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Old 03-28-2016, 06:16 PM   #141
Icelander
 
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Default Background on the Cold Night in Maine adventure

One of my players set up a Cold Night in Maine GoogleDrive folder, which can be viewed by anyone who has the link.

Mostly pictures of PCs, NPCs, locations, equipment and animals. There's a work-in-progress note file and a half-finished list of missing or unidentified people in Aroostook County (and parts of neighbouring counties) since 1975, the result of queries from the PCs and their fellow FBI agents to the State Police.
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Old 03-28-2016, 10:23 PM   #142
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Default News! And a list of guests for the yearly Allen Predator Hunting Party

Well, I knew all that background on the hunting party wasn't wasted. Agent Frank Corelli has decided to get himself invited to it. Of course, no one was actually going to volunteer an invitation, because even if there was no one there who had anything to hide, a group of old friends will not necessarily welcome a snooping FBI agent when they go on their annual relaxing hunting trip.

But he has a plan. He has wormed the location of the Allen luxury hunting cabin out of Dr. Harvey Allen and casually mentioned a need for a quick trip out of Allagash before the anticipated snowstorm starts. Then it's just a matter of waiting for the storm to start and make sure that he reaches the isolated cabin just before it gets too bad to see. He'll claim he was returning from his errand, but the weather got too bad to reach town, let alone manage to return to Houlton. He was lucky to remember that the Allens had a cabin nearby. No one will turn him away if he arrives once the weather has gotten bad enough to be a hazard to anyone stupid enough to be caught outside.

It can't fail. Well, unless the Frank Corelli misjudges the rate the weather gets worse and/or does not manage to time his driving of an unfamiliar and confusing route precisely enough. Then, it can easily fail. And strand the PCs in a Ford F-150 truck in the middle of nowhere for the duration of a snowstorm that natives expect may last for more than a day. In freezing temperatures. Good times.

Yearly Allen Predator Hunting Party

Clayborn Allen has been hunting regularly since he was young. He goes on many hunting trips per year, most of them organised as a way to foster relationships with business partners and valuable contacts.

This hunting trip is of a more personal nature. Clayborn got visits from old school friends up to Maine several times in the 60s and they usually went hunting and fishing. Such visits happened at different times in the year. In addition, he will often invite business partners, investors and politicians on hunting, hiking or boating trips.

The yearly predator hunting trip began as a tradition in 1972. At first, it was not a predator hunt at all. For the first few years, it usually took place during deer season, in November, and it rotated between several cabins that the Allens had access to or rented. In 1979 was the first year in the new luxury cabin owned by Doctors Allen and Pinault. That was a long trip, from the last week of November until the 3rd of December. That year, they first got a licence for night hunting coyote, though the focus was mostly on deer until the season finished two days before they left.

From 1980, the date of the hunting trip changed to fit the schedule of the doctors, from deer season to the Christmas break. Usually starts around 19th-20th December, ends at 23rd December. At this time, it also changes from a deer hunting party to a predator hunt; coyotes, fox and bobcat. Main attraction is the night hunt, for coyote, but the most prestigious trophies are bobcat, as they are very hard to even find, let alone shoot.


Core Group:
Clayborn Allen (1972-)
Dr. Harvey Allen, Neurologist, Massachusetts General [b. Allagash; resides Boston, MA] (1972-)
Harold Martin, VP of Distribution, Imperial Tobacco Canada, Quebec-Division [Montréal] (1972, 1974-)
Brian Corcoran, businessman [Montréal] (1972-)
Amos Burrell, COO of B&H Freight Corporation [Baton Rouge, Louisiana] (1973-1974, 1976-1978, 1980-1983, 1985-)
Dr. William Pinault, Neurosurgeon, Johns Hopkins Hospital [b. Presque Isle; resides Baltimore, MD] (1974, 1976-1977, 1980-)
Phillip Willette, businessman, Selectman [Allagash] (1975-1978, 1981, 1984, 1986-)
Richard 'Ricky' Sommiers, Esq., Selectman [Allagash] (1975-)

More recent additions:
George Bolton, Bank Manager of St. Francis Community Credit Union, Selectman [St. Francis] (1977-1979, 1981-1982, 1987-)
Courtney Allen, son and heir of Clayborn Allen [b. Portland, ME (Allagash-Dickey); resides Boston, MA] (1983-)
County Commissioner Alexander Cadieu, politician and investor [St. Francis] (1984, 1986-)

