21 Strong
Hello everyone that has entered the realm of the 82nd Thunder Dogs and what will be our last stand, the Hell Cats of the 82nd where able to rebuild after the events of the Tir War of 2018; though for many divisions this war would be our last stand, the 401st Airborne, the 92nd Regiment, the 76th Armour Division, the 67th Airborne and the 82nd Thunder Dogs would all become ghosts of the past forever to be forgotten by history. This is why I am here to tell our story, for it is a graphic one, but one that needs to be told; we are not getting any younger and with each passing year our story becomes further lost to history and retold by those not yet born, those that have political gain or those that wish to forget the events ever took place. I as a veteran of the London Theatre wish for this to never be forgotten and for these events to never happen again in any theatre of engagement.
A little back story before we dive straight into the Battle for London on October 3rd 2018 to October 8th 2018 though the Tir would retreat from the hillside late on the 7th of October; the war would officially last till 1800 hours on October 8th when the last of the Tir military would retreat from Whales and Scotland, they would officially surrender on October 9th at 1200 hours and sign the Accord of Buckingham agreeing to accept full fiscal and financial responsibility for the engagement as well disband their military forces and hand over to the UK, and US military courts the officers and men responsible for the war crimes (including the chemical warfare). Though we all know how well that worked out and the Tir are still in violation of the Accord of Buckingham and have been fighting the military fugitive task force ever since, even going as far as to deny the use of weapons of mass destruction and purposely attacking civilian targets and locations.
I could go into extreme boring detail regarding the legal ramifications and the political aspects of the Accord of Buckingham and the war crimes committed by the Tir military and government during that engagement. I will spare you the details and you can find all the needed resources here on the matrix, as they are all available for public access and only the Tir have something to hide so read away it’s all in black and white and very dull and legal.
Our story is very similar to the brave soldiers of the 401st, we both fought for three days and nights, we both fought in trenches and we all nearly died; where we differ is the Thunder Dogs where gassed into oblivion and we were basically the walking dead, our men would fall to the suffocating fumes of the chlorine and sarin gas and our skin would burn to the agent orange being dumped on us in mass. Even with chemical gear we where still suffering as our filters would fail, our uniforms would be coated and our wounds poisoning us, even a simple nick could be a fatal and very painful wound. We in the 82nd Thunder Dogs where lucky as our commander Lt General Theodore James Harris would insist that we hump the twenty pounds of extra chem gear even though chemical warfare had been banned since 1993 and for that I am eternally grateful and so are the rest of the 21 Strong or simply called the Zombie Brigade.
Our brothers in the Hellcats were not as lucky, they would not be equipped properly as their commander Major General Atticus Broward would not see the point in the men humping the extra weight and as well not wish to spend the extra resources properly equipping them. Only Second Lieutenant Haywood Boston would survive the engagement in Bath do to his re-breather and sheer willpower alone. Major General Broward would go on to restore the 82nd Hellcats after the engagement though he would rename them the 101st UCAS Brigade; Lesley Bunker a Hellcat fighting with our allies in the 401st would eventually restore honour to the name of the 82nd Hellcats and lead a new division to greatness.
Well back to the dark cold days of October 3rd -7th of 2018, the weather was not on our side either as the temperature was unseasonably cold for October and the rain had begun to fall from the heavens turning even the dripping water into toxic sludge. Having fought alongside the Ghost Division numerous times we as well learned the valuable lesson of trench warfare against magical attacks; you can’t hell fire what you can’t see and this was going to be our linchpin in securing victory. We would be deployed to England mid September that same year to prepare for the impending war with the Tir as a diplomatic aid for a long time ally. We dug into the countryside and prepared for what was to come….well nothing could have prepared us for what truly would be unleashed on October 3rd of 2018.
Once the sun burned off the morning mist and haze of the English morning was upon us, we saw our enemy marching in the horizon, thousands of soldiers from the Tir, France, and Spanish armies all unified to destroy the English and US forces that where prepared to give them hell. We had no idea that France and Spain once allies of ours would become part of the axis and join the fray. This would spell certain doom if it wasn’t for our trenches and the ability to retreat into London, though in hindsight that was a bad idea as the Tir had other plans for London and we would learn that the hard way.
