#Battalion Baseball Team

[siriusist]

OKAY I'M SCREAMING BECAUSE IF YOU KNOW YOUR OBSCURE BAND OF BROTHERS FACTS, MY FAVOURITE DEEP DIVE BAND OF BROTHERS FACT IS THAT LEWIS NIXON AND BUCK COMPTON HATED EACH OTHER BECAUSE LEWIS WEIRDLY HAD A THING AGAINST HIM FOR BEING A "JOCK."

IT'S A THING IN A COUPLE OF THE OFF-SHOOT COMPANY BAND OF BROTHER BOOKS written both by Buck and other men. There's never a real explanation offered for WHY Lewis didn't like Buck, and what I always assumed was that Lewis basically got pestered by jocks at Yale, took it badly, and most likely took that out on poor Buck.

To get you a perspective of how athletic Buck was, Buck went to school at UCLA, which is famously a pretty jock-ish school. They traditionally have pretty great sports teams, Buck was All-American, which basically means one of the best in the country, and was recruited for professional baseball and played varsity football. He also played with Jackie Robinson at UCLA, the first black man to play professional Major League Baseball in the United States. Needless to say, he was pretty fucking athletic.

My theory is that Lewis was weirdly jealous because he was a poor little rich boy who never did anything on his own merit, and slightly intimidated of Buck's athletic prowess and charisma, but I digress.

AND LOW AND BEHOLD, MY YOUTUBE "RECOMMENDED FOR YOU" GIFTED ME THIS CLIP POSTED 12 DAYS AGO:

And I'm dying because so much drama that can be taken from this one clip:

The real Buck Compton seems immensely likeable even in his old age, and someone I think I would have been friends with.

Buck calls Lewis both a drunk and a prick, plus basically infers because he's up at battalion staff not even on the front lines that he basically was fucking about and not doing his job by being on the front line every time he was getting after Buck. And Buck is basically politely saying, "What are you even doing here." 💀

AND THEN LEWIS APPARENTLY CAME UP TO HIM UNPROMPTED and was basically like "AT YALE I HAD GIRLFRIENDS AND USED TO PARTY- AND ALL YOU JOCKS WERE DOING WAS SPORTS." And Buck is literally me if someone came up to me and was like I USED TO GET DRUNK AND PARTY AND YOU LOSERS JUST LIKED TO SWEAT in a weirdly accusatory tone, and is just like "... Okay????!? GOOD FOR YOU?!?? TO EACH THEIR OWN?!???"

Then poor Buck had to run a fucking hour of running Lewis made him in charge of every morning, even though he technically had no direct power over him, in a wool outfit, because he put him in charge of physical education. Because clearly some jock gave Lewis Nixon a swirly in a toilet once or something, and Lewis couldn't handle it because he was a rich boy used to getting what he wanted.

THE LEGENDARY ALMOST 100 YEAR OLD BEEF CONTINUES.

[exhuastedpigeon]

Seven Sentence Sunday

After writing that 6k married in vegas fic in three hours earlier this week, I've had a bit of writer's block with my baseball AU, so I'm putting that aside for a little bit and working on my outsider POV PR disaster fic.

Here's a snippet from the scene where Liliana (my beautiful OC who runs communications for the LAFD) and Chief Miranda Williams as they decide on the firehouses to be featured in an LAFD documentary.

Liliana starts with station 10, then goes into the 126, then the 133, before finally getting to the 118. She's trying really hard to keep her opinion out of it while she talks about each station, but she’s got her favorites.  “The 118 always seems to be in the middle of it,” Miranda says with a laugh. “I remember when I was still a battalion chief during that 7.1 earthquake a few years ago. Two of them firefighters scaled the inside of the building to rescue a couple people and another one of them got buried in the collapsed parking garage.” “Oh god,” Liliana can’t help the gasp that leaves her. No matter how long she’s worked for the LAFD, hearing these kinds of stories still horrifies her a little. There’s a reason she works behind a desk and isn’t running into burning buildings and that reason is she doesn't have a death wish. “Did they survive?” “Well Captain Nash and his team defied my direct orders and went looking for her,” Miranda says with a small smile. “And you know I don’t like being left out of the fun.” “So you joined and she survived,” Liliana knows she’s got a fond look on her face, she can’t help it.  “I didn’t do much, but she did survive.” “So, is that a yes to the 118?” “That’s a yes to the 118,” Miranda smiled at her over her wine glass. 

tagged by @diazsdimples @daffi-990 @wikiangela @wildlife4life @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @dangerpronebuddie @thekristen999

no pressure tagging @spagheddiediaz @sunshinediaz @jeeyuns @monsterrae1 @puppyboybuckley @watchyourbuck @loserdiaz @devirnis @tizniz @buddierights @honestlydarkprincess @elvensorceress @cal-daisies-and-briars @organizedstardust @rainbow-nerdss @911-on-abc @eddiebabygirldiaz @theplaceyoustillrememberdreaming @thewolvesof1998 @steadfastsaturnsrings @actualalligator @acountrygirlsfun @rosieposiepuddingnpie @underwater-ninja-13 @jesuisici33 @fortheloveofbuddie @shitouttabuck

[militarymenrbomb]

U.S. Army Warrior Fitness Team Member

Capt. Brian Harris

Capt. Brian Harris, was born in Edmond, Oklahoma and graduated from Edmond North High School in 2009. He was a member of the high school’s baseball and wrestling teams throughout high school. He enlisted in the Oklahoma Army National Guard in August of 2009 as a firefinder radar operator (13R) in field artillery. While serving in the Guard from 2009 to 2013, Harris attended the University of Oklahoma and actively participated in the Army ROTC program. During this time, he was introduced to functional fitness and began competing at a high level at various competitions around the country. In 2013, Harris commissioned into the Regular Army as a Medical Service Corps officer and that year was selected as one of twenty two medical service officers to attend flight training and be trained as an aeromedical evacuation officer (67J) / UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot.

Harris’ assignment history includes Fort Rucker, Alabama where he attended Army flight school followed by Fort Carson, Colorado as a section leader, platoon leader and staff operations officer for the 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade. During his time with 4th CAB, Harris participated in several full-scale training exercises and served one nine-month deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation’s Freedom Sentinel and Resolute Support providing aeromedical evacuation services across RC-East and RC-North. In 2016, he was named the 4th Infantry Division’s “Junior Officer of the Year” for his efforts both in combat and garrison. After his time in Colorado, Harris returned to Fort Rucker to serve as the operations officer for their Air Ambulance Detachment (110th Aviation Brigade) known as “Flatiron” providing 24/7 crash rescue support to the Aviation Center of Excellence, as well as, routine support to 6th Ranger Training Battalion at Eglin Air Force Base and support to the local civilian population in accordance with the Wiregrass Letter of Agreement.

Harris is a CrossFit Level 2 certified trainer and master fitness trainer (phase 1) and has accumulated more than 700 hours of one-on-one and group coaching time teaching functional fitness methodologies to servicemembers and civilians enabling them to reach their fitness and lifestyle goals. He has competed at the local, regional and national level in functional fitness competitions. Under the old CrossFit season format, Harris was a 2 time regional qualifier and recently represented the United States of America as a member of the national team at the International Federation of Functional Fitness World Championships in Malmo, Sweden (2018).

His awards and decorations include the Air Medal with “C” device, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal with 2 bronze oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement Medal with 3 bronze oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Unit Citation (2-4 GSAB, 4CAB), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Combat Action Badge, Basic Army Aviator’s Badge, Parachute Badge, and the Air Assault qualification badge.

[shelyue99]

In England Dick is battalion athletic officer, also coach for the basketball team I suppose

In Austria Dick is regimental athletic officer. That explains the softball(or baseball? Idk) scene in Ep 10.

[davidshawnsown]

USA BASEBALL/COLLEGE SUMMER BASEBALL - and - SAVANNAH BANANAS ONE SHOT RPF - Savannahskaya Kadrovsky??!! -

(AN: 2022 turned out to be FIRST ever year and now just the only year following one of the more fun teams in college summer ball - the iconic and funny Savannah Bananas of the Coastal Plain League, which in the past few years have spun off two pro teams in theor umbrella playing their own take on baseball, Banana Ball. Now they are committed to play that form year round and leaving the CPL, but the memories of those first years of CPL play will forever go down as part of its history. I therefore present to the fans this one shot RPF featuring these guys from Savannah and the fun ways they have played baseball in these past years up to today and the first Ukraine-set fic of many featuring these guys in yellow, including a full blown RPF fic of their POV of the events in that country. To link up the fics with the wider universe I've included Scott Hatteberg, a former teammate of Eric Byrnes with the A's - and a Team USA Baseball CNT alumnus. This is dedicated to Dalton Maudin and Tanner Thomas - the two members of the Bananas organization and its constituent teams that have been bringing out weekly vlogs on Youtube, you better check them both, as well as Dalton's music there as well and on Spotify!)

SOMEWHERE IN POLTAVA OBLAST

SUNDAY MAY 22, 2022

1400H EEST

"The regiment from Savannah has done it again?!!"

That is the reaction from no less than BG Mark deRosa, the operational commander of US forces in Ukraine under the 46th Command. That regiment, the 716th Savannah, established in the spring of 2015, and led by its now newly promoted commander COL Byrnes, who took over this year from its first commandant, COL Cole, now a honorary Brigadier General and its first ever regimental colonel now retired even at a young age, had been in Ukraine since April, among the first of the collegiate units to be sent to the country to assist the war effort, fight alongside Americans in the International Legion of Territorial Defense and with Ukrainians in the Armed Forces and the National Guard, and also to give the young guys a taste of what their service to the nation entalls.

"Yeah indeed," replied COL Garza. "Those boys whose regiment carries yellow and white colors. They did it again!"

He and others on an ongoing meeting of the command staff in northern Poltava Oblast were referring to those TikTok and Twitter videos, as well as those on Telegram, featuring the boys of this young formation.

It is the sole infantry regiment among the formations of the 351st Southeastern Coastal Infantry Brigade, activated 1997 and whose numeral honors the North Carolina based Coastal Militia Rifles, a militia formation raised in 1935 which in 1936 was granted affilation with what is now the 169th Corps of the 46th Mobilization Command, US Army Reserve, affilated to the Southern Defense Command during the Second World War as a territorial defense brigade which lasted until the early 1950s. Their nickname of Bananas is a nod to the agricultural past of their home city and their full dresss honors partly its Union liberators during the Civil War and its home front efforts in both World Wars.

They began as a ROTC company in late 2015. Almost a year later, the 716th Infantry Battalion was activated, and within 5 years, evolved from a Humvee-armed unit into wheeled mechanized infantry, armed with the Stryker systems, and as a three battalion regiment, with its 2nd and 3rd battalions including minority and immigrant personnel to reflect its home city's character. One battalion each is made up of reservists and the Georgia Army National Guard, making up for a total of 5 battalions.