Former or occasional guests:
First Selectman Edward Gardner, farmer [Allagash] (1972)
Jean-Jacques 'Jackie' Lafleur, businessman [Montréal] (1972, 1974, 1976]
Joshua Lawrence Goodwin, businessman [Presque Isle] (1972-1980)
First Selectman Clement Jalbert, businessman [St. Francis] (1973-1978)
Dave 'Davey' Hilton Sr., boxing manager [Rigaud, Quebec]. (1974)
Representative Michael E. Carpenter, former state legislator, now Maine Attorney General [Houlton; Democrat] (1976-1978)
Councilman John Valmont Pelletier, businessman [Fort Kent] (1977, 1979, 1982)
State Representative and Speaker of the House John L. Martin [Eagle Lake; Democrat] (1977-1980)
State Senator Donald F. Collins [Caribou; Republican] (1979-1980)
Victor Jude Dufresne, nephew of the Allens, suspected serial killer ([1981], 1982-1983)
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Last edited by Icelander; 03-29-2016 at 06:02 AM.
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Old 03-29-2016, 01:32 AM   #143
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Default About draftees and other military veterans

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Originally Posted by Infornific View Post
I'm coming late to this conversation, but the year is actually at the beginning of my adult life so I have a decent memory of the era.
Very nice.

I'll come back to some questions about social mores, political views and, especially, views on same-sex relationships, later. I actually have a question that affects the background of a lot of the NPCs that the PCs are now interviewing and/or casually conversing with.

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Originally Posted by Infornific View Post
There were significant cultural divides between young and middle aged that don't really exist today. The draft ended in 1973. So men over 40 would have served in the military or would have an explanation for not doing so - I remember most of my male public school teachers were veterans. Who did and didn't serve in Viet Nam was a major political question as Dan Quayle found to his sorrow. Korean War vets and even a few World War II vets were still in the work force and active in public life.
I know that the draft theoretically existed from 1940-1973 (an earlier version between 1917-1918). I know that there was nothing theoretical about the draft for Vietnam between 1964-1973. There was also one for WWII, very extensive. Seem to think it applied to Korea, as well, with a lot of the soldiers there being conscripts. I can fairly easily look up the dates, at any rate.

What I don´t really know is how aggressively these laws were enforced between WWII (and maybe Korea) and Vietnam. Would people born in 1937-1942, i.e. too late for WWII and Korea and fairly late for Vietnam, in that they were then already primary breadwinners for families, have been drafted in peacetime? Did they need a good excuse to avoid the draft?

How would the draft impact someone in their late 20s/early 30s, anyway? Theoretically, Selective Service applied to men up to 45 or even in their 60s, at some point, I think, but I suspect that conscripting these men was not the practice.

Another point, if someone was drafted, how long did he serve? For the duration of WWII, I know, but what about Korea or Vietnam? I seem to recall tours of duty in Vietnam being 6-12 months, depending on service and time period, but I don't know how long the total commitment to the military was. I don't think draftees had to serve more than one combat tour, but they might have had to do garrison duty in Germany, Okinawa or elsewhere, or do something else in uniform, before or after their Vietnam tour.

How did promotion for enlisted men work in Vietnam? Modern Time-In-Grade and Time-In-Service guidelines are probably not representative for the careers of conscripts in Vietnam, as the US military now is an all-volunteer force very different in nature. If someone served for the minimum time for draftees or perhaps an extra year or two, i.e. for maybe 2, 3 or 5 years in the military, what rank was he likely to leave the military with?

How long to reach Sergeant (E-5) in the US Army, for example? How long to reach Staff Sergeant (E-6)? Were other services similar in the time it took to become an E-5?
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Old 03-29-2016, 02:09 PM   #144
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Default Re: About draftees and other military veterans

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
How would the draft impact someone in their late 20s/early 30s, anyway? Theoretically, Selective Service applied to men up to 45 or even in their 60s, at some point, I think, but I suspect that conscripting these men was not the practice.
My maternal grandfather was drafted c.1944 when he was a 30 year old man with a wife and 2 kids. He saw enough combat in Germany to internalize some shrapnel as a memento and learn some occupation German. Home again sometime in 1946.

My paternal grandfather was older and missed the draft and the war. I don't know if it was chance or some aspect of policy. I don't think the older men went early in the war.
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Old 03-29-2016, 05:07 PM   #145
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There was at least some draft after WW II. Worked with a guy that spent the last part of WW II hiding in the basement to avoid the draft, in Germany. After the war the emigrated to the US and he was promptly drafted and sent to Germany as part of the occupation force.
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Old 03-29-2016, 05:22 PM   #146
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Default Re: About draftees and other military veterans

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My maternal grandfather was drafted c.1944 when he was a 30 year old man with a wife and 2 kids. He saw enough combat in Germany to internalize some shrapnel as a memento and learn some occupation German. Home again sometime in 1946.
Given the size of the US armed forces during WWII, it's easy to assume that anyone reasonably healthy not doing vital war work at home served in uniform.

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My paternal grandfather was older and missed the draft and the war. I don't know if it was chance or some aspect of policy. I don't think the older men went early in the war.
Contrasted with the absolutely huge military commitment of WWII, I think 'only' about half a million men were deployed to Vietnam. Certainly, the US military simultaneously had to man worldwide bases for Cold War strategic reasons, but I still get the impression that the manpower requirements of the Vietnam era were far less than those of WWII. So if being 30+ and a head of household meant that you were only called up late in WWII, it seems plausible it would mean not being called up at all for Vietnam.

