Post by Adrian Cruz on Jul 8, 2010 13:41:39 GMT
The history was a bit thin, but an above average sample saves the day. Accepted at Second Lieutenant.
Welcome to IO and don't hesitate to ask questions in the C-Box, through PM, or on the forum itself. - Heiko
Account E-Mail: EDITED
Name: Cruz, Adrian P.
Nationality:
Italian-American
What Army will Your Character Serve Beneath?
UK, US or Soviet: US
Character History:
Adrian Paul Cruz was born to two second-generation Italian-Americans in New Ark, New Jersey. His early life was that of a middle class American. His father owned a jewelry store in downtown New Ark and his mother was a nurse at a major hospital. During the '20's, he grew up in an age of a lot of social change and upheaval. People made countless millions in the Stock Market and gangsters ruled much of the East Coast's major cities. New Ark was no exception, and his father paid protection to the local mob boss. Adrian's older brother Marco was killed in the Great War serving the U.S. Marines, so he never really knew him.
As he grew up, the young Adrian spent most of his pocket change at the local movie theaters watching countless movies. He especially loved Mickey Mouse and Charlie Chaplin. And as he went through school, Adrian proved to be an intelligent kid. He won awards for his English papers and poems. Often times he was patronized for being a bookworm and received beatings often. None of this seemed to bother the Italian-American, he just saw them as part of growing up in Jersey.
When Adrian graduated high school, he went to college in Minnesota State. Originally, he planned to get a business degree but half way through his sophomore year, Adrian switched his major to English. He planned on being a journalist. Eventually, like many of his male friends, Adrian dabbled in ROTC. As he went through the sometimes rigorous training, Adrian learned to love it. He went through ROTC for three years and finished the program wanting to join the Army. On December 3rd, 1936 Adrian graduated from Minnesota State University with honors. Two weeks later, even through the disdain of his father, Adrian signed up to join the U.S. Army National Guard in Minnesota.
He went through O.C.S. and obtained an officer commission. Adrian was placed in the 34th Infantry Division in 1939. He proved through drills and field exercises that he was a capable officer. And two years later, Adrian was picked from a pool of U.S. Army officers to participate in the newly formed U.S. Army Ranger program. He was deployed to England to train with the British Commandos like all of the other Rangers. During the rigorous, challenging training he proved he could keep up with the British Commandos. When the training was over, Adrian was assigned originally assigned to the 1st Ranger Battalion. He was placed as a platoon leader for Charlie Company. After almost six months of fighting, he was transferred to the newly formed 2nd Ranger Battalion because of a need for experienced, already Ranger-qualified officers. He was given lead of 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company.
Military Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Writing Sample:
The fresh mud was thick and slippery as the column of Rangers walked through the Dog Three section of the Hurtgen Forest. Second Lieutenant Adrian Cruz looked to his right arm and rolled up his sleeve. His watch read 6:45 A.M. The lieutenant rolled his sleeve back down. The platoon was organized into a column as they trudged through the muddy forest. Adrian remembered the conversation he had had with Captain Johnson an hour earlier.
"We lost contact with Third Platoon last night Adrian. They were holding a gap in our line a few klicks northwest of here. We would have sent First or Fourth but Hank got hit last night and Fourth took heavy casualties when the Krauts tried to push three Panzers and two platoons through their perimeter. So you were the only clear choice."
The Captain's words rang around in his head. "The only choice". Most of Adrian's platoon had been replacements. They took horrible casualties at Bergstein, and now out of the forty men, twenty-two were replacements. One of his squad leaders had been a runner on the General's staff and had never fired his weapon. The whole situation had just been terrible. The Lieutenant looked ahead and watched saw Third Squad. The point man; Pfc. Connelly raised his hand and the column stopped. Information was quickly passed down and eventually Staff Sergeant Jones informed the Lieutenant of why they were halted. The point man of Third Squad had heard movement in the forest ahead.
"Send Happes and Halloway out to scout. In the mean time tell everyone to stay frosty and spread out. We don't want these Krauts gettin' us with our pants down around our ankles. Tell Shep' to get that .30 set up in that ditch," requested Adrian, pointing to a ditch thirty feet west of him.