But these boys' Tiktok combat videos, set to popular Western pop tunes, have got the people motivated to know what is going on in the Ukrainian frontlines. They have been for weeks now in a tense battle for popularity against the Chechen National Guardsmen from Chechnya in Russia, which have been in the Ukrainian front since the onset of the invasion, as well as several of the Ukrainian frontline brigades and militia units, which have similar pop content. These so-called "Yellowshirts" after the yellow and white colors during its foundation today wear the same uniform as those deployed to Ukraine but with a yellow and white armband with the regimental DUI on it as well as the arms of their home city.

The 46th's Ukrainian operational HQ and elements of the 78th Brigade Combat Team had been watching what the boys had been doing on and off the field, while recieving word that their actions in the Soledar front have helped the local Ukrainian forces get motivated to continue the struggle in the weeks prior. Now they have been rotated out with a new assignment north of Kramatorsk City as a reserve formation ready to fight in the Donbas region. They will be on R&R before returning to their then brand new barracks located in Kovel in Volyn Oblast for equipment resupplies as well as to await the arrival of the local maintenance battalion from their home city. The town was chosen as it is a sister city to Chamblee, just northwest of Atlanta, the state capital. Just as in the other American and Canadian formations they were given a Ukrainian advisory team - in that case with officers and NCOs from the 14th Mechanized Infantry Brigade based in Volodymyr City, Volyn Oblast.

Thus the brigadier general had during the meeting phoned the now retired BG Jessie Cole, the newly appointed regimental colonel, on what the boys have had been doing in the frontlines. They were there since early April assigned there in Kovel town, with the 2nd battalion of the 72nd Atlanta based there as well and the local battalion based in Savannah from said regiment, both since early May. They chose that city to keep their ties to Georgia state and its traditions while in country as the first of the collegiate summer service units and the only regiment of its kind so far to fight for the cause of Ukraine in the opening months of the war. He had just arrived in Kramatosk that day with his wife Emily to check on the boys before joining them on the journey back to Kovel.

"I have with me one of COL Byrnes' friends and one who served with him in Oakland. This is now LTC Scott Hatteberg. This year I called for the man to return to service after retiring as a battalion XO almost two decades ago in Oakland. He will be our liason officer on behalf of the brigade, Mr. Cole, with your regiment as its new commander was a friend of his," said the brigadier general on the mobile phone.

"Understood Mark, I now will bring in Eric," Jesse responded. As usual he wore his variant yellow working dress but without the top hat he wore replacing the kepi beginning with his early retirement. The kepi had been worn alternately with the bicorne by officers of the regiment when in full dress in ceremonial events to honor the military history of its home city.

"Thanks sir."

Then Eric got on the cellphone.

"Morning, sir, Colonel Byrnes here of the 716th Infantry Regiment."

"IS THAT YOU ERIC BYRNES? This is Brigadier General Mark DeRosa of the 78th Brigade Combat Team based out of Cary, NC, I have one of your buddies in Oakland with me who is a graduate of the brigade's training program."

"Yes I am, sir. And is that guy with you, sir, Scott Hatteberg?"

"Affirmative colonel Byrnes. How's your regiment now on R&R after all those weeks in Soledar?"

"Nice so far, the American people and the people of Savannah have enjoyed the antics of the men of the 1st Battalion and also our combat videos all this time, which have awakened Americans on what we are supposed to do to aid Ukraine at this time."

"Regarding those in between combat dancing videos on TikTok and Twitter of your boys, as well as on Telegram, are they all true?!"

"Yes, DeRosa, and the people have loved it."

"Cannot believe this, but you boys are better than those Chechens. Dancing, singing, having fun in the field but fighting better than them and the Russians. And who suggested these?"

"Our first battalion commander LTC Gilliam, who has been with us since it was a battalion, and our long time A Company commander soon to be captain Bill Leroy, who's a 1LT by now alongside his faithful XO 1LT Kyle Luigs. The two began with the regiment on secondment from their colleges, last year, following their graduation, when I was appointed regimental commander to replace Jesse who retired a Brigadier General, he recommended that the two be granted permanent status due to their long service with 1st Battalion, and indeed they were permanenty assigned since then."

"1st Platoon commander?"

"1LT Jackson Olson, sir, joined the regiment early this year."

"2nd Platoon is led by whose officer?"

"1LT Dalton Cornett. All officers, NCO and enlisted here, general, were selected for permanent duty in the years after it became a regiment from being a battalion and these people and others from the past 5 years who served on secondment from their respective colleges and universities before with the local lads recruited from within the state were the once I asked, upon the urging of the regimental colonel, to join the 1st Battalion on permanent status. Some of these officers here in the battalion, DeRo, as well as NCOs and enlisted with no collegiate service here nor even direct ties, were recruited on national lines thanks to the efforts of our depot battalion personnel, while the regiment still retains its seconded personnel from the colleges and universities."

"3rd platoon commanding officer is.."

"Turner Pruitt. Was with the regiment in 2021 and is a 1LT. 2LT Bryce Madron from Cowley College's battalion, seconded from his alma mater's unit, joined the regiment on its Ukrainian deployment as the 4th platoon's commander."

"Your PAO chief?"

"CPT Biko Skalla."

"The A Company first sergeant?"

"SFC Malachi Mitchell."

"Acknowleged colonel, will have to bring in LTC Scott Hatteberg. I am damn proud of all of them for their efforts to help Ukraine's ongoing fight by any means. And regarding retired MSGT Bill Lee, your honorary regimental sergeant major for a few months now, he's at home in Connecticut, but has come to Savannah when the regiment was around for months before the departure to Ukraine, I've been told."

"Mark, Bill Lee was appointed by the regiment to serve in a honorary capacity due to his age, but his strength and fitness was still the same when he served with the 1st Boston and the Montreal City Fusiliers. And sir, he sent you an email yesterday thanking you all in the 78th for the support given to his secondary home of Savannah and the 716th Infantry. He was there in the sendoff ceremony last March. He still takes time to visit Grayson Barracks to visit our depot battalion and those recruits who have finished basic training."

"Was a pleasure. Tell him we are forever grateful for his service with the 846th Command and the 169th Corps and we also congratulate him for his appointment as honorary sergeant major."

"Noted, sir."

Then Scott got the phone to talk to Eric, whom he formerly served with.

"Scott Hatteberg here, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army. Just been returned to service after retirement. Now a part of the 78th Brigade Combat Team. It's because I was a part of the collegiate training unit under that platoon years before. You still remember me from those years?" he started up the chat.

"Yes Scott, this is Eric, I still remember those days in the Oakland barracks and training fields together with others. Glad you're back in uniform again. How's your regiment going?"

"Been a tough few weeks in Soledar, but boy, these were tough but happy days for the boys in yellow. Fighting against Russians and the Chechen allies at the front, but we never waivered, we never gave up hope in the fight with our Ukrainian allies."

"You guys going back to Kovel after this to recharge for the trip home and then to prepare to return here for the summer offensives?"

"You bet we are, Scott."

"I am thankful to you for having been a part of those years I spent in Oakland, as well as to General DeRosa for giving me this chance to coordinate jointly our efforts as well as with the other US and Canadian forces fighting with our Ukrainian allies. I'm sure this is the start of a great partnership together, especially that the general has given me this assignment to coordinate our efforts to help Ukraine fight its way to victory."

"You're welcome Scott, make sure there will be new videos coming out from you guys in the weeks to come." "Yes sir, there's more where they came from, colonel. BTW who was behind all of these aside from those in battalion and company leadership?"

"MAJ Frongillo, part of regimental staff. He's the one who came out with that idea."

"Well, congrats to him as well. I expect more from Zack in the coming weeks as well as to the PAO team led by Biko. Who's the main videographer of the regiment?"

"SFC Breaux. He's in charge of the video and film duties for Public Affairs. Also, I have to inform you that two of the guys in A Company - CPL Maudin who joined last year and was a part of 1st Platoon and CPL Thomas, a newbie of 2nd Platoon and a direct entry corporal with the unit - have been putting in superb combat videos and vlogs on Telegram and Youtube. They and many of the 1st and 2nd platoon boys whose stories have become the living witness to the ongoing war have inspired many not just to continue helping Ukraine but also to encourage others to dedicate themselves in service to the nation. If you check Telegram and Instagram, their English posts have opened many to the reality of the war they are fighting in and many of the young men and women are already following their journey so far."

"All the best for you guys, sir, Hatteberg out."

"Byrnes out sir."

"I'm sure there's more of that coming up," Scott stated to the gathered personnel from brigade command after watching the video of elements of A Company and the battalion staff dancing with their regimental commander and regimental colonel from his cellphone. And that was after Jesse spoke on video to those who have followed their journey so far on Tiktok and Twitter, as well as on the regiment's Telegram channel, expressing his gratitude and that of COL Byrnes to everyone who have supported them in every way possible on their journey to fight Russians in Ukrainian lands together with elements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as to those who have already given their time to support the country in her time of need. That short dance clip stunned everyone watching and confirmed everyone of what the online world had been talking about. He finishes with "I am certain the regiment has been going good in the PAO side of things and am glad to report that their regimental depot battalion CO has emailed me that their efforts, as well as the stories they shared online, has led up to a massive recruitment effort there in the city not just for this regiment but for the other military units in Savannah. And many who are trying to join the 716th are coming from all over the country!"

"That's incredible news," BG Maxwell stated.

"So are you sure that these new recruits, after finishing basic training and getting assigned here on their own wishes, will be serving in Ukraine with the regiment soon?" asked SGM Pollock.

"Affirmative, they will be there soon."

And when asked by COL Bianco on whose concept it was, the LTC replied that it was an officer of regimental staff, MAJ Traczuk, who helped the sergeant first class pitch that idea to Public Affairs and it was based on the post-exercise recreation and fun the boys had stateside since it was a battalion.

COL Bloomquist added, "You have a tough job ahead of you, colonel. But soon you will learn more about those boys."

"Got that, one day I will check them before they leave for home to welcome a new batch of summer enlistees who will be serving this time, given that the regiment is forward deployed to Ukraine, with the 4th and 5th battalions based stateside."

These boys from Savannah, who were selected from every corner of the nation to fight in this ongoing war, are not just contributing to the fight for Ukraine's independence, they are dancing their way to victory.

"And one thing's for sure," adds the lieutenant colonel from Salem in Oregon, "Dalton and Tanner, and the rest of their company, will lead more young people in realizing Ukraine and democracy all over the world are both worth fighting for, and we have to help defend Ukraine and our allies no matter what it takes. I'm sure you all watched their appeal to the people of Savannah and the nation lately. Now that I've been appointed liason to this unit and those units preparing to serve in Ukraine whose personnel are either ROTC or college regiment personnel, I will do my best to coordinate our efforts towards this goal."

