John Kettler Posted March 18, 2000 Share Posted March 18, 2000 Leutnant Himmelweit may be a coward, but Cpl. Shealy should be shot for criminal incompetence in the face of the enemy. His various clones usually do quite well in Last Defense, typically scoring an AFV kill and cutting up some infantry every time I play the Allies. One stalwart should've been in the Heroes' Corner on CMHQ. He killed a Stug head-on while under fire from same and drilled a Tiger twice in the turret side as it moved to the center of the board past the stone house on the German end near the stone wall. But did Shealy honor the memory of his esteemed predecessors? No, he DID NOT! He fired four shots at the slowly moving unskirted StuG and missed every single shot. That StuG very nearly unhinged my entire defense before it was stopped by the other bazooka team. Unfortunately, the backblast must've knocked over a kerosene lamp or something, because that wooden house caught fire almost instantly, forcing the bazooka team and platoon HQ out of the building, leading to the loss of the bazooka team and casualties to the platoon HQ. The only good news here is that this Cpl. Shealy died when the Germans stormed his position as he cowered prostrate on the ground. Maybe his mother will miss him. I know I won't! Disgruntled CO John Kettler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Charles Posted March 18, 2000 Share Posted March 18, 2000 JK, As CO, isn't it your responsibility to write a letter of condolences to poor Cpl. Shealy's family? Consider the following: "Dear Mr. and Mrs. Shealy, It is with deep sorrow and regret that I must inform you of the recent and untimely death of your son in battle. I had the honor and privilege to serve as Cpl. Shealy's commander for many months, and I can personally attest to his strength of character, devotion to his fellow platoon members, and courage in the face of the enemy. Truly, Cpl. Shealy was for many of us, "the anchor" of his Platoon and Company. Just before his untimely death, Cpl. Shealy and the other member of his bazooka squad bravely stood his ground and let loose with a volley of shots at an ememy tank less than 50 yards from his position. His actions not only resulted in the complete destruction of a possible place of refuge for the enemy, but in the death of many other units. His act of courage and heroism shall never be forgotten by me or any other member of this company. Again, it is with my most heartfelt feelings of sorrow that I bring you this most unfortunate news. I hope and I trust that you may find some solace in my assurance that your son did not give his life in vain and in the fullest performance of his duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States. With regards, Captain, John Kettler" With this: "Dear Mr. and Mrs. Shealy, It is with some sorrow and regret that I must inform you of the recent, perhaps timely, death of your son in battle. I had the "honor" and "privilege" to serve as Cpl. Shealy's commander for many months, and I can personally attest to his total and utter stupidity, incompetence, and cowardice in the face of the enemy. Truly, Cpl. Shealy was, and I speak for all of us, "an anchor" on the rest of his Platoon and Company. Just before his (un)timely death, Cpl. Shealy and the other member of his bazooka squad, while standing their ground at the back of a structure filled with extremely flammable materials, persisted in firing a volley of shots at an ememy tank less than 50 yards from his position. Not only did every one of his shots completely miss a target that could have been hit by the company cook after a three day bender, but which also resulted in not only the complete destruction of the structure he was hiding in, but also the loss of many of his comrades, including his platoon headquarters. His act of stupidity, incompetence, and foolishness will not soon be forgotten by me or any other member of this company. Again, it is with my most heartfelt feelings of "sorrow" that I must inform you of the loss of your son and almost 1/4 of my command. Please find solace in your loss with my assurance that your son threw away his life and the lives of several others in probably the most incompetent act I have ever had the unfortunate opportunity to observe in my many years as an officer in the Army of the United States. With regards, Captain John Kettler" Which letter would YOU write? ------------------ Not THE Charles from BTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted March 19, 2000 Author Share Posted March 19, 2000 Charles, While I take your point, I believe you may be confused about what happened. Evidently I wasn't clear enough. Cpl. Shealy was stationed behind the wall. He fired at the slowly moving StuG and missed four shots in a row. So far as I know, he wasn't even under fire at the time. The burning house occurred when my second bazooka team had to confront the StuG Shealy should have killed. That bazooka team's backblast set the house ablaze occupied by both it and a platoon CP, forcing both from the blazing building,resulting in the casualties previously described. As for the letter, I might say something like "It is my sad duty to inform you that your son was killed when his position was stormed by dismounted SS PanzerGrenadiers during the course of a failed German attempt to seize the town and river crossing his unit was holding. Though his unit received severe casualties, it bravely stood its ground against a heavy German attack composed of veteran SS infantry, SS PanzerGrenadiers, mortars, artillery and assorted German armor, including a Tiger tank, and bought the time needed to bring in tank destroyers and infantry reinforcements necessary to stop and drive off this enemy thrust. While I know you grieve the loss of your son, please know that we share your loss here and that by his sacrifice he helped stop a German attack which could've caused no end of grief to our plans. His death was not in vain. Again, my condolences. John Kettler, Captain U.S. Army" All of the above is true. Shealy died at the wall. He didn't bolt and run. He was well liked as a person; his deficient bazooka skills which caused the problems. He himself tried to do a good job. His unit was badly cut up, and it did buy the time necessary to bring in the reinforcements. By describing the forces arrayed against him, I give the parents a sense of the gravity of the situation, and by not mentioning what he did with the bazooka I a) leave the Mom grieving but proud and send a subtle hint to the father that there's more to this than meets the eye, should he choose to press it. Odds are, he won't notice either. Regards, John Kettler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted March 19, 2000 Author Share Posted March 19, 2000 In my next to last paragraph I should've said "; it was his deficient bazooka skills which caused problems," instead of as shown. Not quite focused today! John Kettler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Charles Posted March 19, 2000 Share Posted March 19, 2000 No problem, I was only trying to be funny (something I obviously need to work more on, I guess). ------------------ Not THE Charles from BTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EScurlock Posted March 19, 2000 Share Posted March 19, 2000 LOL, Charles how many performance reports have you written? My favorate line I'll never see get through the editing process: "Since Amn JoeBagod Dougnuts last evaluation he has hit rock bottom and has started to dig." ------------------ He who gets there the fastest with the mostest wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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