FORT OGLETHORPE - In the minute before the bullet, Tom Retseck steadied one hand on the MG 42's trigger and the other on a long, brass ammunition belt.
Around the 64-year-old structural design engineer, olive-colored jeeps scuttled up the field. They whooshed past his netted foxhole, where he and three or four other German soldiers had set up camp, and parked farther uphill.
Retseck leaned forward and stared down the machine gun's barrel. Near the road, a trio of singers in garrison caps had just finished crooning the World War II classic, "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree."
No sense in waiting during wartime, Retseck said. "Fire in the hole!" he yelled.
As the ammunition belt flailed, smoke spilled off the MG 42 barrel and the smell of popcorn clung to the air. The recoil wasn't too powerful, but the force of a machine gun capable of firing 1,200 rounds a minute felt like a firecracker thumping against one's chest.
While the smoke cleared, Retseck chuckled. "I always liked history," he said.
The sights and sounds of World War II returned to the 6th Cavalry Museum in Fort Oglethorpe, where demonstrators and veterans gathered Saturday afternoon to celebrate the living history of one of America's greatest battles.
In the garage behind the museum, a large tank named "Big John" sat under shelter while gray clouds mottled above and men and women in wheelchairs rolled around the lawn. Although the threat of bad weather warded away some veterans and helped cancel an afternoon re-enactment, about 300 people attended through the day, said Chris McKeever, the museum's exceutive director.
"World War II just clicks with me," said 12-year-old Colby Hawk. "It started during second grade." During the event, his brother Calden, 7, scoured the field, picking up bullet casings and squeezing them in his palm.
"You really learn what the soldiers had to go through," added Retseck, who played the German machine gunner. "You learn the very minute details."
Retseck, who purchased his authentic MG 42 about 30 years ago in Atlanta, said he's studied photos where German soldiers hold one hand across the gun. In the grand scheme, it's a simple detail, but they held that position because the feedcover would bounce up during heavy firefights, he said.
"It's revealing," he said. "These bits of history are important."
To honor veterans, the Atlanta-based Vintage Vocals took stage to perform classics from the era. "Now we have a jive," said Phillipa Anderson. The group launched into "St. Louis Blues," brandishing three strands of black boa.
"When we sing them songs from their heyday, it revitalizes them," said member Deb Gerace.
Sure enough, as the chords rippled through the audience, 91-year-old Joe Heflin rose. He slid feebly across the grass, bollo tie bouncing, as he took the hand of any willing dance partner. Heflin said he was stationed overseas during World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam.
But on Saturday, he wanted to groove to the songs that never end.
"Excuse me," he said, "but I'm going to go dance some more."
Contact Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com. Follow @zackpeterson918.