@kiinghanalister @travisdermotts @lukeexplorer

[progiftreview]

Florida Panthers Baseball Jersey For Fans

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Get it here : Florida Panthers Baseball Jersey For Fans

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Related : https://progiftreview.tumblr.com/post/722005301344239616/10th-transportation-battalion-united-states-us

[mrfandomwars]

Whenever I started seeing too much of a ship to the point of becoming annoying, I like to think of ways that the media would confirm that they are Not It,

Here are some examples:

Superbat (DC): Bruce's type in men Isn't Clark, it's actually Booster Gold and that's the true reason why he is always annoyed with him, he is holding back jumping on him; Clark would Never date a rich dude and he isn't into furries, sorry

Stony (Marvel): Tony would never date someone who doesn't know a lot about technology; Steve would never date someone who isn't on his baseball team

Optimus X Megatron (transformers): Megatron is Just Like That and doesn't realize how it comes off as; Optimus has feelings for Prowl, who only sees him as a friend (and that's why in many universes they no longer are stationed in the same places, it got Too Awkward)

Opiratch (transformers): Ratchet is too busy being in a monogamous relationship with Drift; Optimus is too busy trying to woo Unicron

Codywan (Star Wars): Obi-Wan had feelings for Wolfe and that's why they were in different battalions; Cody was too busy dating Duchess Satine to realize that people thought he had romantic feelings for Obi-Wan

(feel free to add more!!)

[lboogie1906]

Harold Gonsalves (January 28, 1926 – April 15, 1945) was a Marine Corps private first class who was killed in action during the Battle of Okinawa in WWII. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for his heroic action on April 15, 1945. He was born in Alameda, California. He attended school at Alameda and after two and one-half years of high school, quit to take a job as a stock clerk with Montgomery Ward in Oakland. In high school, he had taken part in football, baseball, track, and swimming. He sang tenor in the school glee club. He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on May 27, 1943, and was called to active duty on June 17, 1943. He went through recruit training at the Marine Corps Rein San Diego and then was sent to the Marine Raiders at Camp Pendleton. After three weeks, he was transferred to the artillery at the same camp. He was classified as a cannoneer on 75 and 105-millimeter guns before he joined the 30th Replacement Battalion in the fall of 1943. He left the US on November 8, 1943, and at the end of that month was assigned to the 2nd Pack Howitzer Battalion. He was promoted to private first class in March 1944 and with his battalion became part of the 22nd Marine Regiment. He landed with the 15th Marines on Okinawa on April 1, 1945. On April 15, he was a member of an eight-man forward observer team that was engaged in directing artillery fire in support of an attack by the infantry on Japanese positions on the Motobu Peninsula. When it became necessary for the team to advance to the actual front lines, the officer in charge took him and one other man with him. He was the acting Scout Sergeant of the team. He and the other Marines were to lay telephone lines for communication with the artillery battalion. As the team advanced to the front, they were brought under heavy enemy rifle, grenade, and mortar fire. Just as the three had reached the front lines, a Japanese grenade landed among them. It was less than a foot from the three. He flung himself on the grenade, taking the full explosion. The other two Marines were not touched by grenade fragments and completed their mission. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CoAPQSsrel5/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[todaysdocument]

Baseball team of Company C, 394th Port Battalion, Transportation Corps, Mt. Ian [Mt. Isa?], Queensland, Australia, 10/12/1942.

Series: Photographs of American Military Activities, ca. 1918 - ca. 1981

Record Group 111: Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 1860 - 1985

Image description: Fifteen Black men in baseball uniforms with either “BLUES” or “TIGERS” on the front pose for a team photo, holding bats, gloves, and other equipment. Standing to either side of the team are three white men in military uniforms and side caps, and two men in military uniforms and wide-brimmed helmets (possibly ANZAC members?).

[hollypastl]

the disappearance of [REDACTED] ch.2

miya atsumu/reader

Summary: "MISSING: MIYA Y/N" It reads. Underneath is a picture of yourself. Age, height, weight. Everything important is listed. How embarrassing.

Genre: angst/mystery

Warnings: missing persons, time skip spoilers

Notes: crossposted on ao3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/28726002/chapters/70468146#workskin

chapter two: you will live and die for them because that’s your way

Osamu is still as a statue as he processes what his brother’s just told him.

It doesn’t seem real.

“That doesn’t make any— No. I know you’re you and she’s her, but you two are…” He trails off and starts wiping down the bar again. It’s a nervous habit Osamu picked up sometime when he wasn’t watching. “I mean... last week she didn’t act like anything was—”

Atsumu is busy reeling from his brother almost(?) complimenting his relationship that he almost misses it. “Last week?”

He nods. “Yeah, the stall was packed at the Friday game… She jumped in and manned the register so the rest of us could work on finishing orders.”

“Last week, though? You’re positive?”

He nodded.

“You saw her?”

From your usual court side seats, you could hear shoes squeaking and players panting. The thirty second row just wasn’t the same. At the same time, watching the game from a birds eye view gave you a new perspective and appreciation.

You leaned forward and locked on to Sakusa for the serve that would start the set. Your cheek sunk into your hand as his serve shot almost straight into the floor if not for a quick save by Komori that he bounced with only a single arm.

Someone across the way whooped and your eyes darted side to side as the ball hopped in the air and the setter shot a quick toss through the air. Your eyes landed on the spiker it was hurtling towards. From this far away, it was impossible to see, but you knew Suna well enough. Right now he was probably thinking something like, ‘There’s a three man block in front of me, is there really any use in jumping? I’m not gonna land a point anyway, so I might as well conserve my energy.” Still, he leaped for all he was worth and dinked it with his freakishly long fingers at the last second.

“Woohoo!” You screeched. Ignoring the fans who turned around to frown at you. Understandable. Why were you sitting in the MSBY Black Jackals section and dressed in black and gold merch if you were gonna cheer for the other damn team? You glare right back at them and slurp on your empty drink. The action only reminds you that you’re kind of hungry.

Inunaki bumps it back up all the same. Not surprising considering how slow and weak dinks are, but you gasp and groan aloud with the rest of the fans when Atsumu immediately tries to dump the ball back over the net. The play is messy and his hands are easy to read. Suna springs back up and spikes it down before the two even have a chance to tussle over it.

The buzzer rings and the EJP Raijin are awarded the point.

“Now that’s a failure of a setter dump if I ever saw one. Not what you usually expect from a player like Miya.”

“He does seem to be off his game today— oh, and there it is. Coach Foster is subbing in another player.”

“It’s only the second set, and the Jackals did take the first. There’s plenty of time for him to cool off and get back on the court to show us some of his monster serves.”

The commentators switch to talking about the serving skills of the various players at today’s game, which you don’t bother to stick around for. You did come to see Atsumu, after all. No point in staying if he’s not on the court.

You gather your hair in a low ponytail and tie it back, put your jacket back on, and make sure you have your wallet and phone still. All secure.

The stadium isn’t one you’re used to, so you refer to the map in the concrete hallway. The exit closest to the station is the north one and you’re at the southeast. It’s only when you turn to go that you realize you don’t know whether to go left or right.

“Well, it is just a giant circle,” You mutter. “Doesn’t really matter which way.”

From further inside, you can hear the buzzer go off one, two three times, signaling the end of the set. “That was quick.” The halls flood immediately and you’re forced to slow down and trudge through, rather than hyperwalk like you usually would. This whole trip is turning out to be one inconvenience after another. Atsumu is off his game. You’re hungry. People in this crowd keep bumping into you.

“Hey lady, get in line like the rest of us.” One asshole grunts and you reflexively scowl at him and the five brats he’s with. It drops from your face. If you had to deal with five kids under the age of ten all by yourself, you’d be grumpy too.

“Sorry, m’bad.” Curious, (and still hungry) you check what it is they’re in line for. Immediately, you’re in a better mood. Skirting the line, you hop over the gate and swipe some onigiri right out of the display box.

“Oi! What the hell are you— Oh, [y/n].”

“Hey there, stranger! Fancy meeting you here.” In two massive, disgusting, and arguably impressive bites, you swallow the onigiri (which is in no way, bite sized) and pluck the baseball cap off his head.

“Hiii, welcome to Onigiri Miya, what can I get for you today?” You ask, pulling your ponytail through the hat and bumping your hip with Osamu’s. The old man isn’t all that disturbed by the abrupt change in cashier and prattles on a list of items long enough to feed a battalion. You’re quick to click it into the POS and nod your head to the order printer that’s situated further back in their makeshift workstation. “I’ve got this. Go do your thing.” He rubs his hat hair sheepishly. He wasn’t planning on taking it off today. "Here's your receipt, sir. Please pick up your order at the station to your left. Good afternoon, it’s lovely to have ya here at Onigiri Miya, whatcha cravin’?”

“That’s it? What else did she say? Where’d she go after? When did she leave?” Atsumu’s hands buried themselves in his hair, practically pulling it out by the roots.

“I don’t know! Um… The rush came after the second set, I think? N’she left right after. I assumed she just went back in ta watch the game!”

“But she didn’t say anything weird?”

“No! We were so busy I barely said two words to ‘er!” Osamu had never seen his brother look so frantic.

“I’m going back to the police.” He rasped out.

— — —

At the station, Detective Kano looks over your file.

CASE: Missing Persons

FULL NAME: Miya [y/n]

BIRTHPLACE: Sapporo

CURRENT RESIDENCE: Osaka

Looking at it plainly, the answer is clear. As much as his subordinate and your husband don’t want to believe it, you’ve left. Nobody took you or forced you. The reason could be anything. You got bored or felt stifled in your marriage, (it did say you two had gotten married at twenty. That’s awfully young to make a lifelong commitment) you met another man, (always a possibility) or it could be that you were running for your life from an abusive piece of shit. Your case wouldn’t be the first like that and nor would it be the last. He didn’t care how ‘worried’ your husband appeared to be. For all he knew, the bastard could just be worried about people finding out and it ending his career.

"Oi, Tanigashi.” He barked. The rookie’s head shot up. “We find any bodies in the past couple days?”

“Time frame?” She asked, already typing away.

“Last seen on Tuesday, the fourteenth”

“Male? Female? What else, ya gotta help me out here.”

“Twenty two year old female.”

She hummed. “Tourist?”

He shook his head.

“Is she a short emo meets Harajuku model typa person?” She sighed, turned the monitor in his direction.

He sighed. “Nope. Sorry fer wastin’ your time. Get back to work.”

“Detective?” The office secretary popped his head in the door. “The statements you ordered just came in. Should I print them out for you?”

