Ted's House of History

The police officer was still in shock, “We… We… didn’t hit any of you… Did we?” “Thank God for you that you didn’t. If you had, you would be dying, very slowly, very painfully,” Lieutenant Hudson turned to the wall, “You can come out! False Alarm!” The team worked their way over the wall and made their way across the open area to the building. Lieutenant Hudson turned back to Chet, “So, how’s it…

(Sorry for the short post this week, I’m in the Field in New Mexico with little access to technology)   Evans vaulted over the wall and started towards the building, with his small team behind him. They made it about halfway across the gap to the building when a shot was fired. A bullet whizzed past Evans head. Ducking down, Evans waved his arm forward for the team to follow. Lieutenant Hudson’s…

Lieutenant Hudson whipped up her mapboard, made a mark with a grease pencil, then said in her cheery voice, “There’s an old artillery proving ground up ahead. We’ll need to take a pretty big detour to get around it. We won’t get to the camp for quite some time, so we’ll make our own little camp near an abandoned well marked on the map. No word if it’s dry or not. Let’s hope it isn’t. Keep an eye…

The Lieutenant’s droning was interrupted by a panicked shout by McGilligan, “EVERYONE OUT OF THE CANYON!” There was a moment of silence before the Colonel turned to her, “Soldier! Get a hold of yourself! You will stay-” McGilligan interrupted the Colonel, “Sir! There’s going to be a flood, if we don’t run, we’ll all die!” “It’s bone dry out here soldier, not a cloud in the sky, and we’re deep in…

To get the soldiers acclimated to their new environment, the regiment was ordered to march to a canyon nearby with full kit. They would then make their way up the canyon where a few exercises would take place. Evans looked longingly at the single cloud in the sky, hanging uselessly over some hill in the distance. McGilligan and Gibson both looked a bit worried, but said nothing about it when…

As the train got further and further into the desert, the temperature in the train car got hotter and hotter. Even with the door all the way open, it was just about unbearable when they finally arrived at their camp, about thirty kilometers outside of Red Sands. The regiment was given the next hour to collect themselves while the officers went to a meeting. When Evans hopped out of the car, he…

When the train came to a stop for breakfast and coal refueling, Evans stepped off to the side for a much needed cigarette. Lieutenant Welch walked up, looking a bit uncomfortable in her new uniform and asked, “First Squad all in the new uniforms?” “Yes Ma’am. My two soldiers from the Western Desert say it’s a good uniform for being out there.” “Well at least someone likes it,” Lieutenant Welch…

After a few minutes, First Squad had changed into their new uniforms. Evans looked around as the soldiers tucked their old uniforms into their kit bags. McGilligan still had her scarf sitting around her neck. Evans asked, “Should you be wearing that?” “It’s a light scarf. In the desert, you want to keep the sun off you. And your sweat will be held in the scarf and it will cool you down. If…

After about a week at Strongfield, building temporary shelters and watching against looters, orders came down to the 202nd. The rebellion in the Western Desert had been mostly taken care of, but as a show of force, units were being cycled through for ‘training’ in the desert before being sent back to the front. So, the 202nd was to spend a week in the badlands practicing how to fight in that…

“So, kid,” Moore said to Gibson, “On a lighter note, you have anyone back home?” Shaking her head, Gibson replied, “No, no one. Actually, before I enlisted, I was reading stories in the papers about a great hero soldier who came from a humble background. I clipped articles about him, and even had a little photo. Then, I get into the Army, find out he’s married, but also,” Gibson pointed over to…

“So, Private, where you from?” Moore asked. Gibson smiled, “The Western Desert, Red Sands.” Moore’s face dropped. She looked back over her shoulder, “Steffie, get over here.” A women walked over. She nodded to Gibson, “Corp Steffie Basset,” She looked over to Moore, “What you want Doe?” “She’s from Red Sands.” Steffie looked at Gibson, “You get news much kid?” “Not really. Not a fan of reading,”…

Evans, Shaw, and Gibson arrived at the building with sounds of revelry inside. They entered a room with about a dozen soldiers, most stripped down to their undershirts, a few wearing their jackets, unbuttoned. Evans saw the two that Shaw had mentioned, Kasia and Fitz, shirtless and arguing. They looked different than Evans had expected. Kasia was skinny, but muscular, with a few dozen scars and…

Evans and Gibson entered the tent that Shaw said to meet him at. There was no sign of drinking, but Shaw was standing in the center, “I see you brought the kid.” “She needs to learn to drink like an adult sometime,” Evans smiled, “Plus, she reminds me of my daughter.” “Isn’t your daughter like two?” Shaw cocked an eyebrow. “Are we going to drink or what?” Shaw waved for the two to follow him,…

“Gibson, can we go for a walk?” Sergeant Evans waved in such a way to indicate that wasn’t an option. Gibson nodded, “Yes Sergeant.” She then followed him outside Evans started walking and made a few inane comments about the weather while they walked out of the camp and made their way into the rubble and he got to the point, “How old are you Gibson?” “Sergeant?” Gibson paused, “I’m nineteen.”…

Evans was sitting in the Squad’s tent flipping a pen. A General somewhere in Newacre had decided that a selection of the soldiers involved at the Strongfield recovery should be interviewed psychiatrists, to see how it was affecting everyone. First Squad was selected because of the 202nd’s extensive combat experience and use as Shock Troops. Evans had gone first then came back to the tent. There…

Lance Corporal Dominic Tiscornia was sitting on the edge of a burned out building. The revolver weighed heavy in his hand. He looked out over the dead city. Fires still raged in the distance. It was three hours before the squad was supposed to wake up. But Tiscornia couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Mary.  He saw Adelinia. He saw every person he outlived. Tiscornia dropped all…

“We’ve been tasked with going in behind the firefighters and securing the area from looters. The areas have been cordoned off. So anyone who is in your area and not in uniform can be considered a looter and arrested, or, if they resist, shot on the spot. First Squad will move North on 500 East. Second Squad on 600 East. Third on 700 East. Fourth on 800 East. There will be an MP Officer along your…