Sharing Mills Park with the traditional RSVP Carnival is Battle Born Days, a military-themed expo and show. The expo, new for the 2012 Nevada Day weekend celebration, will present a spectacular display of military equipment, vehicles, weaponry, personnel and artifacts. The exposition is designed to honor the men and women in the United States military - past, present, and future.
"We don't do enough for our veterans," said Harry Ehrman, founder of the event, a civilian firefighter at the Sierra Army Depot in Herlong, Calif.
Ehrman, president of the Battle Born Civil War Re-enactors, worked with the Nevada Day organizers to connect the 2012 theme: "Honoring our Military and Families - Past, Present, Future."
A Welcome Home barbecue takes place 1-3 p.m. Saturday. Cost is $10 for Vietnam veterans and their families, and $15 for all others.
The Vietnam area of the park also includes a display of Vietnam- era equipment and two large tents with Vietnam memorabilia.
The Veterans Tribute also features displays about the founding of the U.S., panels honoring law enforcement and firefighters, a panel memorializing the casualties at the 2009 Ft. Hood shooting, a 9/11 tribute, plus timelines and statistics from every war and conflict involving U.S. military.
Another featured display is a full-sized replica of the Civil War submarine, the CSS H. L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy ship. Visitors can get inside the replica, Ehrman said, and see its tight quarters, mechanisms and even work the gears.
Battle Born Days features more than static displays. It will feature battle re-enactments and encampments from the Civil War and World War II by the Battle Born Civil War Re-Enactors, the 1st Nevada Cavalry, and the Nevada Civil War Volunteers.
Civil War Battles will take place at the Big Field at noon, Friday; 2:30 and 6:30 p.m. Saturday; and noon Sunday.
The World War II re-enactment will take place once in between the Civil War Battles, with the exact time to be determined.
For gun enthusiasts, The Battle Born Days Gun Show will be set up inside the Carson City Community Center from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5, with children 12 and younger free. Children must be accompanied by a paying adult at all times. Admission fees help pay expenses for the Traveling Vietnam Wall.
Join the procession
Organizers are encouraging all local Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans to participate in the procession bringing the Wall into town.
The 360-foot-long mobile memorial is a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The procession will begin about noon Wednesday on Interstate 80 outside of Fernley, then to Reno, turning south on Interstate 580 and exiting onto U.S. 395 at the South Virginia street exit. The procession will go through Pleasant Valley and Washoe Valley into Carson City, exiting at U.S. 50 and proceeding west to Mills Park.
For more information visit www.battleborndays.com.