“Yeah, thanks kid.” Kano heaved himself out of his seat and cracked his bones. Years on the force and keeping up with full contact Karate were starting to get to him. Maybe he should take his daughters advice and take up Tai Chi or Yoga.

He crinkles open a wrapper and pops the gum in his mouth, reading the evidence as it’s freshly warm off the machine.

The bank statements aren’t anything out of the ordinary. You’ve withdrawn everything from your personal account. The joint account has been left alone. He jots down a note. ‘Set financial alert for suspicious activity.’

This way he’ll know if one of you tries to remove the other from the account. Again, he noted that you hadn’t withdrawn anything from the joint. As his spouse, you were legally entitled to it. And with Atsumu’s fat check from three seasons of pro sports under his belt, it wasn’t like he would miss a little bit all that much.

If anything, it told the detective that you didn’t hate him. Had you wanted him to suffer, it would be easy to empty the accounts and leave him broke.

“Rule’s out abuse.” He mumbles. Unless you were afraid of retribution should he find you. Though with how thorough you were being, (phone left behind. bank account empty. social media untouched) something told him you didn’t have any plans to be found.

Kano sighs, flipping through more pages and organizing them as he goes.

“This just gets more and more complicated.” He stops. “Hey, kid. Where’s the health report?”

He paled, worried he had missed something. “Ummmmmmmmm.” His fingers click across his email. “Looks like the hospital needs a formal report before releasing any information. Sorry, I’ll get right on that.”

— — —

Tucked away behind more wealthy and more flashy neighborhoods, hidden and huddled by a ring of trees, the only way you could ever know the Miya household was there was if you had been there before.

Which you had.

Ducked below a hill off the main road, it’s a modest split level house which seemed a lot smaller when you were younger. Then again, it had been inhabited by both the boys, their mom, and all the people they attracted. Which happened to be a lot. Despite being more than a little rude, Atsumu and Osamu were always surrounded by people wanting to be their friend.

You park in the driveway and enter through the back door on the porch, which has been unlocked since you first started visiting when you were fifteen.

“Toyo! It’s [y/n]. You here?” You called, walking through the door. No answer.

You walked through the kitchen and down the six steps to the main level.

“Toyo? You in there?” Politely soft, but loud enough to be heard, you knocked on her door. Still nothing.

You swung the door open.

“To—” Surrounded by tissues, old bowls of food, and shivering, was Miya Toyo in all her glory. “Gosh.” You whispered. “I knew you were sick, but this is ridiculous.”

Quietly, you grabbed the heating pad in her nightstand drawer and plugged it in, setting it next to her on the bed. Then, gently pulling the covers up and smoothing them out. Not that it mattered. The woman slept like a rock. You wondered if she had always dealt with being sick like this: alone, with no one to care for her.

Then you were headed back towards the kitchen. The door to Toyo’s room was carefully shut. You didn’t want your noise to wake her up. On the way back, you shuddered. No wonder she was sick, she kept the house colder than an icebox.

You made a pit stop at the boy’s room, sliding open a closet door, grabbing a hoodie, and smelling it.

“Hmm… Yeah, that’s Atsumu.” You recognized and quickly pulled it on. The man threw a fit anytime you wore Osamu’s clothes, so you had learned to differentiate the two. You chuckled. That was one of the ways you had figured out he had a thing for you.

A second pair of socks was also stolen. Yours were much too thin to keep your toes from falling off. “Hmm hmmm. Hmm hm, hmmm hm.” You hummed absentmindedly as you switched on the kettle and searched through the pantry and fridge for ideas on what to make.

[rwood2477]

This is an open letter I wrote to the Cincinnati Reds Organization at the beginning of this abbreviated season,

One of my fondest memories as a 7 year old was spending my lunch money on the way to school at the Remke store at 19th and Holman St in Covington to buy baseball cards with high hopes of getting a Reds player or two. 

Going to Crosley field was a treat, even sitting in the cheap seats rooting for Ted Kluszewski, Gordy Coleman and Gus Bell. 

At night I would clutch my one-station transistor radio and listen to Waite Hoyt broadcast the Red Legs games. In 1961 my elementary school set up black and white TVs so we could watch the World Series against the hated Maris and Mantle led Yankees. Sadly, the Reds lost in 5 games. 

I remained a fan through junior high and high school. After graduation I worked briefly for one of the companies building Riverfront Stadium. 

In 1969 I joined the Marine Corps and proudly took my Reds pride to North Carolina and watched and listened every opportunity during the baseball season. In '71 I returned to Cincinnati on recruiting duty. The Reds GM Bob Howsam liked Marines and often provided free tickets for us. At times we were asked to provide color guards at the games. In '72 that meant color guards at the NL playoffs and World Series. In one playoff game a fellow color guard Marine snagged Roberto Clemente's last home run only to drop the ball leaving the park and having a kid grab the ball and run. 

After transferring to Japan, the Big Red Machine won back to back World Series and I could share my pride. Then Sparky was gone and the team dismantled. For 14 years I watched with little to cheer for, and in '90 came the magic of the wire to wire season and another Series trophy. 

I stood on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River as the blasts rendered Riverfront a pile of rubble to make way for the completion of Great American. 

My brother and I scored tickets to the first game at the new stadium, not the celebrated opening day but rather the preceding exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians. We sat down the third baseline in the nosebleed seats, but we were proud to be there. That brother’s ashes are scattered on the outfield warning track.

Since then I've been to many games with family and friends. I've had the privilege of sitting in right field as part of Aaron's Army and Bruce's Battalion. My sister with Down Syndrome celebrated several birthdays in the right field bleachers. Jay Bruce walked to the wall and placed a ball in her glove to make her day. 

Last season I was honored by the Reds as a hometown hero, standing atop the home dugout and waving to the screaming crowd. As I looked down I was amazed to witness the Reds players also applauding and cheering. 

But I cannot, will not, watch as some players on the Reds and other teams disrespect our flag and country by kneeling during the national anthem. 

So it is only after much soul searching and consideration that I have ended my support for the Reds and major league baseball. I will not attend any games, watch games on TV or purchase Reds merchandise. 

During my 24 years on active duty I witnessed fellow Marines die for our flag. At times I helped bury other Marines and vets. 

Kneeling during the national anthem offends me greatly. I know some, including some vets, say it is freedom of expression, etc., but not me. I'm done! There are many other ways for players to mount the public soapbox and promote their causes. Their celebrity affords them opportunity and a large audience. Their money can work magic. Let them find another avenue. 

Marvin H. Price Jr.

Master Gunnery Sergeant

USMC Retired

[penaltybox14]

Decofiremen: The Letter

@zeitheist @darknight-brightstar @squad51goals Oh no more Decofiremen.  Is it still found family if you’re finding it again?  Do you get double points for that?

Or, Josiah is way in over his head.

...

Josiah sits at his desk a long time, and the pile of scrapped letters grows around him, and the bells pass the day away.  With the windows open to the big yard, he can feel like chill in the autumn air, the swift kiss of a one-time lover in the morning. 

Monroe is shouting at his team - quicker this, steadier that.  An engine coughs, groans, and finally turns over, to cheers and clapping - that'd be Lieutenant Jackson, who brought his new rank and a second kerodiesel up from the city back in early summer.  He keeps carefully and deliberately breaking the engines piece by piece, teaching the lads to put them back together again.  He will likely do something after dinner like pull the fan-belts or throw bacon grease into the pump levers - Josiah thinks the oakbellies would have a faint if they knew what Jackson was doing, but Jackson knows the kerodiesels like some men knew their horses, and Josiah trusts him.  

But what choice does he have?  He was shipped here to be masters of men who had more than a decade of service on him, and belts so heavy with commendation, so fat with brass you'd need a team three abreast to carry them.  He stands beside them some mornings and feels as if he ought to be in line with the lads instead.

Lieutenant T. Castor, Engine 27, Bronx Battalion District ...

No.  He crumples the paper and shoves it off the desk to where the waste-paper basket probably is, buried somewhere.  He taps his pen on the blotter, leaving little wet, smokey blobs of ink on the worn leather.  No, too formal, that.  When did he get so formal?  His fingers are callused and cracked, still thickest where they gripped the horse and axe.  There is a deep scar on his right arm where Chubs, their old bay gelding, bit him for not giving up a mint.  His left arm is a muddled, molten map, scoured of hair and curiously pale, so he pulls the sleeve down.  For the chill.  

Lt. Thomas -

Now what was Silky's middle name?  Did he ever know it?  

Lt Castor -

No, God, no.  They were on nicknames before they even hit the cobbles together.  Never so tough-tongued as a surname between them.  Thomas, he'd said, at breakfast.  I'm Thomas.  I about ran you over yesterday, I'm sorry.  Grab an extra biscuit, Eddy's recipe is the best.

Silky was almost eighteen, and he was wide about the shoulders but leggy, like a colt at Saratoga.  He had auburn hair and a broad, friendly face, and he didn't know his family, and he had been at the foundling hospital in the city and then Mary of the Assumption Home, which was in Nyack, and then he had gone to school with the Jesuits at Saint Joseph's in Rochester, and Captain Parson had come to see him about a month ago and asked if he didn't want to come and be a fireman, and Captain Parson seemed so awfully familiar well, he couldn't help but say yes.

Josiah found all of this out in line at the mess before they even sat down.

I'm sorry.  The brothers told me I talk too much.  Actually the sisters said that, too.  But I was the best at reading the Latin at Mass, they told me.  What's your name?

Silky - someone started calling him Silky sometime that winter, and Josiah can't recall why, but maybe it was during a card game, or maybe it was because he kept his hair slicked down with some sort of glue he got from the drug store in town, or maybe it was just because he could have talked the ladders into becoming trees again, his voice so smooth and his eyes so kind.  Silky had no enemies, had probably never had an enemy, except after card games in the wintertime.  That was Silky.  

Birchy!  We're doing ladder runs today - come let's be on my team.

I bet I can get Peps to hit the quarter-mile gate in a flat minute, Birchy, will you time?

Silky made a man want to be better, not to beat him, but because he cheered it so.  Which was why Silky was so often the second man on the line - he would push you, and you knew you couldn't, wouldn't ever need to, turn back.  No matter where the fire glows, the song said, we'll bring the bastard down.  And they would - when things shone, when his leg was solid under him, he could catch the humming edge of a thought before it hit Silky's tongue, and Silky rested in his amicable quiet, and the two of them brought terror and some begrudging respect to their captain.  

The sun was good, then.  The summer was high and the winter never cut through their coats.  They had grown up together, until the smoke came and the beam fell and neither of them was enough to see it coming.  

Through the ether and the pain, Silky's voice pulled him back, over and over, even when he wanted to leave, even when he wanted the echoes and the needles and the endless white - the white coats, the white sheets, the white, stark, sterile ward - to end.  Silky pulled him back.  Silky's hands in their white wrappings held his, and his Sear murmured as earnestly as his voice did.  Him that would persuade the devil to abandon his house, him that would settle a horse with his eyes.  