The morning mist was burning off and the sound of marching feet could be heard for miles, thunder rolled through the hills as the rain began to fall from the heavens. Our big guns began barking, machine-gunners unleashed the rooster as Rodgers and Reid would unleash hell from their hands as fire and ice would ravage no mans land. The enemy returned fire with their magical assault and big guns, the soldiers breaking formation and fleeing for cover as their comrades where being torn asunder by our roosters. The bullets tore above our heads, screams of pain, cries for ones mothers and death rattles could be heard throughout the trenches, our radios belching with tiny chatter from our northern front and southern front, the 401st could be heard already requesting back up and reinforcements…yet we had none to give, as our fight had commenced and this was going to be one for the ages.
Fighters, bombers took to the sky as the war for air superiority would commence as the UK Royal Air-force and the US Air-force would engage the Tir, French and Spanish planes…the Australian Air-Force would help defend the city of London that seemed to be the target for their bombs. The ground shook as the armour units rolled out from both sides and ope fired, big guns relentlessly belching lead into the heavens, bombs and mortars exploding all around us…we had truly discovered hell on earth and it was only the first day of fighting. War had come to England and we in the 82nd would stand strong with the 92nd Regiment a English division and combined we would stand at over thirty thousand men, the 618th Aussie Regiment and the 34th US infantry division would make up the rest of our numbers. Our enemy stood over forty thousand men and by the end of this engagement we would be only 21 Strong and not one of the enemy would live to tell the tale killed by their own toxic warfare.
As I was saying war had come to English soil and we were not going to allow the axis to seize control, we where the defenders of freedom and this was going to be one fight that the axis would regret. The bombs exploded throwing mud, debris, and shrapnel in all directions, the magical assault would ravage the trenches and lucky for Rodgers and Reid they had learned how to counter some of the magical assault or we all would have been toast on the first day. Our sharpshooters taking down the elven mages with white death and soon the battle would be on a more fair footing as their magical division would be nearly rendered extinct but not before killing thousands of us in the process. The machines of war belted each other as planes crashed all around, our medical division commanded by Swan would be under siege from Spanish and French suicide runners with grenades running through no mans land to strike the medical division. Our medics and doctors being removed by Tir sharpshooters as they came to the aid of the wounded.
Our supply bunker was the first to be destroyed by a targeted enemy mortar and next would be the medical bunker as I could hear the wounded, doctors, nurses and medics screaming in agony and the scent of burning flesh was sickening. Captain Swan would emerge from the bunker moments after missing his left arm from the elbow with only a tourniquet keeping him from bleeding to death, he had shrapnel buried into his body and yet Bones would be caring his black medical bag and dragging his leg not even noticing that it was broken and twisted. His eyes glazed with pain and morphine he would press on and tend to the wounded and eventually he would steal a tactic from the 401st’s doctor and use fire as way to stop the bleeding. General Harris could be heard barking commands and calling for an airstrike to even the odds but getting no where fast and Colonel Rummy would emerge from the command tent to stand with the men and return fire only to take shrapnel from mortal shell that would explode killing dozens of men that would be in the blast and their cries could be heard as even the hardest of veterans only want their mommies in a time of duress and death.
We were under heavy fire and our supplies now very limited, the enemy had targeted our medical division and from the tin radio chatter it could be heard that the medical divisions on the other fronts would be under heavy fire and falling quickly. This is a tactic that we were not used to as the medical units where to be left alone, this was a direct violation of the articles of war and yet it wouldn’t be the axis es only violation. As the first day raged on the bodies pilled up, the blood poured into the trenches, mud caked our bodies and the rain pounded removing long range visibility. Harris could be heard barking for a supply drop and reinforcements only to be denied and told to hold the line and stand his ground…easier said than done really. We would stand and fight through day and night, as the axis would not yield as the day turned into night, exhaustion starting to creep in as we would have been fighting for over twelve hours and the end was not in sight, we would hold them at bay for the time being but when the witching hour would strike the clock the bombers would once again deploy hell and bombard us for hours.
The Air-force would hold back to defend London directly but leave the axis bombers alone to cut us to shreds, than as the sky would lite up from the storm, lighting striking all around the axis would rain down their next violation. At 0400 on October 4th 2018 chemical warfare would return…at least for our front, other fronts wold have already felt this violation and for us it would be non stop for over 24 hours of chemical bomb after chemical bomb. Agent Orange, Sarin Gas and Chlorine Bombs would pound us and tear the earth asunder. Rain would mix with the chemicals and pour into our wounds, pollute our canteens and coat or uniforms; we in the 82nd would be prepared with chemical gear, but this would not be the case for many of our fellow soldiers and even the enemy would learn a valuable lesson gas mask filters eventually need to be changed. We in the 82nd would have many replacements and this would be the only reason any off are alive today, though the gas attacks would change us and many of our men would be fighting dead, already killed by the toxic fumes but still alive and fighting like a zombie. We would become the walking dead on that day and with the bombardments non stop for so many hours, many of the Thunder Dogs would begin digging into the mud to create a shelter and one that can be screened from the gas and shrapnel.