He pulled off his pack and grabbed out his map and compass. As the Staff Sergeant moved on, he laid his map out and took laid his compass out. He let the pin situate itself and looked around. He found that they were a klick and a half from the gap that Third Platoon was guarding. Adrian looked up from his map to see his radioman, Corporal Leslie Hagan pushing his glasses back on to the bridge of his nose.
"Leslie, on me. We are gonna move by Shep and the machine gun," announced Lieutenant Cruz.
"Yes sir," replied Hagan, following as Adrian got up and moved.
Adrian remembered when he first met Hagan. The kid was only eighteen. He had changed a lot since than. He remembered how terrified the kid was when the Rangers approached the beach during D-Day and remembered when his radio took a hit and nearly fried his back at Crozon. Adrian was proud to have witnessed his transformation from a scared kid to a hardened soldier. As Adrian plopped down next to the machine gun squad, he was greeted with nods. Adrian looked at the formation. Most of the platoon was behind cover of fallen logs and mounds of sticks, leaves and mud.
It made him feel good to know that even replacements could take decent cover. He had seen replacements after D-Day do stupid things that got them killed. It was why he usually didn't make too many friends out of them. It was too hard to watch them come and go if he knew them well. Adrian stared into the forest and grabbed his M1 from his back. He saw a bit of mud on the barrel and scraped it off. He looked at the gun. It was in good condition, it hadn't been beaten up as bad as some had and Adrian took perfect care of it. He positioned it on the forward wall of the ditch in time to hear something in the distance.
Crack...Crack crack crack...C-crack c-crack crack crack!
Adrian watched as a few trees seemed to be hit with bullets. He saw one of the scouts come running from the trees. He was running like the Devil himself was chasing him. He heard the machine gun next to him click as the charging handle was pulled back. Adrian's head snapped towards one of the more forward position as his men began firing.
"Krauts in the trees!"
Adrian recognized the voice as belonging to Staff Sergeant Jones. The positions ahead of him began firing into the trees. The familiar sounds of M1's, BAR's and Thompsons filled the air. Adrian grabbed his binoculars from around his neck and set his M1 against the ditch. He looked through them into the trees and could see Germans taking cover and moving about. He put the binoculars down and turned to the machine gunner on his left.
"At our one o'clock! Fifty yards out!" yelled Adrian.
The machine gunner tweaked his sights and shifted to one o'clock. He began firing the machine gun. His assistant gunner took hold of the ammo belt and made sure it entered the machine gun as flat as possible. Grenades began exploding around the positions Adrian's men were at. One or two guys got peppered with fragmentation and one guy had what looked to be his fingers blown off. Screams for a medic sounded as more and more people started to get wounded. Adrian watched as the soldier with a white armband began prepping people. Suddenly, a familiar whistling sound pierced the gunfire. Mortars!
"Fall back! Fall back!" screamed Adrian to his platoon stretched out in front of him.
The Lieutenant began beckoning for the men to get back, but he was too late. The mortars started to rain down and pieces of soldiers flew about. The men fell back quickly as they watched the other soldiers around them fall. Bullets flew over head as they took positions near the machine gun crew and the Lieutenant. Adrian looked to his right to see his Platoon Sergeant jump into the ditch next to the radioman. The mortar fire ceased and within seconds, Germans started to come pouring out of the trees. Adrian fired his M1 towards the Krauts. He put his sights on one, squeezing the trigger twice. The bullets hit the enemy soldier and he fell backwards like a sack of potatoes. The machine gunner shifted his aim constantly, attempting to repel the advancing Germans.
Adrian grabbed his map from his pack and turned to Leslie.
"Get command on the horn! I want a fire mission at grid reference 1-5, 2-5!" yelled Adrian as bullets whizzed over head.
The corporal grabbed the phone on his radio and began giving his orders to the command post. Adrian turned back and fired the rest of the shots in his magazine. Of the six rounds, only three struck true. One German fell to a head shot, another to a leg wound and the third was left holding what was left of his foot. As whistling sounded again, Adrian ducked down into the ditch along with the rest of its occupants. He looked around and saw what was left of his platoon hugging the ground. The artillery sounded with thunderous explosions. Adrian could hear trees bursting and dirt hitting the ground. He peaked his head up and saw Germans scrambling back into the woods. Few of them made it back. As the barrage ended, Leslie tapped him on the shoulder.