There were long days, endless days, when he wanted to fall forever.  Yet Silky pulled him back.

Silky had written him letters just about every week, after his promotion, when he was assigned to Wynantskill.  Eddy or Lufty Parker would dutifully leave them on his desk, where they stacked, precarious and unopened.  After a while the letters came every month, and Eddy stopped clearing his throat when he brought one, and Lufty stopped staring meaningfully at the pile, and Josiah had dumped them wholesale into a drawer to stop the burning in his chest when he saw Silky's precise Jesuit cursive on the envelopes.  

He'd put the key under the blotter.  So there is one less drawer to use.  So it is.

After the first night, young Cleary hasn't said much to anybody.  Antoine and Ellis have been pressing Lufty Parker to let him participate in some of the day's drills, and Jules keeps trying to coax the boy into one of the evening's baseball games.  Josiah sees him watching Betram Cochrane play the fiddle in the evenings, and remembers piano lessons, and a little girl with a pink bow and a dutch bob, and remembers chloroform and morphine and nursing sisters in dark capes and white hats.  The little fellow calls him Capper, which he ought to mind, but he can't bring himself to discourage.  He calls the boy Davey, or young Cleary, depending on who's listening.  

Outside, Antoine is lining up his team to race for the ladders.  He calls for David Cleary on the line, and Josiah hears Monroe sighing mightily and telling Antoine, again, that Cleary is not in training, Cleary is not even sixteen, and would you please stop asking.

Antoine is going to make his captain gray, wherever he is assigned.  He thinks Antoine could be a driver - he is brave enough, to take the narrow streets at speed - but that he will have his own house someday, too.  Josiah should look to send him to the Bronx, where the tenements are so tight they seem to be held together with moss and mothers' shouting, where there will be many families who will need his courage and his kindness.  

Engine 27, Lieutenant -

No, no.  

Ellis is arguing that a growing boy needs exercise and fresh air, not just to sit on the sidelines.

Josiah pulls the key from under the blotter, then puts it back again.  Then pulls it out.  

In the drawer are more than a dozen letters, neatly sealed, which get thinner as the months draw out between them.  

He puts the key back again.

Silky sat by his bedside at Bellevue, his auburn hair loosed from its dapper glue to spring in waves around his temples.  Josiah had wanted so badly to leave, to shed his body, to tumble down some ethereal stairwell in a dreamless morphine sleep where the sun was bright and nothing hurt, where his leg would be straight forever.  But Silky held him pinned to the dark, smoking earth, and a part of him had hated him for it, and the hate was like an abscessed hoof, rank and hot.  He could never ride the boards again, he could never go back, yet Silky pulled him back anyway.  The selfish bastard, who had sweat and fevered with him when the sear broke.  

An evening breeze rustles the crumpled sheets, the abandoned lines, the empty words around him.  Ellis and Antoine are arguing for Davey's sake, and Monroe sounds close to giving in.  Good for them.  

He grabs the edge of the desk and heaves himself, haltingly, the few lumbering steps to the window, leaning out over Monroe's bald spot.  

"Captain Monroe!"

Monroe looks as surprised as the lads to see him, leaning, gritting against his leg, out the window.

No one can see how white his knuckles are in the long afternoon light.

"Monroe, for God's sake.  Just let the boy try for it.  Antoine, so help me, if young Cleary injures himself, I'll saddle a horse with your hide."

Antoine is grinning, his black eyes bright as apples.  

"Birch - "

"A boy needs to run, Monroe."

Monroe throws up his hands.  "Fine then!  Fine!  Let the little fellow break his face!  Let the state's hand come and flick us off the map like a horsefly!  Fine!  Antoine!  Line 'em up!"

Josiah smiles, and hauls himself back to his desk.

My old friend, he writes, I am so sorry I haven't written.  Please feel free not to forgive me.  But I must tell you about the situation I find myself in - you were always the cleverer of the two of us, Silky.  You could have talked the dead to dancing from their graves.  My right hand, whatever God you once believed in has seen fit to trade a boy just twelve his family for his sear, and now at fourteen, he has finally come to us.  Yes, he is too young to train, but he is too young for many things, and once, you told me that the Jesuits told you that God does not give us more than we cannot carry.  Well, my first and last friend, this is more line than I can drag by myself.  If you cannot bear to forgive my silence, Silky, than please bear to give me some advice.  They gave me my captain's coat because they did not know what else to do, and I am lost.  You were my brother from the day we met face-to-horse, and you shared the sear with me.  What am I to do with this boy?  I know that he is ours, he is our youngest brother, but I know we cannot replace his family.  But when I was lost, Thomas, and wanted to stay that way, you pulled me back, bastard that you were and are.  If anybody can tell me what to do now, that he is with us at last, it's you.

Your foolish and misguided friend, who apologizes for what it's worth,

Truly,

Birchy.

[mercurygray]

For the intimacy post, 14 for Irene and Shifty? She's a pretty quiet lady, I want to know more about her

Dick Winters was surveying the troops.

They were on the longer leg of their train journey north, the car gently rocking back and forth as they rode on through the cool quiet of the Appalachians. Most of the men were sleeping, sprawled over seats and spreading out into aisles, hats tipped over eyes, coats unbuttoned. Here and there a lone figure snored. It pleased him, what he saw as he went from car to car - unafraid of their fellow travelers, they slept as one, puppies in one enormous, drawn-out heap. It was a long way from those first days at Toccoa, when they’d scorned the sight of each other, breaking out into fights over baseball teams.

Birds of a feather would flock together - even if they were all in matching olive drab. It seemed only natural that Easy Company’s Italians should adopt Doris into their group even if she was from Chicago, as she was mouthy and loud and able to give as good as she got. Ruth, too, became part of this crowd, a city girl who could dish her own and wasn’t above throwing the first punch. Webster, the odd college man out in a field of high school educations, mooned a little after Molly, who had both finished her degree and worked in her field, but found a comrade in Billie, who like him scorned the white glove and country club attitude of her parents. 

Lipton, Martin and Marjorie, the oldsters of the group, formed a loose confederation of cool-headed common sense under their sergeants’ stripes. Skip Muck took Connie, a fellow midwesterner who said what she meant, under his wing, and soon Alex Penkala was her friend, too. Julie earned George Luz’s undying respect when she disassembled a field telephone in the middle of an exercise to remove debris that was causing a poor connection. (She also laughed at George’s jokes, which was a plus in his book.) Town seemed to go with town, country with country. They shared their favorite books, their games, boyfriends and girlfriends, likes and dislikes. Tiny knots of family had formed under a larger banner - everyone in it together, but those precious few somehow beyond, folks for whom you’d go an extra mile or give your last smoke. And those knots would hold this team together.

The army seemed a strange place for quiet dreamers - and for some even stranger reason, Easy Company had two. Irene Henderson had spent her childhood pumping gas in a tiny town in Tennessee and knew the world only from the cars passing by on their way to other places, their discarded newspapers and magazines and maps bridges to a world entirely unlike her own, where buildings were taller than trees and the only things that be described as mountainous were skyscrapers, and music came off of a record player, and not out of the mouths of the people you were with. She was one of the few recruits who’d known poison ivy when they were doing their camouflage exercise, saving more than a couple of the fellows from a nasty case of itching. Separated from Doris, her usual partner, for the exercise, she’d been paired off with Shifty. 

Shifty Powers, who had played high school basketball at home in Virginia and grown up with a gun in his hand, to whom shooting was as natural as breathing but who wore the mantle of the battalion’s best shot with humility.  Sobel had thought that his two quiet ones might silence themselves into failure if forced to work together - and he could not have been more wrong. They were natural allies. It was Shifty and Irene whom no one could find in the tall grass, and they might have stayed there all night in silent glee if Sobel hadn’t cursed them out and demanded to know where they were. Shifty was teaching Irene the higher mechanics of good shooting form, and Irene was teaching Shifty how to sing, which he was becoming good at, and, by extension, to talk to girls, which he was not. 

Now they were headed off to war, and down at the end of one car, Shifty’s head was on Irene’s shoulder, looking (except for their uniforms) like two sleepy kids catching the train home, propped together for mutual support. That, at least, made Dick smile, if a little sadly. Two kids. They were all kids. 

Across the aisle, Harry and Joan were playing a quiet and oddly animated game of War, throwing cards on the case they’d propped between them without saying a single word. Harry won the last hand with a flash of exuberation in his hands, and Joan rolled her eyes and silently declined another game, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes. Harry flashed the deck of cards at Dick, who shook his head. Harry shrugged and began dealing a game of solitaire, letting his friend resume the seat across the aisle and close his own eyes.

It would be a long night, and a long day ahead. They would need their sleep.  

[davidshawnsown]

USA BASEBALL ONE-SHOT RPF 2: Mike's Boys (chapter 2)

(AN: Given the recommendations by a fellow Tumblr writer, I have created a second chapter of this one shot story. This is dedicated to recently retired Olympic silver medal pitcher Edwin Jackson of Team USA who retired from active play by the time of this writing and in celebration of the 23rd anniversary of the USA's Olympics gold in baseball in 2000. A third chapter may be on the way. Given the fact that Patrick Mahomes II's father played for the NPB team now known as the Yokohama DeNA Baystars and was himself a MLB veteran and also due to his former participation as part of the USA Baseball high school program trials, he and his Superbowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs will be included as well beginning this chapter - making it a NFL crossover.)

Warnings: War, language, blood, battle scenes

1030H EEST

With the briefing now over, the strategy for the 1st Battalion 78th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was finally set, with the full blessing of brigade leadership and battalion command. The operation entailed the battalion following the elements of the two battalions of the lightly armed 113rd Territorial Defense Brigade of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces in liberating the villages of Cherkas'ki Tyshky and Rus'ki Tyshky while the 2nd Battalion joins the rest of the forces from that brigade in the main road of the township. The goals are to help the brigade liberate the northern villages of Tsyrkuny from elements of the Russian 200th Motor Rifle Brigade of the Northern Fleet reinforced by a battalion of the Donetsk People's Militia's 1st Motor Rifle Regiment. They are supported by the M3 Bradleys of the armored cavalry squadron as well as the field artillery and air defense elements of the brigade. The battalion's strategy was to help defeat company or battalion sized elements of the 200th Motor Rifle Brigade and the 1st Motor Rifle Regiment as well as the 200th's T-80BVM MBTs of its tank battalion whose elements are in the village in a company formation, the rest of the companies are north of that area or on the main road alongside the rest of the SPG batteries as one battery is in the village equipped with the Msta tracked SPG. And also their additional role is to capture the village road junction located in the east of Cherkas'ki Tyshky which links it to Rus'ki Tyshky and the main road, which leads north to Borshchova and the border.

