CONNEAUT – Each year, as Allied troops battle their way from the shoreline up to the bluffs in an effort to take the German headquarters during the Seaborne Normandy Beach Landing Battle, hundreds of young boys and girls watch in awe.
Eventually, those boys and girls decided they’d stage their own battle. In time, their enthusiasm caught the attention of the D-Day Ohio staff, who weaved an official kids’ bridge battle into the schedule.
That battle waged on far longer than the 30 minutes that had been carved out during D-Day Conneaut’s opening day at Conneaut Township Park on Thursday, Aug. 13.
“I didn’t actually see it, but they’re still down there battling,” D-Day Ohio Chief Operating Officer Jeff King said. “They’ve been battling all day. They did have the official battle. I heard it went well, and then they’ve been around all day with great energy battling it out.”
The Kids’ Battle was slated to be waged each of the three days of D-Day Conneaut, Aug. 13-15.
“It’s been a pretty good start (for the entire event),” King said. “We had a couple little rain delays, but our team worked really well. We got the camp up early and, so far, things are going well. (We’ve had) great weather.”
Though it was just the first day, King said the event drew a good crowd.
“It was still a pretty good turnout,” King said. “I think the weather helped with that. The battle went well.”
The final two days of the event were nearly sold out.
“This event doesn’t occur without the support of the community, our community partners, our volunteers. Our volunteers work a lot of hours starting a week ahead of time to make it happen. It definitely takes everyone to make it happen, and we could not be more appreciative of that.”
King was happy for the staff and reenactors to return to Conneaut for the 2026 edition of D-Day.
“Every year is slightly different with the reenactment and with our operations staff, so it’s awesome to get together and see our friends, but also meet new people and to put the event together,” King said. “We’ve had a great team to do that and have great returning reenactors and met some new ones.”
The kids’ battle gives King hope that the event can be held long into the future.
“It’s good to see that we have a future, that there’s going to be future reenactors, and that’s that group, right there,” King said. “They have a passion. You can already see that they pay attention to details on their uniforms. They definitely mimic the reenactors and their actions and motions.”
Beyond the battle, D-Day Conneaut serves as the world’s largest outdoor World War II museum with the reenactors sharing their knowledge with visitors.
“Passing on history is definitely important, and it’s something that we have to keep going generation to generation, not only to remember the sacrifices made, but to remember why and how he got there,” King said. “Passing the knowledge and honoring those is very important.”
The reenactors are vital in passing that history to the next generation as the number of World War II veterans lessens year after year.
“With reenacting, you’re keeping that information alive,” King said. “It’s not just disappearing. There are people that study it, learn it, and they pass it on. As you lose that firsthand knowledge (from WWII veterans passing away), there’s still a huge knowledge base to share that.”
King hoped that visitors to D-Day Conneaut took some of that knowledge home with them.
“We hope they enjoy themselves,” King said. “We hope they gain a little bit of understanding of what it was like for the men in World War II and the sacrifices made with that.”
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