INDIANAPOLIS — Strains of “The Imperial March,” John Williams’ “Star Wars” score, waft ominously above the noise of the crowd. The 501st Legion — known as Vader’s Fist — is on the march. A familiar site at the annual Gen Con gaming convention, attendees part as the white-armored stormtroopers parade in formation through the halls of the Indiana Convention Center.
There are fans of ‘Star Wars,’ and then there are the super-fans. The 501st Legion, a worldwide organization of stormtroopers made famous in the ‘Star Wars’ films, falls into the super-fan category.
Established in 1997, 501st Legion membership has spread worldwide with garrisons, squads, detachments and outposts across six continents and 60 countries from South Africa to an arctic outpost in the Canadian Territory of Nunavat.
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Greenfield resident Chris Hiett has been marching with the 501st since 2005.
He first heard of the group through the Indy Knights, another Star Wars fan group, and was introduced to cosplay (attending events dressed in costume). And the rest, he said, is history.
Applying for membership in the 501st Legion is free, but it involves several steps, the first being to acquire a professional grade costume. According to a database at 501st.com, there are more than 400 variations of stormtroopers, snowtroopers, clone troopers, imperial officers, bounty hunters and adaptations of Darth Vader from the Star Wars series to choose from.
When Hiett committed to joining, he took his time selecting his character, finally deciding on a less-familiar version of a snowtrooper from “The Empire Strikes Back.” At the time, he said, there weren’t many snowtroopers in the Legion. That has since changed in a group whose membership has grown to 25,000 worldwide.
Once his costume was completed, Hiett submitted photos of himself wearing the costume from all angles and applied for a legion ID number. He was eventually admitted as Snowtrooper 5379.
As a member of local Bloodfin garrison of the 501st, he and his fellow stormtroopers make frequent appearances throughout central Indiana. The garrison’s name is derived from the motorcycle-style transport vehicle ridden by Darth Maul, a dark Sith lord who (spoiler alert) defeated Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn in “The Phantom Menace.”
A visit to the Bloodfin Garrison Facebook page reveals appearances at the Three Rivers Festival parade in Fort Wayne, Free Comic Book Day at Comic Quest in Evansville and Star Wars Day in Charlestown. The group also makes frequent appearances for charity events such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Toys for Tots and the Butler University Congenital Heart Walk. According to Bryan Mesarch, Commanding Officer for the 501st Legion, the organization raised more than $800,000 worldwide in 2017.
“It’s a big hit when we show up,” Hiett said.
Recently, representatives of Bloodfin Garrison showed up at the North Street Fitness Festival for the Superhero 5K run. They also made a cameo at June’s Relay for Life event.
Hiett attends the garrison’s quarterly meetings, where members assemble, discuss costuming, upcoming events and hang out, he said.
A number of the Legion will be at Gen Con and other convention-related events during the four-day gathering.
Hiett said he sees it as a way of giving something back. He combines that commitment with his love for Star Wars.
“When little kids come up and recognize you,” Hiett said, “you get a big hug on the leg. That’s what I do it for — the kids and the charity work.”