"Sir! The captain's on the horn!"
Adrian took the phone and put it to his face.
"Sir?" asked Adrian.
"Adrian, you and your boys have been ordered to hold position. You're staying there until further notice. Dig in tight, I'll have someone come for you in the morning, understood?" replied the Captain.
"Yes sir," responded Adrian.
He handed the radio's phone back to Leslie and looked to the men. If Third hadn't been enough to hold Jerry back, how were they supposed to? Adrian gave the order to dig in and kissed his rosary, it was going to be a long day.
Welcome to IO and don't hesitate to ask questions in the C-Box, through PM, or on the forum itself. - Heiko
Account E-Mail: EDITED
Name: Cruz, Adrian P.
Nationality:
Italian-American
What Army will Your Character Serve Beneath?
UK, US or Soviet: US
Character History:
Adrian Paul Cruz was born to two second-generation Italian-Americans in New Ark, New Jersey. His early life was that of a middle class American. His father owned a jewelry store in downtown New Ark and his mother was a nurse at a major hospital. During the '20's, he grew up in an age of a lot of social change and upheaval. People made countless millions in the Stock Market and gangsters ruled much of the East Coast's major cities. New Ark was no exception, and his father paid protection to the local mob boss. Adrian's older brother Marco was killed in the Great War serving the U.S. Marines, so he never really knew him.
As he grew up, the young Adrian spent most of his pocket change at the local movie theaters watching countless movies. He especially loved Mickey Mouse and Charlie Chaplin. And as he went through school, Adrian proved to be an intelligent kid. He won awards for his English papers and poems. Often times he was patronized for being a bookworm and received beatings often. None of this seemed to bother the Italian-American, he just saw them as part of growing up in Jersey.
When Adrian graduated high school, he went to college in Minnesota State. Originally, he planned to get a business degree but half way through his sophomore year, Adrian switched his major to English. He planned on being a journalist. Eventually, like many of his male friends, Adrian dabbled in ROTC. As he went through the sometimes rigorous training, Adrian learned to love it. He went through ROTC for three years and finished the program wanting to join the Army. On December 3rd, 1936 Adrian graduated from Minnesota State University with honors. Two weeks later, even through the disdain of his father, Adrian signed up to join the U.S. Army National Guard in Minnesota.
He went through O.C.S. and obtained an officer commission. Adrian was placed in the 34th Infantry Division in 1939. He proved through drills and field exercises that he was a capable officer. And two years later, Adrian was picked from a pool of U.S. Army officers to participate in the newly formed U.S. Army Ranger program. He was deployed to England to train with the British Commandos like all of the other Rangers. During the rigorous, challenging training he proved he could keep up with the British Commandos. When the training was over, Adrian was assigned originally assigned to the 1st Ranger Battalion. He was placed as a platoon leader for Charlie Company. After almost six months of fighting, he was transferred to the newly formed 2nd Ranger Battalion because of a need for experienced, already Ranger-qualified officers. He was given lead of 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company.
Military Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Writing Sample:
The fresh mud was thick and slippery as the column of Rangers walked through the Dog Three section of the Hurtgen Forest. Second Lieutenant Adrian Cruz looked to his right arm and rolled up his sleeve. His watch read 6:45 A.M. The lieutenant rolled his sleeve back down. The platoon was organized into a column as they trudged through the muddy forest. Adrian remembered the conversation he had had with Captain Johnson an hour earlier.
"We lost contact with Third Platoon last night Adrian. They were holding a gap in our line a few klicks northwest of here. We would have sent First or Fourth but Hank got hit last night and Fourth took heavy casualties when the Krauts tried to push three Panzers and two platoons through their perimeter. So you were the only clear choice."
The Captain's words rang around in his head. "The only choice". Most of Adrian's platoon had been replacements. They took horrible casualties at Bergstein, and now out of the forty men, twenty-two were replacements. One of his squad leaders had been a runner on the General's staff and had never fired his weapon. The whole situation had just been terrible. The Lieutenant looked ahead and watched saw Third Squad. The point man; Pfc. Connelly raised his hand and the column stopped. Information was quickly passed down and eventually Staff Sergeant Jones informed the Lieutenant of why they were halted. The point man of Third Squad had heard movement in the forest ahead.
