WWII days at Midway Village Museum showcases 1,100 re-enactors, vehicles

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Midway Village Museum is hosting its 29th annual World War II Days event this weekend, featuring over 1,100 costume re-enactors and authentic military vehicles.

The event, which transforms the museum into a living history exhibit, includes tanks, jeeps, and other military vehicles, as well as mock battles complete with pyrotechnics.

“We have, close to 1,100 costume re-enactors and dozens and dozens of authentic military vehicles, tanks, half tracks, jeeps,” said Luke Fredrickson, marketing director of Midway Village Museum. “And pretty soon, we’ll be having our first, mock battle in the battlefield with pyrotechnics. So it’s, it’s a lot of fun.”

The museum’s campus is filled with memorabilia from the World War II era, offering visitors a chance to immerse themselves in history.

Luke Fredrickson emphasized the educational aspect of the event, noting that the re-enactors are experts in the units they represent and in World War II history.

“These people are all experts in the units that they are representing and World War II history in general,” Fredrickson said. “And they come from all over the country to be here at great expense of their own, to, to come and do that.”

Paul Wojick, a participant for 18 years, enjoys interacting with the community and sharing historical knowledge.

“We just like talking, and we like sharing our information to the public,” Wojick said. “And hopefully, by the time when the public leaves, for today or for this weekend, I think they get an overall sense of what it was like to live and fight and basically to survive, in battle.”

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.