But I just don't know. If pressed, I'd research and use the Military Participation Percentage to determine how much of the healthy male population would be in uniform during each period, but that doesn't tell me whether a given NPC was drafted. I still don't have a feel for how that MPP was achieved; whether it was with a huge number of draftees, each serving only a year or two, or whether a significant fraction of it were longer serving volunteers, and/or draftees who extended their enlistment.

If pressed, I'd go with almost anyone serving during WWII, half of potential draftees serving in Korea and no more than a quarter of the potential in Vietnam. That leaves most age 30+ men who don't volunteer off the hook for Korea, most age 25+ not serving in Vietnam. But in the absence of better research (or hopefully, informative posts from older US forumites), I'm essentially guessing.

And I don't even have a basis for a WAG when it comes to the peacetime draft between 1953-1964. It seems, intuitively, that this would only have applied, in practice, to unmarried men reaching age 18-19 or so, and not in college. But, again, just randomly guessing.

And how about veterans? How likely was a 25-35 year old veteran of WWII to be called up for Korea?
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Old 03-29-2016, 06:00 PM   #147
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Default Re: About draftees and other military veterans

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
Given the size of the US armed forces during WWII, it's easy to assume that anyone reasonably healthy not doing vital war work at home served in uniform.
The U.S. had ~12,000,000 people in uniform out of ~131,000,000, that's less than 10%. Germany had over 30%. This is one reason the Russians were so concerned about U.S. intentions post WW II, they were dangerously low on fit fighting age population, and the U.S. could probably field another 20,000,000 with modest effort, and still keep our manufacturing going at a rate that no one could then match.

Draft;
Military service has generally been performed by a rather small proportion of our population, with the exceptions of the U.S. Civil War, and WW II. During the Cold War draftees were used to man the Central European positions watching the Warsaw Pact troops watching back, plus Alaska, and Greenland. Most served for 2 years active service, and 5 years reserve service. As to how likely one was to serve, I don't know, this period was too recent to be covered much in school when I went, and my reading has been centered on ~1914 to ~1946. One thing to know is that the Draft Boards who sent the military draftees was a local group, who tended to send those young men who did not fit into the local community first, and others to fill out whatever quota they had. People of status generally made sure that their kids were in "safe" units that would only to be sent out for a "real" war, not Asian brush fire wars. Those families that had a history of military service would have their kids volunteer, often for combat commands.
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Old 03-29-2016, 06:10 PM   #148
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Default Re: About draftees and other military veterans

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Contrasted with the absolutely huge military commitment of WWII, I think 'only' about half a million men were deployed to Vietnam.
The US deployment in Vietnam peaked at 536,100 in 1968. In 1960 there were 900 personnel there, and in 1972 there were 24,200 there.

Some Vietnam War statistics
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Old 03-29-2016, 06:56 PM   #149
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Default Re: About draftees and other military veterans

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Originally Posted by Ŝorkell View Post
The US deployment in Vietnam peaked at 536,100 in 1968. In 1960 there were 900 personnel there, and in 1972 there were 24,200 there.

Some Vietnam War statistics
Also, anyone attending college during the Vietnam War received a deferment. That meant that, while a greater percentage of Vietnam veterans had high school diplomas than those who served in WWII, recent college grads were under-represented.

Here's a nice write-up of some additional statistics:

http://www.vvof.org/factsvnv.htm

Here's a study of the impact of college draft deferments:

http://davidcard.berkeley.edu/papers...ar-college.pdf
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Old 03-29-2016, 09:32 PM   #150
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Default Re: About draftees and other military veterans

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Also, anyone attending college during the Vietnam War received a deferment. [/url]
Uh-huh. This question I can answer from my own life experience. The War ended before I had to register but that doesn't mean that draft avoidance wasn't a subject of intense interest from age 9-10 on.

There were a _lot_ of ways to avoid either the Draft or at least ground combat in Vietnam. I could go on for many paragraphs.

Anybody who wanted to avoid such like and had either connections or ingenuity or even just a study ethic and scholarship prospects may be assumed to have done so.

As a curiosity, after the Draft ended the whole Selective Service machinery was done away with until that idiot (Jimmy Carter) re-instated registration. He said we needed to maintain a database. Starting in January of 1978 males needed to register for the non-existent draft when they turned 18. I just missed that and never had to register under either the old or new systems.

So anyone 28 to 18 will have sent in a postcard with his address on his 18th birthday but probably nothing else. The database was not updated very well. Males turning 18 before 1974 or so will have had to not only register but had to report for a medical to determine his draft status. Mentally and physically healthy young men would probably have been rated A-1 and may or may not have been called up depending on necessity and lottery results and who knows what else..

Ones with physical problems such as my wretchedly bad eyesight would be rated 4-F and never been called up.
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