FALL IN!™: "Beginning of the End" at FALL IN! Convention To Be Held Nov. 6 – 8 in Gettysburg 

Bel Air, MD/Gettysburg, PA (October 8, 2009) -- The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society East (www.HMGS.org) will hold the 12th annual FALL IN!™ Convention (http://www.fall-in.org) from November 6 – 8, 2009 at the Eisenhower (IKE) Hotel, Conference Center and Resort in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

This year’s theme, “Beginning of the End:  WWII 65th Anniversary, 1944" showcases no fewer than 38 major Second World War battles and Campaigns, involving troops drawn from more than a dozen Nations.

FALL IN! 2009 features three action packed days of historical miniatures gaming, HMGS War College Seminars, miniatures painting in The Hobby University, special events, scores of historical vendors, five HMGS Flea Market sessions, and a fundraiser for the Toys for Tots™ charity.    

Also, this year FALL IN! will host a WWII 65th Anniversary Commemoration with a salute to “The Heroes of 1944” on Saturday Nov. 7, 2009. WWII vets in attendance will be honored in a Ceremony and Historical Reenactors tribute at 2:00 p.m. Saturday in the IKE's All Star Complex.

Special Commemoration activities include a presentation by Pat Scanzillo, a veteran of the USS Murphy DD603, who will speak about the incident which sunk the destroyer in 1943.  And 88 year-old Jasha Levi, author of The Last Exile, The Tapestry of a Life, will discuss his World War II confinement in Italy under Mussolini, fighting against German troops in Dalmatia in the 40s, and battling Soviet attempts to dominate Yugoslavia.

At 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, FALL IN! '09 War College keynote speaker Ed Ruggero will give a multimedia presentation: “The 82nd Airborne Division in Operation Overlord, June 6-9, 1944." Ed is co-author of the US Army Field Manual “Army Leadership” and author of several books, including “Duty First: West Point and the Making of American Leaders”, “Combat Jump: The Young Men Who Led the Assault Into Fortress Europe, July 1943”, and “The First Men In: US Paratroopers and the Fight to Save D-Days.” Ed has appeared on The History Channel, the Discovery Channel, CNBC, and Fox and has spoken to audiences around the world on leadership, leader development, and ethics. 

A series of HMGS War College seminars will include the major WW II theaters and strategic events of 1944, by Louis Desy and NSDM Team (www.nsdm.com), as well as "The World 50 Years Ago:  Diplomatic-Geopolitical events of 1959" by USN CDR Mark McDonagh. The full seminar schedule is at www.FALL-IN.org.

Throughout the weekend, wargamer attendees will participate in over 400 exciting events from every historical period, including over 100 WW II wargames, such as:  "THE FIRST MEN IN" The 82nd ABN DIV 6 JUNE '44, a sprawling war game of the ENTIRE US 82nd Airborne Division's June 6th, 1944 airborne invasion of Normandy, and  “Atlantic Wall, June '44” a huge D-Day Normandy landing scenario by Greg Whitaker, and Woodbridge (VA) Area Gamers/ Acheson Creations & Iron Ivan.

“FALL IN! combines a wargame convention with the opportunity to visit the historic military park and museums around the Gettysburg battlefield,” says Andy Turlington FALL IN! 2009 Convention Director. “This is truly a great weekend for military history.”

Admission to the 3-day convention is $10 for HMGS members and $30 for non-members. For more information on FALL IN!, visit http://www.fall-in.org.

Other HMGS annual events include the “HISTORICON” convention to be held July 7th - 11th, 2010 at the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD.  For more information, visit www.HISTORICON.org.

“Cold Wars” will to be held March 11 – 14, 2010 in Lancaster, PA, www.coldwars.org.

HMGS is a non-profit educational organization that promotes the study of military history through historical miniatures gaming, seminars, grants, and conventions, www.HMGS.org.