Character Intro John Stokes

[Guest]

John was born in rural Oregon on the 4th of July, 1976. His familiy owned a modest farm in one of the many valleys of Oregon. There he learned the "hows and the whys" of farming. He also became quite the trout fishman in the small streams that dotted the Oregon mountains.

John Learned quite a bit of German from his great-grandfather. Lars Stokes left Germany in the early 20th century. "The damned Kaiser will kill all of the Germans with his silly notions about power and the use of it."

John was an average student in high school, never excelling at any one thing, but he kept learning about the family farm until his 18th birthday. At that point he joined the Oregon National Guard.

John quickly learned the necessary military "correctness" and the underling sence of "Bu** SH**"" that seemed to permeate the little unit he was assigned to. John also learned the science and "touch" associated with the Army's 4.2" mortar.

During the crisis that led to the Russian - Chinese war, John's unit was deployed to Europe. Originnally, they were part of the Third Infantry (Mech). As war broke out between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, John's unit was used more and more as a transport unit to funnel supplies to the front line. During this time the unit had a few casualties, among them the 1st LT who commanded the unit. He was never replaced and John was "acting commander for the duration until a suitable person can be found."

Finnaly, in 1998, John's unit was attached to the 5th Division. On arrival at their housing area, the major commanding the regiment John reported to noticed that John was a staff sergeant.

"Stokes, you are now a first leutenant in the US Army. Congradulations. Get back to work."

Thus he became 1st LT.

John and his unit were attached to the 2/70 of the 5th ID. They were the "lucky" bastards that caught the full brunt of the Soviet counter-attack at Kalisz. John had stepped away from his unit for a minute to take a dump in a small ravine. The 122 mm and 152 mm shells stared to arrive. John's unit vanished in a fireball of flame and noise.

John managed to hide in the ravine during the attack. He has been moving slowly but steadily westward toward the "Allied" lines. He travels at night, navigating by the stars.