Basically the battalion's orders were to capture these two villages north of Kharkiv, pushing Russia's infantry and armor forces away from the city's suburbs, as well as artillery, as the 2nd Battalion moves on the main road alongside 3 battalions under 169th Corps' regiments (2 from 76th Infantry Division, one coming from the 901st Infantry) and word is now clear that a National Guard of Ukraine company is reinforcing the rear to help in the operation. In addition, their duty is to push away most of Russian artillery sytems futher from Kharkiv itself.

During the pre-combat brief, the company commanders were given their set orders for the day. A and B Companies would be the lead in the operation with D, E and F Companies, the latter assisted by CPT Jack Wilson, their founding commander, following them together with the battalion HQ company, with A Troop of the armored cavalry squadron and two tank companies of the armored battalion using a modernized M60 Patton and a mix of M8 AGS, M41 Walker Bulldogs and M555 Sheridans, as well as engineers helping in minesweeping and combat support ops and an air defense element mounted on Humvee platforms. The two field artillery battalions under the brigade would provide the much needed fire support using M777, M198, M108 and M109 systems and the portable Javellin system and other anti-tank systems in the anti-tank battalion, with batteries from the two assigned to the 1st Battalion set up on the rear and protected also by MANPADs and a company of TDF militias and joined by the two battalions' cannon batteries of M101 howitzers and NLAW and Javellin platoons of the heavy weapons companies. Three companies from the 1st battalions of the three regiments under 169th corps have been assigned to help 1st Battalion, the remainder to help the 2nd battalion clear the main road, as agreed upon that morning by their regimental commanders. Reinforcing them as artillery reserve are a battery of modernized M91 MLRS systems mounted on M35s - the HIMARS to be used when needed because the older M91s are similar to the BM-21 Grad systems the UGF has operated for decades.

Before their company commanders would talk about the operation, LTCOL Fenster, 1st Battalion commanding officer, spoke to his boys from the battalion and their attached elements in the presence of COL Bianco and some of the brigade staff: "Gentlemen, this morning is just the start of yet another operation for elements of the 1st Battalion, 78th BCT. But today is yet another glorious day in our unit's annals of history. This is the first task force styled-operation in our history as a brigade, with two of the battalions already fighting Russians and their allies from Donetsk with our Ukrainian brothers. We've done battlegroup styled ops before here, but now two of our infantry battalions are finally fighting together alongside the armor and artillery elements as well as support elements of the brigade present, for before this I've been given the orders from Brigadier General deRosa on his briefing call to the battalion command early today. Our task here, he said, is to remove Russians from the main highway of this township and its northern villages with the assistance of the Ukrainians of the 113rd Brigade and a company of National Guardsmen, helping to push back Russian guns from within range of the city itself and its suburbs and push these soldiers out for good away from it. In these past weeks, and even more today, all of us the men of 1st Battalion and the whole of the brigade are determined more than ever before to win this battle and the others to come for not just Ukraine but for our country and our NATO allies against the Russian aggressor threatening not just Ukrainians but ALL of us NATO countries at all fronts. In these past days, we've helped the 93rd Brigade do their jobs, now we've been helping these territorial militias as well as our fellow Americans in the International Legion. This is for their freedom and ours, boys. For the fallen in Bucha and all around this land, including those in the Kharkiv area, we will not stop our fighting with the Ukrainian people and her army, no matter what the costs. Understood gentlemen?"

"Sir yes sir" was the response of the boys.

COL Bianco then began to talk to the boys of the 6th platoon. Its commander 1LT Payton had stated that they are indeed ready once again, having perfected all they have trained for before in Irpin and Chernihiv with the rest of their company. This was the same sentiment shared by their XO and adjutant as well as its platoon sergeant. The colonel said that now would be a more better time for them to be better than ever, having shown their lot in earlier battles. "Now, gentlemen, its the time for us to show our strength once more in alliance with the Ukrainian people. I expect the best for you boys as you help the company achieve its objectives today, is that clear?"

"Sir yes sir" was the collective response. The colonel turned to the rest of the company stating his hope that the objectives of today's operations will surely be met with success.

"Captain Frazier," said the colonel, "I hope you and these personnel under your command achieve all the objectives for these operation, dead or alive. Not just America depends on this operation done. It is the Ukrainian people and our NATO partners and allies, and it will a big help for Ukraine if we flush out those Russians out of the range of Kharkiv."

"We will do our best, colonel," replied Captain Frazier.

"The same for us in B Company," then said Captain Arrietta. He said that they too will do their best to get things accomplished and the Ukrainians assisted in removing Russian soldiers from the village borders, limiting thus the Russian attacks on Kharkiv city itself. This is what captains Ober, Zimmerman and Cupp stated as well for D, E and F Companies of the 1st Battalion, detailing their readiness to follow the order of the day. Captain Wilson, now a part of A Company staff, remarked as well that what the lads of F Company did in these past weeks in Chernihiv in support of the Ukrainian forces relieving the Russian siege of the city stunned the battalion with their initiative and determination despite the young age of the boys and now they were ready to do it again.

Captain Judge then informed the colonel of his boys' preparedness for the combat ops they are about to do, saying, "Sir, given that all that the lads of the Bronx has gone thru, me and my boys are ready to fight for the nation and for the Ukraine. I have informed Colonel Boone that they are all prepared to fulfill the tasks for today."

Darren then informed him that he wishes the best as he prepares to help the 1st Battalion fulfill their objectives. He told him that they are assigned to help A Company led by his former superior, now Captain Frazier, to clear out Russians from Cherkas'ki Tyshky and support the Ukrainian offensive there.

1LT Aaron Nola of A Company 1st Battalion 83rd Philadelphia said the same. Given that they too were given the task to assist A Company, and that he has been given XO status in support of his commander 1LT Hoskins as his superior officer 1LT Harper has been called up to the colors because of his prior commitments before, he stated to COL Bianco that as part of the operation he felt proud to serve as part of the regiment raised and headquartered in Philadelphia, the birthplace of American independence, and that it was his duty to continue the city's heritage of leading in the defense of the nation in peace and in war. He also stated, "Being a New Orleans guy, I also bear in my heart the city's resistance in the War of 1812, and am ready to fight till the last with the boys from Philly."

The lieutenant from Sacramento then said, "No matter what happens today, colonel Bianco, we're ready to die carrying the arms of Philadelphia and the fighting legacy of her sons and daughters, sir. Most of all it is the American people, as well as the Ukrainian people already suffering after a few months of Russia's invasion, that we're ready to fight for at all costs. " Having served with the regiment since 2014 as an officer fresh from OCS, he became one of Bryce's deputies when he arrived in the city in 2019 on transfer from Washington. Since then he has served as one of his faithful comrades in arms. Alongside the company first sergeant 1SGT Muzziotti and his 1st platoon sergeant, SSGT Vierling, the two have carried on their duties to the company while Bryce is now at the 78th.

The same sentiments were shared by Captain Duvall of A Company from the 1st Battalion of the 72nd Atlanta. Raised in Louisville, KY, he has served as the company commander beginning late last year taking over from long time commander 1LT Freeman. He knew the importance of the cause they were fighting for and why the country has to help Ukraine now in its time of need. In his words, he felt that "missing families and friends at home, I knew I had a band of brothers ready to stand by me fighting for freedom no matter what the cost." His boys, assisted by 1LT Riley his executive officer and 1SGT Matzek the company first sergeant, are positioned to support CPT Arrietta and the B Company lads alongside SSGT Albies.

Then the colonel got a cellphone call from MG Scioscia.

"Make sure my boys from Tokyo are ready to lead the battalion for today," said the major general, confident that the men are ready to do it again in northern Kharkiv Oblast. They indeed needed that motivation badly from the overall commander of the Tokyo contingent in order to get the ball rolling for today's operations. He stated that Captain Frazier will be ready to lead the boys of 1st Battalion to the battle field once more, determined to continue on their winning ways in support of their Ukrainian brothers, who over these past few weeks have started to understand the Americans fighting with them for a singular cause.

"They will do their best, Mike. I'm confident these boys of yours together with mine, now fighting in the same unit, are committed to do their duties for the country and to obey the order given to them today to remove the remaining Russians from the Tsyrkuny area in support of the Ukrainians," replied Colonel Bianco. "I am truly amazed at what they did in past battles and am hopeful they will do it again."

"Good luck Colonel Bianco," replied the major general from Upper Darby. "Scioscia out."

After the call ended, LTC Fenster informed his operational commander that he's now ready to deploy the battalion for their operational goals for the day.

"Brigadier General DeRosa, sir, the 1st Battalion's ready to move out. We're ready to fulfill the orders for today's operation no matter what the cost, for the victory of the Ukrainian people, the very people we are fighting with today."

"Good luck gentlemen," replied the brigadier general. "Once more, America sends its prayers for your victories today and so does every Ukrainian. Do not fail this mission, boys, Ukraine needs this one and so does the USA. Move those boys now!"

"DeRosa, we will do our best, sir. We will not fail. We will not doubt all of America and Ukraine rooting for us once more," replied the commander. Then he presented his phone so that the boys will hear his order clearly to the battalion: to fulfill all objectives and help the 2nd Battalion, as well as the Ukrainians of the 113rd Brigade, clear Tsyrkuny township once and for all so that the Ukrainians will now be set to clear the areas north of Kharkiv from Russian forces with their support. Intel stated that the 1st Motor Rifles from the Donetsk People's Republic are moving out with a battalion of wheeled mechanized infantry to support the Russian 2nd Battalion of the 200th Motor Rifles, with elements of its 1st battalion and the 4th armored battalion in reserve as force multipliers. It is the duty of the Ukrainian 113rd TDB to push them out, and thus the 78th Brigade's 1st and 2nd battalions, as well as the 3 battalions from the 169th Corps regiments, have been tasked to assist them by all means. Thus the 1st Battalion must not fail in its objectives no matter what. The 3rd and 4th battalions, as well as the mortar and tank battalions of the brigade are also moving as brigade reserve to supplement and reinforce the formations as well as the Ukrainian forces fighting with them while the field artillery battalions will provide fires support and the air defense battalions will provide mobile and fixed air defense cover of the battlefield and protection of command elements.

After the call, the battalion commander replied, "We will do whatever it takes. Kharkiv's future rests on our efforts, general."

"Good luck LTC Fenster," answered the brigadier general. "And make sure these boys end the day safe and in a joint US-Ukrainian victory. DeRosa out."

"Good luck to you as well, brigadier general, sir," replied LTC Fenster. "We will continue to update via radio. Fenster out, Slava Ukraini."

"Heroyam Slava", replied the brigadier general.

