About Us

Who we are

We are an award winning, all volunteer, qualified 501(3)(c) living history group that operates primarily in Western Washington State and Portland, OR area. Our members stretch from Vancouver, BC to Eugene, OR.

While we primarily represent the US military in World War 2, depending on the event, our members represent all eras from the American Civil War thru current era. Rather than re-enacting battles, our focus is talking with the public and displaying and demonstrating the items used by US servicemembers. Today that includes uniforms, equipment, weapons, tents, radio gear and vehicles. Our motor pool includes Jeeps, 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton Dodge trucks, 1 1/2 ton Chevy, the classical Deuce-and-a-half (2 1/2 ton truck), a half-track, an Aeronica L-3 and a Stinson L-5 observation aircraft!

Our group was founded Nov 1994 after several US militaria collectors got together following a Washington Arms Collectors show. By mutual agreement they wanted to display portions of their collections to educate the public and honor those who have served. After some brainstorming, it was decided the group would be called “Friends of Willie and Joe“. The name was inspired out of respect for the cartoon characters penned by Bill Mauldin during World War 2. Willie and Joe were a couple of tired, dirty, war-haggerd dog faces that Mr Mauldin used to tell the story of the Infantrymen who daily endured the tragedies of combat.

In Nov 1995, Bill Mauldin spoke at the Boeing Flight Museum. Our group was fortunate enough to be invited to act as “background” for Mr Mauldin. Many members of the group were honored to shake his hand and speak with him for a few minutes. The result of this outing was that the group became officially sanctioned by Bill Mauldin. This is the only official use of Willie and Joe authorized by Bill Mauldin.

This photo is one of the first of our group taken during a Washington Arms Collector show November 1995. Unfortunately, we aren’t that young anymore 🙂