During this chemical onslaught we would be left only our prayers to keep us safe as I could see men burning, suffocating and drowning do to the toxic air. The storm was causing the gas clouds to be blown directly into London, we could hear the radio chatter from the other fronts as they were under the same situation; the 401st would once again bark out a need for supplies and reinforcements. We could hear they were under heavy fire and outnumbered and still fighting, if the Fighting Tigers could stand strong than hell the Thunder Dogs could as well….though I heard what happened to Doctor Gravel, Lt Palpatine, Lt Crowley and Sgt McKeen and they were still fighting, we in the 82nd could only hope to be that brave under that much duress.
We had been bombed for over a day the sky was green and chlorine residue coated or masks, men are taking injections to offset the Agent Orange and our filters are running low…we would scavenge the clean filters from the dead and simply wait for death as anyone that tried to flee the trench would simply be shoot by their marksman and we had officially been gunned down. Our lines falling and the rain now felt like tears of the angels as they watched man be turned into the walking dead. By 0500 on the 5th the axis would break the line and charge into the trenches, the chemical bombs had stopped by the artillery fire hadn’t. We would fix bayonets and draw our trench knives and give them hell and everything we had left. Tired, wounded, gassed and hungry we fought crawling through the guts and gore of our brothers we gave them hell and proved that Americans. English and Australians are far more stubborn than thought and we would never surrender; the axis would give their all as modern warfare had been returned to blades and hand to hand combat, shells exploding all around men falling like trees in the wind, when the axis would send their next assault from the heavens and force us to vacate the trench and retreat post haste.
The axis would begin to dump tons of napalm onto us and their own men, they would set the country side on blaze and I assume they where pissed that an old military tactic had worked and quelled their magical onslaught and from what I heard on the radio the 401st was keeping them in a stalemate with there trenches. Though we where a bit more open in the hillside and bombers proved to be the great equaliser. The liquid fire poured through the hillside and set our trenches ablaze, those of us lucky enough to crawl out escaped a painfully tortuous death, though crawling through toxic mud would spell the end for many that did escape the fires of hell.
Our new supplies would come as we had to retreat and would be dropped directly into the inferno on the ground, our hearts would sink as we watched our medical supplies, weapons, ammo depots, and clean water and food simply burn into ash. We would retreat from the hills outside London to the city line and begin to dig in, Only three thousand men would make it to London and when we would get their the city itself was on fire, buildings toppled and others exposing of their skeletal shell. bodies littered the streets and the air was thick with chlorine. Our hearts broke as we figured we had failed and London was lost, who could have prepared for chemical warfare and why should we have…no sane military would gas civilians and soldiers alike, well I did say sane military.
In London we decided to seek out survivors and injured, trying to divide and concur lending a helping hand to the innocent civilians that have been punished simply do to being human. Though just because the fighting stopped o the hills as the countryside burned, this did’t stop the Tir from sending in their special forces division straight into London and trying to capture the city. Well those blasted elves would never be prepared for the Zombie Brigade, thought to be dead and worthless the Tir would not be prepared for the wounded and pissed off allies that would storm the city. We would meet them as they approached Buckingham Palace three thousand men with everything to loose and nothing to gain refreshed, moral high, and pissed off would meet their five hundred and yes we outnumbered them three to one; this was not going to a fair fight nor an even match these where their top notch soldiers and their last attempt to seize London and concur England.
The war would now be fought in the streets of London and Buckingham Palace Road in Victoria London would become a river of blood and tears as we engaged them without a second thought…..Oh hell’s no you are not getting into the place your elven bastards!! We fought hard and long, many would fall, mortars would slam into the concrete and send bodies and debris flying. bullets punching though walls and blood staining the historic street and surrounding areas. buildings would be toppled by the artillery strike and as well from the magical ravages from Rodgers and Reid as they combined their might to show never under estimate the power of fire and ice. Rodgers even though he was wounded and his right leg twisted with a broken knife blade in his right knee was still giving it his all; using his riffle as a cane with any enemy bayonet stuck through his forearm and his own hand gashed by his own blade, he slung spell after spell ignoring his own wounds. Reid as well was hanging on by a thread as he was combining his magical prowess with Rodgers and one would heal as the other unleashed hell and vice a versa.
