In August 2019, Lerro Photography sponsored two fundraiser photo shoots to coincide with the annual World War II D-Day reenactment in Conneaut, OH, in which 1,700 reenactors depict the D-Day invasion of Normandy Beach on June 6, 1944. It’s actually considered one of the biggest WWII reenactments in the world. The beach at Conneaut, OH offers similar terrain to Normandy Beach with Lake Erie, a wide sandy beach and a large hill. During the main event, the GI’s offload on the beach in real Higgins boats and storm towards the hill. The German reenactors are entrenched on the hill and fire back. There are also planes, artillery and tanks involved. It’s quite the site to be seen and heard.
Our Friday morning photo shoot emphasized the beach invasion, in which a number of GI’s posed in the water with the hedgehogs. With the help of smoke bombs and fake blood, we were able to create scenes with multiple angles for the photographers to shoot.
The evening photo shoot emphasized the tanks and artillery. We started off with American armor brought in by “WW2Armor” including a 155mm Long Tom, a M7 Howitzer Motor Carriage “Priest”, and a Sherman Grizzly. This Sherman tank actually served in D-Day +5 all the way through to V-E Day.
We then moved over to the German camp where we photographed a German 88 mm howitzer and a StuG III that are owned by Panzergruppe Süd.
In addition to the two sponsored shoots, the participants were granted special access during some of the public events so they could get closer to the action. Keep an eye out for another D-Day Ohio photo shoot to occur in August 2020.
Click on the images below to enlarge
