Re-enactor

[Couch Potatoe]

A person who wishes to [recreate] a specific time period in history, often with the intent of educating the general public. Some may have family members who took part in a historical event, and choose to re-enact in order to gain a greater understanding of their family [members] experiences.
In the U.S., [Civil War] re-enacting and World War II re-enacting are considered the most popular, though other forms of re-enacting such as the Renaissance, [the American Revolution], and even Vietnam War re-enacting are also in existence.
Re-enactors specialize in a form of history education known as [living history], which seeks to bring historical events mentioned in books to life so that those wishing to learn can get an up-close-and-personal experience.
Historically accurate clothing and accessories are a requirement to be a re-enactor, and many usually conduct their own extensive research to ensure that their historical alter egos are displayed properly.
Re-enactors are often criticized as nerds or geeks because they dress up and run around in funny clothes and think theyre cool. Also, some re-enactors are criticized because they tend to recreate military units noted as legendary (such as the 20th Maine in Civil War re-enacting or the 101st Airborne in WWII re-enacting) while ignoring more average soldiers. More simply, some people just cannot understand why re-enactors do what they do.
Still, it is worth noting that without re-enactors, the cast of historical films such as [Gettysburg] would be extremely [sparse]. You cant make a war movie without soldiers after all.