The elves where cutting us down quickly and littering the streets with the bodies of mere children Colonel Rummy was green in colour as the chlorine had coated his body, his body cut to ribbons, toxic blood seeped from his wounds as he would simply use a piece of white hot shrapnel to seal the wound….his screams still haunt me today, his ankle shattered and a pig sticker sealing a wound in his thigh. He carried on fighting as if he had given death itself the finger, his bravery would keep us all going, Colonel Rummy would go onto lead us to victory as General Harris was nearing death, his body riddled with bullets, his uniform melted to his flesh and missing many of his digits and his left foot; I am glad but surprised that Harris survived those wounds.
Doctor Swan was a walking corpse as his eyes where sunken, his body ached his mind broken as his severed limb was becoming infected; he drew his sword and even with a broken leg and punching through the skin, his foot twisted and facing the wrong way a piece of shrapnel sticking out of his ribs and rock shoved into his thigh and yes he shoved it in there like Gravel did with the burning stick. Swan should be dead and how he wasn’t is a true testimonial to the human resilience and what we are capable of when we mentally check out. He fought bravely till he could no longer stand and would collapse only to be defended by Roper who badly wounded would stand by Swans side and fend off the elves like a man possessed…I have never scene that level of rage before and never want to see it again….I swear I could hear the growling of a bear.
Roper would end up being shot through the hand and have a bullet destroy his knee but yet that little man kept fighting and screamed “Triumph for the Black Bird!” and even the Tir special forces would avoid our little Duck but he wouldn’t leave them alone till he could no longer physically stand. R Jamestown would prove that you can’t keep a good man down, covered in chlorine, his skin burned from the Agent Orange, covered in mud and gore he kept fighting like a man possessed and even wounded he would fight back to back with our little Duck and two would kill dozens before they would need to be rescued. Our numbers where falling fast, we had heart but they had skill…also mortars equal the odds as well. Canterbury the perpetually pissed off and cranky member of the 82nd would prove that he was not just an old man as he would fight with everything he had and care little for being stabbed, reports indicate he even laughed as he was being stabbed and twisting the heads of the elves. His leg broken and his shoulder dislocated, bleeding and missing digits he staid strong saying “Better have tried, and better have failed to kill me.” well Canterbury would prove that he was another legend and someone that I am honoured to call brother.
He would kill many as he marched forward till he was able to pull Swan, Roper, and R Jamestown out and back behind the line, he would eventually be in need of rescue and Rummy would be able to pull him to safety. After hours of gruelling fighting it seemed to be over for us, we had nothing left and had given it all. Our radio sprung to life and we heard the chatter from the 401st….for the love of god they are still alive and fighting, Palpatine had taken command and they were fighting with everything they had left and than some….we in the 82nd needed to keep going for our brothers in the Fighting Tigers. If they could keep going than we would be victories or die, surrender was no longer an option for us and as day turned to night, our wounded hiding in broken buildings and Rummy still fighting and commanding even though he should have been in hiding being treated, ignoring orders to surrender and forgoing the unofficial requests from the elves that had seen some reinforcements from their regular military, he kept going till he was no longer able to even speak an needed to be rescued himself.
Our moral wavering only once but after hearing the 401st still in the thick of the fight we were energised once more and once again we took to the streets, the axis was going to have to take that palace from our cold dead hands and even through further agent orange bombs, napalm and munitions devastating the cityscape we kept fighting into the dead of night. The last of their forces would fall dead at 0600 on the 8th of October 2018 the defence of the City of London would be successful and yet our men on the hillside stayed back to defend the poisoned countryside would give their all and force the last of the axis forces to retreat on the 7th; sadly only Lt Colonel Grimm and Sgt Meisner would survive that engagement and spend the next eighteen plus hours crawling through the mud, gore and poison to be eventually rescued. They had to watch was their men would fall one by one as the zombie blessing would fade away and death would consume them all, they stood their ground and pushed the Tir forces and axis into retreat, yet only two men would survive the tail and again I am glad they lived but not sure how.
Our story might be over here as this was our last stand and we stood victories over the axis and protected the people and the city of London but it came at a great cost to life and our own bodies and minds. out of the thousands that once stood on that hillside and within the cityscape only 21 men would be carried out on stretchers heading off to MASH units. Our fight might have been longer than the 401st’s but if it wasn’t for their tenacity and bravery in the face of unspeakable odds the Thunder Dogs and our allies might have surrendered or perished to our wounds.
