European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 9, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Peterson As a Black Brunswicker suited up to Battle Napoleon s facts. Peterson in soviet garb is chief curator at the largest . Military museum in Europe. Son Sas photos by Ken George would go out and buy some j c Penney Gray working dungarees because they were Gray right and he would t be a Mere private. Me would slap on All these slopes or make himself a colonel. And you d Nave nothing but High rankers running around. That turns me off entirely of. That s Low. " Peterson says Ine civil War May be the most re enacted conflict of All time even germans and Bulish can t do ii enough you can get pretty deep psyched into this i know Guys who might nol know the pm War is his own interests Are Broad. A Hugh the museum s main focus is world War u. If rough living history Peterson is always into something different one might think that a museum is a quiet place where All Ine curator does is creep around occasionally pausing to dust Oil a few artefacts not this museum. Peterson s phone keeps ringing with people waning to know about the hessians about the Black Brunswicker. About taking a Little March in Austria about doing another roman thing. His work com is a clutter of civil War swords medieval muskets Knight s Armor helmets that he has battered into shape with a Cannonball. And uniforms from virtually every period of military history it he can t by. July 9.1985 get rept Cas irom dealers hell handmade them no papier mache Armor no polyester clothing for Peterson what i m trying Lodo is to be Able to accurately recreate Bailies and soldiers irom every major period in military history. With about 200 uniforms and equipment logo win it. I can pretty Well do it from ancient romans to modern russians for example this Iserl Emly Rara. Something Lew people will Ever he says holding up one o the latest soviet Green and while camouflage coveralls. I just acquired it last night got it from a Guy who snuck n out of Hungary. We be built up probably the Best collection of Warsaw pad uniforms in but it is the roman period that particular fascinates Peterson. We did the 100-mile in Megen March and in was More of a Challenge Tor us carrying 15-Pound Shields in one hand wearing heavy Armor and Hobnail boots about 50 pounds of to get pinpoint historical accuracy Peterson also visits original roman tombstones and monuments and copies the designs of Shields weapons and clothing. Elaborate research Reading in hundreds of took visits to ancient battlefields and excavation Siles museums and graveyards and then the painstaking process of putting it All together Are part of Peterson s regimen to get it right. Me also has virtually All the classic War movies and some not so classic like Flambo which makes him laugh when he s supposed to be on the Edge of his seat swept up in Llic action. Rambo is the last word in says Peterson screwing up his face As though hit with a headache. The uniforms were american Duck Hunter camouflage with phony palches they did l even bother to give the bad Guys real weapons. Can you imagine rubber ak-47s? for that matter there s never Beer a truly authentic roman movie. They re usually a couple of Hundred years Oil attention to detail. Getting it right. And then after All the research and Effort you la be out there and see ii coming together. Something like an artist finishing a picture. Like in the Middle it one of these Battles you hear the rattle of muskets and Gunpowder Sofce everywhere and men moving through the smoke. Well sometimes just sometimes there comes a moment when you almost forget you re the Way in is a says suddenly seems eerily close to the Way it was. And that s authentic. The stars and stripes Page 15
