Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Weird Wars => Topic started by: Red Orc on May 24, 2012, 01:29:00 AM
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... and, no, not Captain America thanks!
This is for WWWII really but the concept holds good for any war.
The idea is that this guy turns up in the midst of a frightened unit as lone soldier from another unit who have been in action for some time, acts as a kind of calming avuncular veteran-type, has some useful local knowledge and some superior skills (maybe he's a good shot or good at sneak attacks on sentries or whatever, somewhat in the manner of Sgt Rock I suppose); however he'll disappear before the end of the action and when the unit tries to find out about the unit he's from, they'll be told that no such unit existed or they were wiped out in WWI or that everyone in the unit was killed a month ago in a failed mission to do whatever this unit succeeded in doing or whatever.
So he's kind of a helpful ghost or psychic manifestation of the need for help in a desperate situation.
Any legends of ghost units, ghost veterans, or whatever that I can draw on here? Or a generic kinda template/stereotype I can use to name him (like 'Tommy Atkins' in the British army?). Is 'GI Joe' the term I'm looking for? Or is it Corporal Kowalski (with his little dog)?
Also I have no idea if he's Army or Marine Corps...
And yes, the concept is totally ripped from that Stan Ridgeway song 'Camoflage'.
Thanks for the musings of your collective gargantubrains, chaps and chapesses.
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The ghost of freedom or liberty. The Ghost, G. I. Joe. The unknown solder. Or Iron Mike.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Mike
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Thanks Commissarmoody, I didn't know about 'Iron Mike', that's really intriguing. I think I'll try to use that - he certainly can't introduce himself to the other guys as 'The Ghost', 'Mike' is much more friendly! Though, obviously, 'Joe' also has a certain appeal...
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Yeah Joe is supposed to be the ever day us infantry guy. Were as Iron mike is supposed to be the man that gets the job done regardless of rank or training. With the Battle cry "fallow me!"
I am not making that part up, back when I used to run by the airborne mike when I was in the 82nd, it had in bold letters "FALLOW ME!" the "official" battle cry of the US infantry.
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Both 'The Unknown Soldier' and 'G.I. Joe' would work, but both seem a bit too formal. Somehow I see guys in the field referring to him as they would a buddy. Perhaps 'Quiet Joe' or 'Steady Joe' or simply 'The Dogface'. If his repertoire includes warning his adopted unit of enemy attacks he could be known as 'The Sentry'.
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What about going with a rank abbrevation like "Gunny" or "Sarge"?
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What about the mysterious stranger. He carries a revolver and shoots your enemies in the back in the heat of battle. :D
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How about just flat out calling him, well, Camouflage?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFYxCIr-Byo&feature=related
Or Camouflage Senior if you prefer :P
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What about going with a rank abbrevation like "Gunny" or "Sarge"?
Just leting you know that the army does not have "Gunnery Sergeant"
Only the USMC.
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How about Big Joe from the 309th?
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The Lone Ranger, he used to be part of a recon squad. ;)
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Young soldier: "What's your name anyway, Buddy?"
Mysterious Stranger: "There are those who call me.......Tim?"
;)
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Just leting you know that the army does not have "Gunnery Sergeant"
Only the USMC.
Thanks for the enlightenment :)
But who says that he isn't a marine like Camouflage? ;)
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This one looks best.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Ironmike2.jpg)
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For a US Army ghost soldier, I would call him 'Joe'.
I don't know what I would name the ghost if he were a Marine. But I do like 'Mike.'
Interesting idea, a bit like Gen. Stuart and the Ghost Tank.
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For a US Army ghost soldier, I would call him 'Joe'.
I don't know what I would name the ghost if he were a Marine. But I do like 'Mike.'
Interesting idea, a bit like Gen. Stuart and the Ghost Tank.
Wouldn't that rather be John like in "John Doe"? ;)
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Gen. Stuart and the Ghost Tank.
Haunted Tank, actually. ;)
Back in the nineties I ran a rather silly game involving Hitler and a batch of Gray Aliens conspiring to win World War Two, and one of the units on the board was an M3 light tank. Everywhere that tank went it was followed by the figure of an American Civil War cavalryman....
The funniest part of the whole thing was the number of spectators who stopped and had to ask about the cavalryman. Once told that it was the Ghost of Jeb Stuart, they understood immediately and went on their way without comment, curiosity sated.
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gah someone beat me to camouflage !
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gah someone beat me to camouflage !