We would return to the states with a purple heart and gold star and discharged from the service, we would not get a hero’s welcome just the opposite we would be spit on by our own citizens as they called us murderers. The Department of the Army would stale to give us our veterans benefits and we were tolled that since we served the United States Army and not the United Canadian American States Army we would never receive our military benefits….we gave our all and we were being treated like outcasts, simply because the name of the country had changed. The 21 Strong of the now Zombie Battalion would go on to do other things with our lives but we still hold the memories of the fallen, the battle and our brothers close to our hearts. We may have been forsaken by the American people and government but that didn’t stop us from staying true and keeping our chins held high. We like the 401st stand as a testament to what good men can do in the face of pure evil.
Now we stand in the face of another change, we have survived and become part of history even though they tried to erase us from the recorded history. We watch as another new military branch is in formation and our hearts go out to the bright faced cadets that will one day be sent of to war unknowing of whats to come for them, but standing proud as American soldiers and holding true to a legacy of brothers that have come before them. I know I might be old now and unable to put my uniform on and take up arms once again, I might not be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with you young men again as my war wounds ravage my body and I have been forever sidelined but that doesn’t mean that my experience and wisdom can’t be passed on.
I am proud to watch the formation of the US Elite and the inauguration of 401st Irish Sea Veteran Oliver McKeen and 82nd London Veteran August Prichard become President and Vice President of the United States of America. I might not be able to smile much anymore as the agent orange ravaged my muscles but I do try as I think how far we have come in such a short period of time, how we were once forsaken and abandoned by our own government and now one of ours is the second most powerful man in the world and one of the 41 is the most powerful. Elected by the people and helping restore a government of the people, for the people, by the people…democracy might have once died, but in 2075 it has returned and has taken the nation once again by storm.
You might hate me and my brothers for serving in a war that you think was unjust or unfair, but understand that I did what I did for all of you to hate me or love me. I am a soldier and I didn’t go off to war to win a popularity contest, only time decrees if we are famous or infamous, loved or hated; soldiers of the Vietnam war where hated for nearly thirty years after the conflict ended and now they are respected. So for us it is the same we were hated when we returned home and for decades after the same, now we are respected and treated properly as our military benefits have been restored as of January 1st 2075 and only fifty-seven years late but who’s counting. So in the dawn of this new age I salute all those that served and continue to serve in the name of freedom, the battle might be over but the war is still raging on and we active, reserve, and retired veterans stand as the last line of defence for liberty, democracy and freedom.
Page Written By: 2nd Lt. Chesterfield “Rerun” Williams
The 21 Walking Dead
Forever Strong, Forever United
CPT Caldwell McDougall (Numbers): Good old numbers one of our longest lasting members of the 82nd serving for 50+ years before being retired by the London Theatre. His actions over those days would save countless lives in the city itself and his selfless actions almost ended his life as well. This is a sacrifice we all are prepared to make, we all know that one day we will be called to lay our life down for freedom to ring. McDougall was beyond poisoned and his eyes glowed green from the chlorine poisoning, his breath painful as he used his own body to shield a small child and her mother from the attacks of the axis. Numbers proved once again that in war it’s not always about taking lives and sometimes we can save some as well…..I raise a glass to you my friend and look forward to guiding a new generation into being a true shield for freedom and the meek.
2LT Chesterfield Williams (Rerun): Chester I just read the powerful story you just told about our triumph over evil and the lovely words you spoke about each of us; I must say it is a breath of fresh air on this site seeing it’s normally full of toxic and hateful speech. It was truly an honour to serve with you my good man, we had some great times and some very bad times but in the end we are always brothers. I might have been upset about my return to service but regardless of the outcome I wouldn’t have traded it for anything Chester. Being Airborne Rangers we are not used to being on the ground and waiting for the enemy with the regular infantry but in war we must all adapt and you kept us singing and kept us smiling through all the pain and suffering. We are soldiers and war is what we are trained for, we stood together and you never faltered; you risked your own life when fire rained from the sky to rescue your men and me. My ankle and wrist had been shattered and yet you yanked me out in the nick of time, thank god for Milton pulling you to safety as well. We will have to catch up over coffee at the mess brother, we proved out there that war is also about saving lives and countless civilians can wake up tomorrow thanks to us…..Chester how are your children doing, I hope they are safe….Oakley “Duck” Roper
SGT George Reid (Arctic): What can I say about George other than thank you my friend, your magical talents saved us on that battlefield and your powers over ice would come in handy when we where in need of a pure drink of water. You stood back to back with your dearest friend laid waste to the axis as they engaged us from all directions. We called you Arctic before the return of magic do to your icy composer and yet my brother you are the warmest person I have ever had the pleasure to know. You sacrificed everything to spare a few innocent souls and paid dearly, I know you would never accept the thank you from them, so I will thank you for all those that are alive today because you chose to serve in hell.