"This is Major General Reagins speaking, colonel. Make sure these Russians are fucked when your boys fight them with the Ukrainians."

"We will do just that. I am confident than ever these boys will end the day with a win for Ukraine, sir", replied Darren.

The commander's Ukrainian interpreter informed him as well in English and then phoned the commander of the 113rd Territorial Defense Brigade that the 78th will soon be arriving to help reinforce their positions. He then phoned a member of the ILTD operating there to be on standby as the 78th too is helping in their combat ops.

With the order now granted to proceed, the 1st Battalion was now in battle mode once more.

"Is everything ready, sergeant major?"

"Yes sir, all systems go for this one," replied SGM Ronai.

"Has the Ukrainians of the 113rd Brigade and the International Legion been informed?"

The advisor said yes, adding that there's someone left a video message on his cellphone for the brigade. It's Malcolm Nance, the ex-US Navy SEAL turned soldier of the ILTD already fighting there with his fellow legionnaires, wishing the boys good luck. He had phoned brigade command this morning regarding their presence in the area.

"You heard the man, gentlemen," said LTC Fenster. "We have a battle to win in Tsyrkuny, to help the Ukrainians clear the Russians from this township and push them away futher from Kharkiv city, denying their artillery from firing directly at this city and thus save more lives. We must not fail this combat mission. It is imminent that we fulfill the tasks set by the brigade in conjuction with our Ukrainian brothers and the men of the International Legion fighting with them. The 2nd battalion is on the main road of the township and brigade command has told just minutes ago that the 4th and 5th battalions are being deployed as the reserve, while the tanks and artillery are ready as well to be deployed to support our main forces. Three more battalions, each from the 169th Corps, are also fighting with us. We expect heavy and tense resistance by the Russians where we are, but do not fear them, they know they will fear our guns, equipment, uniforms, everything that symbolizes our freedom, our country, and all that we stand for and that we're fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people in this the greatest hour that they are facing. Carried in our shoulders is a heavy burden of helping Ukraine defend itself from Russia and its allies. Now let's show the world our combine power once more to help defeat Russia in the lands of Ukraine and help it finally defeat this aggressor that has been terrorising this land for many years - and has been also been doing its best to obstruct and destroy ALL our freedoms around the world. For America and her people, and our newfound allies in Ukraine, we have a battle - and a war - to help win NOW no matter what. Understood, boys?"

"Sir yes sir" was the response.

"Slava Ukraini!"

"Heroyam Slava!", answered the gathered formation and the Ukrainian liasons with them.

"What's our battle cry 78th Brigade?"

"FOR GLORY!"

While this was happening someone had already arrived as well to the place: a member of the 59th Kansas City Infantry of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 610th Infantry Division, 20th Corps, nicknamed the "Chiefs" due to its Native American heritage and history, had arrived to join them: MAJ Patrick Mahomes II, whose father was a veteran of the 169th Corps and had previously been on secondment in Japan in a infantry battalion based in Yokohama, just south of Tokyo, in the late 90s. He arrived with his battalion mounted on the Stryker system as wheleed mechanized infantry - one of 4 in the regiment. The 2nd has been placed in reserve to help assist in the operation when needed. The major had radioed the 1st Battalion commander informing him of his presence. Wearing the usual red and gold armband with the heraldic arms of their home city, he informed the leadership present of his battalion's arrival.

"Lieutenant colonel sir, forces of the 59th Kansas City's 1st Battalion are ready to assist in your efforts."

"Who are you and who asked you to reinforce the 78th Brigade?" asked the commander.

"Major Patrick Mahomes II, sir, commanding officer of 1st Battalion 59th Kansas City. Been an executive officer last year since I was promoted Major, and now I'm a battalion commander. Colonel Reid, my commanding officer who's in Ukraine with his regiment stationed in Poltava, ordered me and my battalion to join the 78th north of Kharkiv out of respect for my father's service with the 169th Corps wth the regiment in Minneapolis. We've just arrived today from Kharkiv coordinate efforts to remove Russians from north of the city. I'm ready to help these boys win."

"That's Colonel Andy Reid of the 59th and his boys in Poltava?" asked MAJ Sogard.

"Yes indeed, sir, that's the colonel," Mahomes answered.

"You guys are lucky around. Tell your regimental commander the 1st Battalion will help the 78th Brigade Combat Team's elements here in Tsyrkuny. These wheeled APCs will help this brigade and the Ukrainians of the 113rd Territorial Brigade defeat those BTRs of the Russians and drive them out of the twin villages of Cherkas'ki Tyshky and Rus'ki Tyshky. We're counting on you guys to help them win," told the major.

"We will do our best today, sir. Slava Ukraini!"

"Heroyam Slava!" was the response by everyone.

"Looks like this Mahomes guy will be joining us today," said LTC Fenster. "These Strykers, also used by one of the battalions of the 78th, will be the ones that will hopefully arm the Ukrainian Army in the coming months, they will be needing them and all the other equipment we use to help them drive out the Russians. Gentlemen, I hope he will be of big help to us here. Coordinate your efforts and make sure he will be fighting with his boys on the ground as well. Is that clear boys?"

"Sir yes sir!"

The "mount up and move out" order then given, the 1st Battalion boys and those of the companies under the 1st Battalions of the 3rd NY, 83rd Philadelphia and 72nd Atlanta all mounted their vehicles. The artillery batteries of the artillery battalions and anti-tank crews of the anti-tank battalion under the brigade, the gunners of the infantry gun companies and air defense crews soon geared up to provide supporting fire and air defense cover to their formations at the right time, expecting Russian Mil and Kamov helicopters to fly in support of their comrades on the ground as the Bradleys and M113s soon sprang to life, with engines roaring, alongside the M60s and Abrams from the tank battalion and the self-propelled guns from one of the field artillery battalions getting the systems started and moving south to avoid Russian counter battery fire. At the same time MAJ Mahomes, mounted on his M1130 Commander's Vehicle's turret had finished radioing his regimental commander informing him of his battalions' readiness to lead the operation in support of 78th Brigade elements, before calling his father, retired sergeant first class Mahomes who is at Poltava with regimental command. With him are his XO, CPT Smith-Schuster, the battalion sergeant major SGM Girardi and several men under the battalion staff and the headquarters and HQ company, with the new A Company commander 1LT Kelce and his XO 1LT Buechele on their own Stykers with the rest of the formation. All 5 rifle companies and their cannon company, all told, are to join the fight of the 78th that morning with their Ukrainian counterparts, while the HHC remains with elements of the 78th's command. Following that he got a call from BG DeRosa later on regarding what his battalion would do that morning.

The 1st Battalion 78th BCT, its personnel (sans those of C Company) now mounted on their M2 Bradleys, began to prepare for battle like never before.

"Is everyone ready First Sergeant Gose?" called Captain Frazier on his M2 Bradley, on the commander's turret radioing his company first sergeant.

"We're all ready, sir," replied 1SGT Gose on his M113A3 Rise APC. "Same with my crew, we're ready to roll out."

He radioed 1LT Austin as well on his readiness to lead the platoon. He responded, "Able 1, we're ready. Captain Frazier, we're in it to win, Able 1-11's ready, including many of the Tokyo lads. Let's get this rolling now, sir."

"Able 2-11 ready," said 1LT Jackson on his radio. "When we will all dismount sir, give us the signal. The vehicle commanders and the operational armored column commander, 1LT Thames, will be ready to take over command to provide the mounted elements of the operation for Able Company under your command as the leader of the dismounted force. We will never fail you, captain, no matter what the cost. And so too, we cannot fail the American people nor the Ukrainians in which we've been grateful to stand by them these past months."

"Will do my best to signal you guys to fight with me as one against those Russians, lieutenant," Todd answered on his radio.

2LT Eddy Alvarez then replied on his radio inside the Bradley, "So am I, sir."

"Able 1-21 ready, sir, elements of 2nd Platoon ready to move out," said 1LT Alec Bohm.

"Confirmed sir, you guys will follow our lead," replied the captain. He was sure 1LT Austin knew of the readiness of his platoon to help prepare for the battle this morning.

1LT Dylan Crews then informed his commanding officer via radio, "Able 1-31 ready for the operation, captain. Expect that 3rd Platoon will be ready as well."

His deputy, 2LT Teel, informed the captain via radio of his boys' readiness to help their unit achieve all their objectives for the day.

"Able 1-41, reporting. We're ready as well at 4th Platoon," 1LT Bailey informed his company commander as well. He told the captain they too are ready to risk their lives for not just Ukraine but of their homeland as well and thus his platoon is ready to fulfill their mission.

The platoon second in command, 2LT Meyer, added, "The same for me and the other officers and NCOs assigned to our Bradley crews. They are ready since the last time they fought these bastards, captain and you known that. We're ready to fight them again to the last."

The 5th platoon commander, 1LT Brandon Crawford voiced his readiness replying: "Able 1-51 ready Captain Frazier. The men of 5th Platoon have entered battle readiness and will follow your lead."

His XO said the same sentiments of combat readiness. So did the other platoon commanders of A Company, including 6th platoon's 1LT Payton.

At the same time the platoon commanders of the other companies had reported to their company commanders of their preparedness to fight.

CPT Tulowitzki reported to his CO on his Bradley, "Captain Frazier sir, all of A Company has stated their readiness for the operation. We're all ready for the battle to start."

"Affirmative, Tulo. Let's get those boys moving, we have an operation ongoing."

"Roger that Cap."

"Captain Jake!" radioed 1LT Fowler on his Bradley. "Bravo Company is all ready for the operation."

"Affirmative Lieutenant Fowler. I hope the men are all ready for this moment. Major Gall is thinking of us as he studies his command course far away from the front right now."

The rest of the company commanders did the same.

Following the order to proceed by LTC Fenster, the infantry, mounted as usual in their M2 Bradleys, moved out of the assembly area and into the battlefield, with gunfire and artillery blasts increasing as the battalion's fighting elements moved north along Sadova Street. Their objectives are to liberate Cherkas'ki Tyshky and help the Ukrainian territorials. And joining them in their Strykers are elements of the 59th Kansas City's 1st Battalion, who are taking part as force multipliers for the operation, alongside armored elements of the brigade.

@joeybosa-aaronjudge @lightninging @homerofthebraves @dilangleywritesfanfic @auroralightsthesky @alekmanoah @ilovetheyankees @darkorderaf @highwaytothedangerzone502 @zackcollins @lukeexplorer

[lewishamledger]

Leo the lionheart

Words by Hugo Greenhalgh

Images of Lionel de Jersey Harvard courtesy of Harvard University Archives

A rather surprising but once well-loved name appears on a grave near the Dissenters Chapel at Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries.

