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The musuem itself is amazing, with a 1/8? size Kidd engine room static model, replica gun deck of the USS Constitution, Mississippi Riverboat   wheelhouse and the largest ship model collection in the South.        It is simply a marvel!

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The Living History Group portrays thier respective parts very well, interacting directly with spectators.

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Please visit these links for more information:

http://www.brmodelers.com
http://www.usskidd.com

The Living History group is found on the USS Kidd Website, on the left side tab "Living History"  and is open to those who would like to support this unique and highly rewarding activity.

My thanks to Douge, Sid, Manuel, Carl, Michael, Riccardo and Jerry for making the day so memorable.

Our most sincere thanks go to the sailors of the USS Kidd DD-661, and the staff of the  Louisiana Naval War Museum for granting us the ability to do what we do in such a wonderful location and to all Veterans everywhere for making the sacrifices necessary to allow us to live our lives in freedom.

David