When thinking of wartime sacrifices, the focus is typically on the services provided by men. But a group of dedicated young women are committed to shedding light on the important role played by women in wartime.

“I grew up with members of the WWII generation, and would hear a lot of stories from the women of that era. I realized their role was sort of downplayed in light of what their husbands had done. I wanted to make sure what they did was not forgotten, and was shown as just as important. It really was,” explained 28-year-old Sarah Felmlee, as she smoothed her apron over her vintage 1940s dress. She was participating in the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum’s American Soldiers Homecoming Festival June 23-26, standing in front of the railroad station with other young women who were also clad in 1940s fashion. The ladies were overseeing a reenactment of the famous Dennison Canteen that served thousands of WWII servicemen passing through.

“We are from a WWII women’s reenactment group. We are WOWSERS, Women of World War II Seriously and Educationally Recreated. We do both military and civilian impressions all over the country. We are dedicated to keeping what the women did during the war alive, so their contribution will not be forgotten,” explained Felmlee, who is from Reading, Pa. She noted that the group portrays WAC (Women’s Army Corps) members also.

Sara Pankuch, of Dennison, was working alongside of Felmlee, serving cookies to veterans and other festivalgoers.

“This is my family history, basically,” said Pankuch, explaining the reason for her involvement in the group. “The canteen was started in 1942 and it ran for five years, and served over 1,319,439 GI’s in that period. I have four great-aunts who were canteen workers during the 1940s, and my grandfather, who was from here, also came through the canteen as a GI. I just keep it going as best as I can with the family history. This is basically a tribute from me to them and to all who served. There are a handful of ladies in their 80s and 90s who served in the canteen who are still around town, and I’ve talked with them, too.”

“We have engineers, psychology students and mothers in our group. We just come together because we are very serious about history and teaching people about what happened at these historical places,” added Felmlee.

The Soldiers Homecoming Festival was packed full of activities, including the naming of the Lucille Nussdorfer Tuscarawas County Woman of the Year award recipient on Thursday, June 23. Nussdorfer was the founder of the WWII Dennison Canteen, and Penny Zurcher received the 2011 Nussdorfer award for her more than 70 years of service to the Tuscarawas County community.

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, speakers and reenactors brought to life the events of wartime in different eras, including battle reenactments and living history displays. The Ohio Flags of Honor and Sea of Yellow Ribbons, along with the flag lined streets leading to the festival area, provided a visually moving reminder of the many sacrifices made by U.S. military and their families throughout the centuries.

“We love this setting. It is hard to find authentic WWII settings in this country, as most of them are overseas, so when we get the opportunity to bring this to life where history actually occurred, we love it. This is a wonderful experience. We love coming out to support the museum, and we get to talk to a lot of veterans here who share their memories,” commented Felmlee. “We just did the WWII bond rally, and afterwards I went to talk to a gentleman listening who was in a wheelchair. He was so moved by what we did that he started crying. That made the whole thing a success.”