I did name-check Camoflage in the original post... obviously, the idea for the character is a sort of mix of Camoflage and Sgt Rock.
But he needs a normal sort of name (which is why I mentioned 'Tommy Atkins' in the original post - he's a kind of archetype, the English version of the generic 'G.I. Joe'). It just doesn't seem terribly likely that some scared soldiers in a foxhole/holed up in a wood/hunkering behind a wall are going to come across a fellow soldier and he'll introduce himself as 'Camoflage'. Joe or Mike (or John) sound more likely. 'Corporal Doe' maybe... "Son, you can call me Corporal Doe, or you can call me Uncle Johnny if y'think it'll help, but I promise you, we're gonna get the job done, and you're going home to Powkipsie to see Eileen, so help me God..."
The point is the troops don't know he isn't a veteran from another unit who are also in the woods, or sent out on a patrol to find them, or whatever; his presence has to seem natural. Extravagant nicknames don't really fit with that.
Thanks for all the suggestions. If anyone has any more, please, do say, especially if they're related to something that already exists (either in the real world, or something similar in fiction).
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But he needs a normal sort of name (which is why I mentioned 'Tommy Atkins' in the original post - he's a kind of archetype, the English version of the generic 'G.I. Joe'). It just doesn't seem terribly likely that some scared soldiers in a foxhole/holed up in a wood/hunkering behind a wall are going to come across a fellow soldier and he'll introduce himself as 'Camoflage'
Well, you do have a point there. I mostly just thought that since you've declared your inspiration to be that certain big Marine, why not go all the way...
Anyway. How about Forrest Pine then (add any miliatry rank you think appropriate)? I'll leave it as an exercise to come up with an explanation why I think it would fit with someone who may or may not be a revenant 8)
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How about Jim Jackson?
James W Jackson jr was the Confederate who shot and killed federal Colonel Elmer Ellsworth on the day that Virginia seceded from the Union. He was then shot dead by one of Ellsworth's men. That makes him the first person to both kill and be killed in the American Civil War, I think.
Possibly too freighted with political overtones (the Confederates regarded him as a martyr), but it's such a common-sounding name that it might fit your purposes, particularly if disguised a bit by dropping the "W" and the "Jr".
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A very interesting suggestion. Perhaps after the Civil War his unquiet spirit returned to earth to attone for what he sees as the war he started (because the previous 2 deaths, of Union soldiers, were somewhat accidental), by helping all American soldiers... and until he's saved more than were killed in the Civil War, he's fated to die before the end of the action and be resurrected in time for the next conflict. So he has to be responsible for the rescue of more than 750,000 American soldiers before he can 'move on'... which might take some time. Certainly I think if that scenario is accepted, he'd have been hard pushed to fulfill his mission before the end of WWII.
On the other hand, he was (according to the wiki about Alexandria, Virginia, at least, though it's not mentioned on the James W Jackson wiki page) a Captain and that might not be right for the idea I'm exploring of him being a veteran, but also a sort of 'regular guy'... I'm kind of groping for a concept here that puts the emphasis on him being the collective creation of the unit's determination to 'get the job done', externalised as a figure that is sort of a combination of all the best qualities of the unit. Even, possibly, the best qualities of all the unit's previous casualties...
Maybe I'm overthinking this! I'm not writing the background for a character in a new graphic novel, I'm trying to find a name and concept for one supersoldier in a skirmish game. I'll take as working models the 'Iron Mike' suggestion Commissarmoody made, SteveF's suggestion of 'Captain James W Jackson', my own fleshing out of Hauptgefreiter's '(Corporal) John Doe' and the notion of just calling him '(G.I.) Joe', and play around with them to see what fits best.
Though maybe I should be thinking 'Ghost Company', where Captain James W Jackson commands a bunch of unquiet spirits and psychic projections called Corporal Doe, Iron Mike, etc ...
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Pee Wee Herman. American and super fucking weird.
Michael Jackson, ditto.
For my money I'd go with Don Lane. It's a kinda Hollywood sort of name to start with. The real Don, AKA 'the lanky Yank', was a former American TV presenter on Australian television. Allegedly Don's private tastes ran to glass coffee tables and incontinent prostitutes. Not sure you can get much weirder than that. God Bless America! lol
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Carlos you are a very naughty boy........keep it up lol lol lol
LB
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Kilroy - he seemed to be both everywhere and nowhere. Also, in the U.S. Army for years there was the mythical Jodie - who was home with your girlfriend, etc. while you were out on a run, in the field (in the rain), etc. Be only fair for Jodie to finally get out there and lend a hand!