CPT Rodger Milton (Warrior): Milton what can be said about you old timer, well thank god we made it out alive, though I only wish the rest had been able to join us in our new life. Milton you took the new recruits under your wing and guided them and they looked up to you like a father, I know you mourn the loss of all your foster kids but we all thank you for your service and without you Milton I might not even be here, you risked life and limb to drag me from the trenches before the napalm cooked us all and again you are a hero in my book.
CPT Andy Swan MD (Bones): Hey Doc can I play football this year….I know the answer and it’s “Oh Hells No!!!” You looked like hell and even with missing lower arm you patched the men back together and fought on the twisted and mangled leg of yours. Old Friend please stay away from me with white hot shrapnel to seal my wounds if I get banged up in the Elite…though Doc I have more a chance to hurt myself doing paperwork nowadays. All kidding aside Swan you are one of a kind and don’t let Dr. Gravel one up you, you stitched us up and pieced the 21 Strong back together again with nothing more than duct tape, thread and a needle. You are a medical genius and yes Gravel their is some 82nd bias here, but without the 401st we wouldn’t be here today, so a huge thank you to all within the 82nd; we are all brothers in arms and bonded in blood.
SSG Stanley Rodgers (Ringmaster): This is my dearest friend and where the conspiracy theories start to dive all of us insane. Rodgers once served the US Army and was within the 82nd Airborne but he retired after 40 years of service at the rank of Major; he would go on to have a successful civilian life and enjoy his retirement ad his well earned pension. Well when the Great Tragedy hit in August of 2018 and his family would be wiped out and he would suffer greatly under the Native forces and the New American forces one would assume he would never return to active duty….well that would normally be the case. Rodgers like a handful of well earned retires of the Thunder Dogs would be forced back into active only a handful of weeks after the Great Tragedy. They would be scooped up while they licked their wounds in a veterans hospital, a uniform thrown on them and shoved back out in the division; even General Harris objected their forceful re-enlistment but he was powerless to over rule the orders coming in from the Pentagon and the Senate. Nothing more insulting though for Major Rodgers was the stripping of his commission and forcing him to wear the stripes of a Staff Sargent, he took it with strides and with his new found magic he would be a great asset to the Thunder Dogs at the Battle for London 2018.
1LT Elmer Canterbury (Curmudgeon): You grumpy old bastard, well looks like age hasn’t softened your disposer and I don’t blame you Elmer. The weather in the Pacific North West is hell on my joints and I know you feel the same, your grumpy nature was always something we poked fun at, but it was what kept you real and even in the thick of the fight you could find something to complain about and make us all laugh. You saved us out there Canterbury, you grounded us all and kept it real. The songs you sang I will never forget and even the battle hymns of the 401st that your buddies Palpatine and Barton made you learn and than sing with us, they had Bunker and we had you and for that I am beyond grateful; I am honoured to be able to serve with you again among the Elite….best introduce me to those kids you and Palpatine are training.
COL Arthur Rummy (Director): Arty as we called him or simple duck as he had pin point accuracy with his oxfords or dress boots….he would toss them at you when you upset him and that happened often, Colonel Rummy would also smack unsuspecting dumb assess with his loafers…needless to say this was one Executive Officer you never wanted to see in his office; though a great man in every other situation and one that would take a bullet for one of his brothers. That’s just what retired Rummy when he would throw himself on Roper to protect the wounded Sargent from being killed while he selflessly defended his squad. Rummy would go through hell after his retirement and after visiting the Veterans Hospital for a wound he received during the Great Tragedy he would find himself back in uniform and sent to the front lines once again.
MAJ Reverdy Jamestown (Handler): Well Reverdy we made it, 57 years since London and we are still alive, you said you were unsure we were making it out alive as we had become zombies among men. Well the Zombie Brigade joins the Ghost Division as legends and our story is now being told, we are now immortal and with your heart and dedication we shall remain fighting side by side. Handler you are a cut above and even with chlorine residue pouring off your body and being sick as a dog you continued on, you looked like the Hulk out there and don’t mind the green paint at our next bonfire….just kidding brother, though don’t forget the glowing contacts. Reverdy thank you from the bottom of my heart and all those that are alive today because of you thank you as well.
