With a biting wind pressing at his back, Tom Wojcinski moved forward a few yards, then dived deeply into the roughly plowed dirt as mortars fired overhead.

It was Hoosier soil into which Wojcinski sank, but to him, at that moment, he was in a German farm field advancing on the enemy.

Wojcinski is a re-enactor, and his World War II "impression" -- the word those of his avocation use to describe what they do -- is as a member of the 9th Infantry Division, which was formed in 1940 and saw action in Tunisia, Sicily, northern France and Germany.

Between battles during the "World War II Tribute" held at Lake County's Buckley Homestead living history farm, Wojcinski ate chipped beef on toast from his mess kit and talked about why he and others have chosen re-enacting.

"We all love history, of course. It's a love of history, or a love of veterans, or to honor a family member. And, it's a little bit of cowboys and indians," Wojcinski said with a boyish grin.

"I do it for all those reasons."

A chemist by day, Hammond's Wojcinski said he got an early start on his hobby.

"I blame my parents. When I was very young, my parents took me to every fort, every historic site. ... When I was 10 years old, I saw Civil War re-enactors at a festival in Highland," he said.

After sensing his interest, they invited him to join them.

"My parents said yes, and I became a drummer and messenger," he said.

On the battlefield, Wojcinski often is joined by fellow re-enactor Adam Walker, a 2001 Hanover Central High School graduate who lives in Crown Point.

He's a full-time student completing his biology degree at Indiana University Northwest with plans to become a wildlife biologist.

Walker said re-enacting has taken him places he never dreamed he would be.

"It has opened up a whole new world. I got to be in three film documentaries, including a British film on the Battle of Midway, and I went to Europe," Walker said.

"Two years ago, I spent a month in England and France. I got with a British convoy touring through Normandy. We were in hedgerow country.

"It gave me chills down my spine. All the stories that vets had told me came back to me."

Much like six decades ago, residents lined the route waving flags and greeting the troops.

"World War II re-enacting is huge is Europe. The locals were ecstatic," he said.

Walker said he prefers to do impressions of "those others don't do." For example, he often portrays a member of the French Resistance who tracks troop movements for the Allied forces. Other times, he is a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot.

"Sometimes, when I am in character doing a first-person impression, people think I'm the real thing. They think I'm French, or they think I'm really a pilot. That's a kick, but at the same time, you're educating people," Walker said.

Most rewarding is when veterans commend the authenticity of an impression.

"It's a hobby to be taken seriously," Wojcinkski agreed, explaining, "Especially with World War II, you have to get it right. Some of them are still living. We try very hard to look right and do things as they were done."

Women re-enact history, too

Ashleigh Fischer of Crown Point has been re-enacting for three years and said that, though she loves history and the theater and spectacle of it all, it is educating the public on the role of women in World War II that drives her.

"I want to inform others how important women were. Women did so much more than just be in the USO, nurses and Army wives," Fischer said.

"There are men that believe that women should not be on the battlefield, and some even think women should not be re-enacting. I do an American impression and a Russian impression. It's harder to do the American impression, because I feel I have to convince people to this day that women played an important role in the war.

"For Russian, it's much easier. Russian women could be out driving a tank or shooting the enemy."

Interestingly, Fischer said she bought an original pair of men's leggings for re-enactments that cost $10, while a pair of women's reproduction leggings sell for about $35.

Originally a hobby, Fischer said, "Okay, it's more like an obsession. I work as a teacher assistant by day and a re-enactor by night."

Denise Zartmann's interest in being a re-enactor, or living historian, grew from listening to her grandfather's stories of World War II when he was in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, landed in France four days after D-Day and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

A consultant in a plastic surgeon's office, Zartmann, a Wheaton, Ill., resident has a degree in history and plans for graduate school with an eye toward museum or library work.

"I re-enact with my husband, who is interested in Allied aviation, and our re-enactments usually consist of a camp display of period equipment and uniforms," Zartmann said.

Like Fischer, Zartmann finds herself educating schoolchildren and adults on the role of women. More importantly, though, she said, is making the connection that makes history a living thing for others.

"Adults like to show their children our camp display and say, 'This is what it was like when Grandpa was in the war. Those are the army uniforms he wore, and he probably slept in a tent like this.' " she said.

"It's like the children can make a connection with their grandparents' generation by seeing how they lived and to get a little glimpse of what life was like during the war. Adults are sometimes very touched, almost to the point of tears, when they see a World War II artifact that reminds them of a parent who served."

History lovers explore other eras

Lovers of history are not limited to certain periods, so it's no surprise to see some re-enactors, dubbed time warpers, time travelling, as it were.

Wojcinski travels into the French and Indian War period as well as World War II, and often encounters the Narjes clan of Crown Point.

"I'm not a time jumper," Rick Narjes said, explaining that the French and Indian War period when Europeans first canoed their way into the Midwest is the era that drew him and his wife Dawn into re-enacting.

Avid canoeing fans, Rick Narjes said he and wife have been re-enacting since 1979 after running into re-enactors during their canoe marathon racing days.

"I never thought I'd dress weird like that," but the family's avocation has brought them the richness of friendships hard to find.

"You won't find another group of more honest, decent people. It's a very tight community," he said.

A retired railroad clerk, Narjes said he rebuilds canoes and makes lacrosse sticks.

At the "Voyageurs Rendezvous" at the Grand Kankakee Marsh County Park, Hebron, the family did an impression of Voyageurs arriving via canoe for a trading session with Native Americans.

"We demonstrate voyageur life, show how canoes are built and repaired and talk about furs," he said.

Son Reid, 26, returned from Iraq, no longer re-enacts, but daughter Samantha, 21, has her own canoe and stays active in the family hobby.

Like other re-enactors, Narjes said he's a lover of history who regularly researches the period to maintain authenticity.

"It's brought out talents I didn't know I had," Narjes said.