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We had one of those, except that his name was Private Sumkunt. He popped up in all kinds of situations, indeed he was the very model of ubiquity and poor soldiering.
'Sumkunt took took my breech block'
'Sumkunt had a UD'
'Sumkunt ate the Mars Bar I left in my pack' etc, etc, etc.
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"Mega Freedom", "Super Freedom", "Anti Non Freedom", "I R Fr33d0m" or something more simple, like "I saved the World and gave it Freedom" ? :D
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Maybe "Super World Police" is what you are looking for?
What about the mysterious stranger. He carries a revolver and shoots your enemies in the back in the heat of battle. :D
Is that what you want the world to know, that your american hero shoots people in the back?
K
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Guys, although it's not (yet) a violation of the forum rules, keep it down with the obscenities, will you? This is the LAF after all, not That Other Forum(TM). ;)
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If you're looking towards a WWI veteran, how about Sergeant York?
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I think Mike or Stanley Kowalski would work best. Mike for the "Iron Mike" bit and Kowalski (usually Stanley) is the closest thing in US army lore to a Tommy Atkins sort of everyman name.
You could also call him Mike Iron or Mike Irons (Irons being a more common real last name, but the real meaning being more clear without the S).
Kilroy is also an option, but would sound wrong if used with a second name (i.e. first name + last name). So if he only goes by one name that's also an option.
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Kirk Roymund. Irish Immigrant and came to american with his family at the age of the 3 to enjoy the american dream. When the Nazi's came about he didn't support them with the attacks on the British as many of his fellow country men did because he knew that if the Nazi's won it would be bad news. He joined the Army with his brother to try and help in the fight but during the battles of Italy his Brother was captured. Several Months later Kirk and his platoon stumbled across a Nazi Research facility, quickly overcoming the guards Kirks platoon began to search the facility and what they found chilled them to the bone. Allied POW's starved and tortured in sick experiments to create new weapons to help the Nazi's in their genocidal campaign. One of the worst cases was Kirk's brother. Dying and Mutilated Kirk's brother made him promise to make sure this never happens to another Allied soldier again. After that fateful day Kirk Roymund received the nickname Killroy after his uncanny ability to appear anywhere an Allied soldier might need aid and a Nazi needed killing.
That was something I thought of in about 30 seconds so it isn't very good. but it could explain the killroy thing
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I think Mike or Stanley Kowalski would work best. Mike for the "Iron Mike" bit and Kowalski (usually Stanley) is the closest thing in US army lore to a Tommy Atkins sort of everyman name.
You could also call him Mike Iron or Mike Irons (Irons being a more common real last name, but the real meaning being more clear without the S).
Kilroy is also an option, but would sound wrong if used with a second name (i.e. first name + last name). So if he only goes by one name that's also an option.
Funny, Kowalski is one of the most common names in the Ruhr area in Germany.
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James W Jackson jr was the Confederate who shot and killed federal Colonel Elmer Ellsworth on the day that Virginia seceded from the Union. He was then shot dead by one of Ellsworth's men. That makes him the first person to both kill and be killed in the American Civil War, I think.
how can you be both the first killer and the first killed in a war unless you commit suicide? ???
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how can you be both the first killer and the first killed in a war unless you commit suicide? ???
I have the vague suspicion that you may be willfully misunderstanding for comic effect. Your paraphrase misplaces the "both", by the way, which is cheating.
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I think the way I'm going to develop this is as a stable of ghost soldiers who can turn up depending on circumstance. I've just googled 'G Company' (for Ghost Company) and found out it's a Texas military living history unit (soldiers pretending tobe other soldiers from history as it were), so that seems like a good enough justification to call the idea 'G Company'. And I'm working with all your suggestions! It gives a kind of callsign for the unit and means that when they get back to base and report that they made contact with G Company there can be that idea of file gradually amassing of the file of contacts with a non-existant unit.
So the next question would be... I have about 80 more ghost soldiers to name, anyone else want to help? lol
No, really I think I'll kinda run with about sixor seven of these - Captain Jackson is too good to miss out on, and the psychic echoes of Corporal Kowalski (and his little dog) even made it to Discworld so he's definitely in. I'll work up the biogs of GI Joe, Kilroy, John Doe, and 'Iron' Mike Irons, hopefully making one a sharpshooter, one a close-combat specialist, one who knows about explosives maybe... and if I can get Jeb Stuart and the Haunted Tank in there too, I will!