PFC Oakley Roper (Duck): Good old Duck a man that served his country when she needed him, he dedicated fifteen years to being a proud American soldier and one hell of a paratrooper for the 82nd. My heart bleeds for Duck seeing he was forced into retirement after he broke every bone in both legs from his hips down after his shoot failed to open and he would be saved only by his reserve shoot; a paratroopers nightmare come true, though he would earn the gold star for bravery, even under extreme duress, he would open fire and from a prone possession he would hold the enemy at bay. It’s a miracle that he can even walk today and yet he would be forced back into active duty after visiting the veterans hospital in 2018; this man would eventually go on to loose his daughters and wife and even after the events of the Battle for London scarred us all, he would remain to hold his head high and proudly wear his 82nd pin and veterans hat. Roper is another of our NCO’s that would get bumped down from Master Sargent to Private First Class what an insult to such a noble and honourable man.
PFC Harold Broderick (Electrician): Harry you proved yourself on the battlefield once again that you are truly a problem solver and someone that we should never bet against. Your mind works in ways that still surprise me today, modifying the filters to last longer and being able to use the mud as a natural cleanse and filter from the gas. I look forward to seeing what you are up to this year as your antics never cease to amuse me, you were able to secure a location in a bombed out basement for us to hide the terrified civilians and yet remain calm enough despite your wounds to bring a smile to the children’s faces with your shadow puppets and jokes….well dad jokes but all the same. Harry you are a man that all the Elite should admire and work hard to become, a man of honour and duty yet caring enough to sooth a frightened child. I do hope they were able to get those bullets out of your shoulder and hip my dear friend.
SGT Gordon Meisner (Frostbite): My heart goes out to you Gordon you stayed behind with only a thousand men to hold the hillside exposed and poisoned you fought bravely with Arthur until the poisoned air stole the breath out of all the good men at your side. I wish I was there with you but maybe if I had I wouldn’t be here today to help tell our tale. Gordon you are a true hero having crawled out of the trenches and dragging over thirty men to safety, yes they would eventually die but you spared them an untimely death and allowed for those men to continue to stand tall against the axis and as well allowed for them to have a proper soldiers burial at home with their loved ones and not become part of the landscape and forever lost to history.
LT COL Arthur Grimm (Slimer): Arthur you and Gordon stood tall against all odds and crawled out of hell with your head held high, I know you worried about you son being within the 401st and yet you didn’t let that distract you. Your command was something of honour and I know Colonel Rummy and General Harris would have been lost without you at the helm, you sacrificed everything to stay behind and even though only you and Meisner made it out alive if how we left that fight can be called alive….You transferred your pain into anger and it was just old friend, you were right something wasn’t right with that war and it’s taken 56 years for our story to be told.
1SG Jeffery Copper (Pong): The Steel Legion should be proud of you Copper, you are one hell of a soldier even though you are a computer geek. You operated our communications even after part of had been blasted inside of you…not sure how you did that old friend. On the battlefield you had true nerd rage and something that I have never scene before besides in Duck and I still have nightmares about that….did you see a bear fighting alongside Duck or was it just my poisoned mind playing tricks on me, well Copper you prove that being Horseman is more than just eavesdropping and paper pushing; you are all true bad asses and worthy of the being called hero’s.
CSM Arthur Murdock (Eraser): I know going to war was not in your playbook after you retired back in 2007, though like others in our brigade you were snatched from the Veterans Hospital after seeking medical attention. You where thrown back into uniform and sent straight into the meat grinder, for an already wounded war hero this must have been hell and yet you staid the course and even after being shot you kept fighting and helping pull the men out of the inferno at a great cost to your arm and hand. Even burned, shot, stabbed and filled with shrapnel and chlorine your fought on and keep the memory of the fallen alive. You are the most vocal veteran about the horrors of chemical warfare and why all who use weapons of mass destruction should be punished and one day brother the Tir will stand trial for their sins in 2018.
CPL Brady Krieghoff (Tang): Here is another dear friend of mine that paid his does and served his country proudly and with honour. Brady would retire from active duty at the rank of Captain having served within the supply office for the last 10 years of his career do to injury. While his cousins where being disgraced and his country was under siege Brady would suffer a near life threatening wound and end up in a veterans hospital where he would be patched up, given the rank of Corporal and throw back into active service before his stitches where even healed. Brady would never have willingly returned to active service and serve the same government that was currently disgracing and raping his family.
