Field of Glory

My brother has been kind enough to give me an excellent deal on the rule book and three of the army books. So I should have them shortly.

For those of you who don't know what Field of Glory is, it is a miniatures game using 10-15mm figures representing armies from historical cultures spanning the time frame of 4000BC to AD 1500.

FOG, as it is known in the gaming circles, is very well supported by my FLGS, Great Hall Games, with plenty of opponents and a thriving map campaign.

So what army am I going to build? Well, I'm thinking of maybe starting with an ancient Britain list or maybe a Scots-Irish list. Something that would go up against the Romans easily. I am also planning on looking into the history of the Welsh and see what I can come up with there.

Of course I will eventually build an Early Imperial Roman legion, aka "movie" Romans. Or possibly some Hellenic hoplites, aka Greeks from the classical age meaning Alexander or earlier.

I am also up in the air about which scale to use. I can go 15mm or 10mm. If I go 15MM, I am used to the scale after building my US Infantry Company for Flames of War. And there are some superb models out there. For instance Corvus Belli make some beautiful sculpts.

Here are some Celt swordsmen.

and here are some Early Imperial Romans.

I am also thinking of 10mm figures, Magister Militum produces fine sculpts as well.

Here are some 10mm Early Imperial Romans.

The 15mm figs look nice as do the 10mm figs. My brother suggested I get a pack of the same type of troop and paint them up to see which I like best.

So that is what I will be doing over the fall and winter months before I dive into my next Flames of War army.

Memorial to Darrell "Shifty" Powers

Memorial to Darrell Powers

Another powerful story. I hope our Leftist Government reads it, not that any of them would care a bit.

I can't verify the story below but I can verify SSgt Darrell Powers, late of Co E 2/506th PIR, 101st Division, died 17 June 2009 in Virginia.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . " at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland , into Arnhem ." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.

He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center .

No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.

And that's not right.

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way.

Rest in peace, Shifty.