About a month ago (game time), the characters in the Barrett's Raiders Twilight: 2000 campaign were traveling down the Vistula River, hoping to use it as a means of reaching friendly – or at least friendlier – territory. Along the way, they picked up some radio traffic near Tarnobrzeg that suggested some independent Polish faction had captured a team of Americans and was holding them captive. Lt. Col. Orlowski, the commander of the characters' unit, made the decision to launch a rescue operation. The rescue was successful, but it turned out the "Americans" the Poles had captured were, in fact, a pair of Canadian scouts from the 8th Hussars, traveling in civilian garb.
The two Canadians, Privates Logan Williams and Luke Landry, were eventually joined by Master Corporal Travis Dumont, also of the 8th Hussars ("Crazy Eights"), who was in the area trying to find his comrades. Grateful for the aid rendered to them by the characters', the trio stayed with them, acting as a special reconnaissance team. The Canadians were very good at their jobs and respected for their skills. Later however, while preparing to cross the Oder River near Krapkowice, Landry failed to spot someone approaching the unit, allowing him to get within 30 meters. Fortunately, the person in question was friendly, but Orlowski then spent many days gently chiding Landry for his rare moment of inattention.
Once the characters reached Goleniów, the Canadians prepared to part company with the Americans. They intended to join up with the 4th Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in Karlino, a town not far from Goleniów. Before they departed, though, they made sure to say their good-byes to the characters, starting with Lt. Col. Orlowski. Landry presented him with a memento, a pair of broken binoculars, saying:
"Alright, I know what you're thinking: ‘Landry, these things are busted as hell.’ True! But hear me out. These are ‘Moncton’s Finest Lookout Gear,’ right here. Passed every inspection, except for the one that actually mattered."
"Consider ’em a reminder: Even when you don’t see trouble coming, it’s still coming. So keep your eyes open – both of ‘em, unlike me."
Orlowski was actually embarrassed by this. He began to apologize to Landry for having ridden him so long about the one and only time ever failed to see trouble coming. Landry stopped him, adding:
"And if you ever end up in Moncton – somehow – look me up. Not that you’d wanna go there in winter, mind you."
Everyone laughed at this. Then Dumont said:
"Colonel: I know we wear different flags, but out here, that doesn’t mean a damn thing. You saved our lives and we won’t forget that. Doesn’t matter if it’s Poland or the Moon. If you ever need help, and there’s a Canadian around, you tell ’em we said we’re brothers and that ought to be enough."
With that, they saluted the Lt. Colonel and the other characters. Orlowski returned the salute and told them he and his men were honored to have served with them, if only for a little while. With that, Dumont, Landry, and Williams headed out.
Canadians and Americans are brothers and sisters, even when gaming.
ReplyDeleteThe 8th Canadian Hussars demonstrates this. Formed in Virginia (yes the USA Virginia) in 1778 and fought on the Loyalist side during the American Revolution. In 1783 the entire regiment relocated to southern New Brunswick (including the Moncton area). It was reformed to an armoured unit during WWII.
Moncton also has a strong Acadian presence. The same French colonizers who also ended up as the Cajun of Louisiana.
The Bay of Fundy has much the same effect on Moncton that the lake has on Buffalo NY. The area gets much more snow than the rest of the region. So indeed a tough winter spot!
Moncton is a testament to man's hubris. Whole place is like a giant suburb, utterly lacking in charm or character. It's almost inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to say 'I'm loving these updates', 'this news on these guys keeps me rattled' but I'm English... So superb work on the reviews, keep up the splendid work.
ReplyDeleteI will have to say, you couldn't give a better example of the brotherhood that exists between servicemen. I've experienced it firsthand, with my tour in Iraq in '05. When the terrorist bombing happened in the London underground (in July I think), it was all over the news. I remember going to the chow hall, and you can see the anger on the faces of every British soldier.
ReplyDeleteWe were all watching the news there while we were eating. The shock of it all was tremendous. Guys from all services were giving handshakes and the old pat on the shoulder to the Brits, wishing them well.
I remember going up to a group of two or three of them, while they were sitting and said something to the effect "God bless. My prayers are with you. We're all in this together.", and they thanked me for my concern.
I got to met with British, Australian, Canadian, Dutch, and Romanian soldiers while I was there. We'd meet at chow halls, swap stories, check out each other's weapon and gear/kit. I'd think to myself "our grandfathers and great-grandfathers did the same thing back in WWI and WWII. Wow. I get to share in that too."
It's stuff like that that makes you realize that no matter the uniform your wear, you're all part of a special brotherhood.
On a less elevated level than other commenters, I'll admit that everything I know about Moncton I learned from "Trailer Park Boys".
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff! My group is considerably behind yours (still trying to get to Krakow while navigating the politics of the Margravate of Silesia).
ReplyDeleteHaving played as a kid/young man, our games were mainly fleeing from/fighting Russians & marauders. As an older fella, I’m taking more advantage of the colorful NPC’s, factions, and interesting situations presented in the old (1e GDW) stuff (while using the Free League rules).
I wonder though: why Barrett’s Raiders as a campaign name? I had originally assumed the commanding officer was named Barrett, but this isn’t the case.
The name is something of a joke. One of the PCs, Michael (the CIA agent) is a sniper, who uses a Barrett M82 rifle. His player misremembered the title of the Stan Rogers song, "Barrett's Privateers," as "Barrett's Raiders" and the name stuck. It makes no sense at all, but here we are.
DeleteThat's unexpected. I assumed it was a reference to Barrett Robbins, a rather tragic former center for the Oakland Raiders. His career ended in a mess of mental health and drug abuse and misuse problems and has only gone downhill since, with multiple arrests and significant jail time.
DeleteReading this while sitting in Moncton is weird
DeleteActually, that makes perfect sense!
ReplyDelete