LTG T.J Harris (Morbias): Thank you General for everything, if it wasn’t for your quick thinking we would all be dead, you are a true American and someone that should forever be respected and honoured. You commanded your men till blood came out your mouth and death was knocking on your door and still you snubbed your nose at the grim reaper, passed the command to Rummy and allowed for medical to look after you within the basement that Harry had secured for us. Now that your in the Elite maybe you can figure out once and for all why so many of your retirees where hijacked from Veterans Hospitals and thrust back into uniform even through your very vocal objections. General you have forever earned the respect of the 21 and 41 strong, you never wavered in the face of death and you commanded from the front along with each one of us….your dedication and patriotism is contagious and even though we are broken we have followed you once more Sir…2nd Lt Williams awaiting your orders Sir.
2LT August Prichard (Buzzard): Well August you did it, you went from war hero to confederate bastard general, to war hero, to man who saved the President and now you are the Vice President of the newly reunited USA. The 401st and 82nd stand forever united and now they stand together as the most powerful men in the nation. I know that we are all going to be better off with you and Oliver at the helm of this ship, you were a hell of a platoon leader, you were one hell of general for the CAS and now you are one hell of a politician and you actually give a damn about the people and have been working alongside Palpatine for years to build up the CAS and than tear it down with the UCAS. I know you body aches your leg was twisted and your ankle is held together with parts from the hardware store, but at least we finally got our benefits…though I am staying clear of the VA Hospital for a little while, at least till you and Oliver take office and drain the swamp.
SGT Stewart Greenly (Patches): What can I say about you Greenly, well your skin tone was very close to your surname out their on the hillside, you said we would win this and you were right. You never gave up and when we started to waiver you turned and said “I can feel it, my brothers Tudor, Marvin, Wilhuff, Dover and Hershel are still alive and the 401st is still going strong, if they can do it than we can do it.” You said they are NATO and we are Army Strong don’t let some NATO kitty cats best the Army Dogs. Well Sarge you proved yourself and you showed that always look to an NCO for moral support when the going gets tough, the brass know the tactics, the stripes know the men. Greenly even wounded you stood strong, your arm twisted an mangled, your body burned and uniform soaked to your body from your blood but still you forged ahead and lead the men to safety and still entered the kill zone to rescue more of our men to only have them become the walking dead and pass away a second time from the toxic fumes. You risked everything to storm the homes and apartment buildings looking for trapped and civilians and emerged each time shielding them with your own body…we all hoped you would live to tell your story, yet we feared that you to had become one of the zombies and was going to pass away for the second time, thankfully you proved us wrong and survived. Greenly you truly have the soul of warrior and you will sacrifice everything to save a few, the many alive today should thank you for your actions in 2018 and I salute you as well brother.
FATHER CPT Russel Bookman (Brooklynn): Our old Chaplin and man you could smell coming a mile away thanks to those nasty cigars….yup he smoked them back than. Bookman would be another of the 82nd that would be forced back into service after being picked up in the NYC Veterans Hospital, he retired more than 20 years earlier do to leg injury that required him to have his knee and ankle rebuilt with screws, pins and rods…..yes Father Bookman was a prime candidate for active duty (something smells fishy in Denmark). Our unit priest was striped of his clerical duties and handed a uniform and riffle and told to stand on the front lines with the rest of us, he was also drummed down from a full bird Colonel and given captains bars, a slap in the face to a man that served his country proudly and honourable for over thirty years.
PVT Elmer Krieghoff (Proxy): Good old Elmer one of the 82nd’s greatest warriors to ever serve, this man is another I am proud to call brother and had the honour of serving beside. He would be forced into retirement in 2001 when the Pentagon would be struck and more than 60% of his body would be burned and more broken bones than one needs to ever count. Elmer is one of our highest decorated officers that would retire at the rank of Captain, Elmer’s dedication to his country and serving the people would drive him straight into the Seattle PD and even with countless injuries and a lifetime of pain he wore the blue and served Seattle with honour; he is another that would be injured during the Great Tragedy of 2018 and a little more than a month later he would be fighting for his life on the London Front after being forced back into service….guess where he was when they re-enlisted him, you got it a veterans hospital. <Elmer Krieghoff has succumbed to his wounds received while defending America from the Nazi threat once again, Rest in Piece Elmer your tour of duty is now over and you can rest with our brothers in heaven>