Lionel de Jersey Harvard holds the distinction of being the first “Harvard” to attend Harvard University. Lionel’s story is one that helped to re-establish Harvard’s original ties to south London, and while he was killed in the First World War in March 1918, aged just 24, his legacy still survives on both sides of the Atlantic.

The story actually begins in Southwark, where John Harvard was born and raised over 400 years ago. Baptised at Southwark Cathedral, he attended school locally at St Saviour’s Grammar School and is arguably its most famous pupil.

Tragedy struck, when in 1625, the bubonic plague took the lives of John’s father and seven of his siblings. Suddenly in receipt of a large inheritance, which was shared with his mother, Katherine and his one surviving brother, Thomas, John was able to attend Emmanuel College, Cambridge where he completed a BA and an MA.

When Katherine and Thomas also passed away, John decided he would emigrate to New England in the summer of 1637, along with his wife Ann. The couple settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where John served as a clergyman. He died, childless, of consumption the following year.

On his deathbed, John bequeathed half of his estate and his personal library to the local New College in Massachusetts, which had been established to help train ministers. In 1639, it was renamed Harvard College in his honour.

That John left no children proved a source of fascination down the years. When a statue of Harvard was commissioned in the 1880s, sculptor Daniel Chester French was forced to deal with the conundrum that no physical description of what he looked like existed.

For his model, he used a student named Sherman Hoar, a descendent of Leonard Hoar, an English-born near-contemporary of John Harvard’s, and the fourth president of the College. “He has more of what I want than anyone I know”, French said of his model.

Not long after that statue was erected, back in south London, Lionel de Jersey Harvard was born on 3 June 1893 in Lewisham. His father Thomas was the youngest son of the Reverend John Harvard, who himself was a descendant of Thomas Harvard – the brother of the original John Harvard. Young Lionel attended St Olave’s and St Saviour’s Grammar School – a continuation of the same Southwark school John had attended in the 17th century.

Just like John, many of Lionel’s close family had studied at Emmanuel College. However, when it came to his turn, the family’s financial situation prohibited him and he instead began work with a marine insurance brokers.

News of this Harvard clan made its way back to New England by pure happenstance. In 1847, Edward Everett – then president of Harvard – had written a letter to an English minister George Bancroft, asking him to return some books to Lionel’s grandfather, the Reverend John Harvard.

Some years later Mark Antony De Wolfe Howe, a Bostonian editor, came across the letter in his efforts to compile an anthology of Bancroft’s own correspondence. Intrigued by the Harvard connection, he entrusted his friend Louis Holman to make some enquiries on a trip to England in 1908.

Holman began to exchange his letters with the Harvards and was invited into the family home at Queen Leaze, Forest Hill, not far from where the Horniman Museum had just opened. He was enamoured by the family and was shown genealogical records of the Harvard’s heritage.

Speaking to the Massachusetts weekly newspaper the Cambridge Chronicle in September 1911, Holman said, “If similarity of ideals can be construed as evidence of relationship, the Harvards of Forest Hill are true descendants of the family to which belonged the namegiver of Harvard university.”

He reported back the news of Lionel’s predicament around his future education and it did not take long for a group of Harvard alumni to offer to cover the cost of tuition to come and study at Harvard, which would make him the first Harvard to do so.

It was the opportunity of a lifetime, and Lionel jumped at the chance. “This wholly unexpected information filled the Harvard home in London with happiness”, stated the Cambridge Chronicle.

Lionel actually failed the entrance examinations at his first attempt, but that was perhaps to be forgiven due to the differences in English and American curriculums. Following a period of intensive tuition, he was able to get the grades he needed to be accepted by the Harvard examination board. In September 1911, he set sail from Liverpool on his transatlantic voyage on a steamship called the “Canadian” and was greeted in Boston Harbour by Louis Holman.

The sense of fanfare around his arrival can be gleaned from contemporary reports. “Harvard of Harvard here”, proclaimed the Boston Evening Transcript. The Cambridge Chronicle were even more gushing: “...the appearance of this manly young English boy in the freshman class at Harvard this fall is an incident worthy of note in the history of America's most ancient institution of learning.”

As a freshman, Lionel lived at Weld Hall, a towering redbrick dormitory off Harvard Yard and a stone’s throw from the statue of his heralded ancestor. He made the most of the privileges a student has on offer, joining members’ clubs such as the Signet Society and the Hasty Pudding Club, the oldest collegiate social club in America.

On arrival, Harvard was met with a barrage of questions around his sporting pedigree. “He has never played baseball,” the Chronicle reported.

“The only kind of football he has played is soccer —so he may yet qualify for a football team. He also plays tennis.” However, he recognised that he was principally there to get an education. “Harvard is just a good, wholesome, everyday boy, and apparently the one thing he doesn't wish is notoriety of any kind. He came to study.”

It would seem that once Lionel settled in, he flourished at Harvard. In his junior year, he won the Boylston Elocution Contest for a recital of Alfred Noyes’ The Highwayman, for which he was awarded $30.

He also appeared in annual Elizabethan theatricals as a member of a men's fraternity, performed with the Glee Club, and volunteered for the Harvard Christian Association. Lionel’s most notorious acting role was his portrayal of his own ancestor John, as part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the Hollis Hall building.

“The part of John Harvard was well taken by Lionel de Jersey”, the Cambridge Chronicle reported. So striking was the performance that his classmates began to refer to him as ‘John’.

When graduation came in the summer of 1915, Lionel was given the honour of composing both the Class Poem and the Baccalaureate Hymn. He graduated cum laude in English, and 1915 turned out to be a good year for the arts at Harvard, with the poet EE Cummings, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer John P Marquand and composer Roger Sessions also finishing in the same year.

Harvard was widely regarded as a positive influence during his four years spent at Harvard and a fitting continuation of the legendary surname. In their write-up of his graduation, the Harvard Alumni Bulletin proclaimed, “Harvard has had good reason to be proud of her sons, but seldom more than of that son who bears her very name. Whatever may befall him, the romance and reality of his career must win him peculiar measure the Godspeed of his fellow alumni.”

Sadly, the fate to which this final line eluded to was met relatively swiftly. Just two days after graduation, Lionel returned to England to enlist in the Army. He joined the Grenadier Guards in September 1915 and left for France in March 1916.

Lionel was shot during the Battle of the Somme and spent months recovering before returning to the frontline. In March 1918 he was killed in action, whilst in command of Number One Company of the First Battalion.

Aged just 24, Lionel’s young life had only just been getting started. Harvard College were quick to honour his memory. They named a freshman dormitory Lionel Hall after him, which was funded personally by Harvard President Abbott Lawrence Lowell and completed in 1925.

Those who later resided in the hall included Peter Benchley, creator of the film series Jaws, and the author and screenwriter Erich Segal.

A scholarship was also set up in his name, which funds a year’s tuition for a student at Emmanuel College, where Lionel had once intended to study. Back in England, his name was added to the family stone at Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries.

[kicacris]

BEHOLD MY DEAR ANON! The Teenager’s Great Pyramid of “Coolness”!

(I hope everything is readable enough, there are a lot of hidden details lmao)

Pretty much like KND, teenagers also have their own structure and sets of rules. Many believe the current teenager form of "government" was designed after the event that was known as the Great Junior High Rebellion of 1999.

The teenagers have a hierarchical form of government, with roles ranked according to levels of importance while respecting the three main corners of the popularity pyramid: academics, sports and the arts (as quoted in “Pepper Ann”). 

Right at the top of the pyramid are the Prom King and Queen and together they rule and command over all the ranks under them.

Next to them comes what are known as the 4 General-Captains: The Football Captain, the Soccer Captain, the Basketball Captain and the Volley Ball Captain. These 4 figures are the most important (and popular of course) personalities after the Prom Rulers, as their power not only assure the order over all the rest of the athletic factions but also are said to be pivotal in influencing the decision in the election of the Prom Kings and Queens. These very honored high-ranked positions had been granted to these four sports in particular after being the decisive key powerhouses that allowed teens to obtain their independence in the final battle of the Great Junior High Rebellion of 1999. Therefore, they're acknowledged with the highest form of respect and admiration. All bullies fear them greatly. 

After the 4 General-Captains come the Cheerleader Squad and the Teen Ninjas' Lieutenant-Captains, who are in charge of enforcing order and control over the non-combatant teen population. There was a time when the position of the Class President was ranked above these two titles, but the entitlement eventually became downranked and it's nowadays considered a mere powerless figurehead. The remaining sport divisions and social clubs battalions form the rest of the lower middle half of the pyramid and are directly overseen by the 4 General-Captains.

The Teen Ninjas and the Cheerleader Squad are loyal to Cree and are actively fighting against KND, but the truth is that the majority of the teenager population is non-combatant and prefer to remain neutral and outside any conflict with KND and/or the Adults. 

The neutral population of the teenagers is loyal to The Steve, who has been the Prom King of the Teenagers for a very long time. Everyone loves him and respect him greatly, but curiously he’s the greatest enigma of all the teen world as none even knows what’s his full name (not even the teachers know, which is pretty strange). He didn’t seem interested in the conflict with KND until The TREATY happened.

The 4 General Captains are the protectors of the Teenagers and are supposed to only be summoned by the Prom Rulers if, and only if, a great danger threatens them all. In that situation, the generals will summon not only their own teams but also ALL the secondary team sports all over the globe for support. Everyone will follow their call without a second guess. 

Cree is constantly trying to use them to fight against KND, but the 4 Generals always make an excuse to not answer her call. Chad did help a few times in the past (as seen in the canon) in order to make sure all of Cree’s plan with the FootBall team were sabotaged. 

The Secondary Sports Division is pretty much made of:

The Girls Soccer Team (Lead by Pepper Ann, who’s Ace’s Lieutenant)

The Swimming Team (Lead by Craig Bean)

The Baseball Team

The Tennis Team

The Hockey Team

The Wrestling Team

The Gymnastic Team

The Chess Team (Lead by Nicky Little)

Some of the Social Clubs:

The Junior Orchestra (also lead by Nicky Little)

The Drama Club (now lead by Cissy Rooney, who used to be the Volleyball Captain before Rachel)

The Science club (lead by Alice Kane and Stuart Walldinger)

“The Gossiper” which is the school’s newspaper (lead by Tessa and Vanessa James)

The language groups 

The DnD and board games club, which is pretty much referred to as “The Geek club” by the bullies.

Each one of these groups has their own distinctive military importance in battle :D but I can’t spoil that part yet.

And I think that’s pretty much everything I can tell you right now about this? I like to think that Teenagers are very very extra and like to see their society as a “kingdom”. The Prom Night is also another MASSIVE thing that has its own protocol and tradition, but I CAN’T SPOIL THAT YET.

Also, yes I do plan to tell the story about what happened in the Great Junior High Rebellion of 1999 (SOON!)

(And yes ALL OF THIS will eventually evolve and merge into TND)