"Send Happes and Halloway out to scout. In the mean time tell everyone to stay frosty and spread out. We don't want these Krauts gettin' us with our pants down around our ankles. Tell Shep' to get that .30 set up in that ditch," requested Adrian, pointing to a ditch thirty feet west of him.
He pulled off his pack and grabbed out his map and compass. As the Staff Sergeant moved on, he laid his map out and took laid his compass out. He let the pin situate itself and looked around. He found that they were a klick and a half from the gap that Third Platoon was guarding. Adrian looked up from his map to see his radioman, Corporal Leslie Hagan pushing his glasses back on to the bridge of his nose.
"Leslie, on me. We are gonna move by Shep and the machine gun," announced Lieutenant Cruz.
"Yes sir," replied Hagan, following as Adrian got up and moved.
Adrian remembered when he first met Hagan. The kid was only eighteen. He had changed a lot since than. He remembered how terrified the kid was when the Rangers approached the beach during D-Day and remembered when his radio took a hit and nearly fried his back at Crozon. Adrian was proud to have witnessed his transformation from a scared kid to a hardened soldier. As Adrian plopped down next to the machine gun squad, he was greeted with nods. Adrian looked at the formation. Most of the platoon was behind cover of fallen logs and mounds of sticks, leaves and mud.
It made him feel good to know that even replacements could take decent cover. He had seen replacements after D-Day do stupid things that got them killed. It was why he usually didn't make too many friends out of them. It was too hard to watch them come and go if he knew them well. Adrian stared into the forest and grabbed his M1 from his back. He saw a bit of mud on the barrel and scraped it off. He looked at the gun. It was in good condition, it hadn't been beaten up as bad as some had and Adrian took perfect care of it. He positioned it on the forward wall of the ditch in time to hear something in the distance.
Crack...Crack crack crack...C-crack c-crack crack crack!
Adrian watched as a few trees seemed to be hit with bullets. He saw one of the scouts come running from the trees. He was running like the Devil himself was chasing him. He heard the machine gun next to him click as the charging handle was pulled back. Adrian's head snapped towards one of the more forward position as his men began firing.
"Krauts in the trees!"
Adrian recognized the voice as belonging to Staff Sergeant Jones. The positions ahead of him began firing into the trees. The familiar sounds of M1's, BAR's and Thompsons filled the air. Adrian grabbed his binoculars from around his neck and set his M1 against the ditch. He looked through them into the trees and could see Germans taking cover and moving about. He put the binoculars down and turned to the machine gunner on his left.
"At our one o'clock! Fifty yards out!" yelled Adrian.
The machine gunner tweaked his sights and shifted to one o'clock. He began firing the machine gun. His assistant gunner took hold of the ammo belt and made sure it entered the machine gun as flat as possible. Grenades began exploding around the positions Adrian's men were at. One or two guys got peppered with fragmentation and one guy had what looked to be his fingers blown off. Screams for a medic sounded as more and more people started to get wounded. Adrian watched as the soldier with a white armband began prepping people. Suddenly, a familiar whistling sound pierced the gunfire. Mortars!
"Fall back! Fall back!" screamed Adrian to his platoon stretched out in front of him.
The Lieutenant began beckoning for the men to get back, but he was too late. The mortars started to rain down and pieces of soldiers flew about. The men fell back quickly as they watched the other soldiers around them fall. Bullets flew over head as they took positions near the machine gun crew and the Lieutenant. Adrian looked to his right to see his Platoon Sergeant jump into the ditch next to the radioman. The mortar fire ceased and within seconds, Germans started to come pouring out of the trees. Adrian fired his M1 towards the Krauts. He put his sights on one, squeezing the trigger twice. The bullets hit the enemy soldier and he fell backwards like a sack of potatoes. The machine gunner shifted his aim constantly, attempting to repel the advancing Germans.
Adrian grabbed his map from his pack and turned to Leslie.
"Get command on the horn! I want a fire mission at grid reference 1-5, 2-5!" yelled Adrian as bullets whizzed over head.
The corporal grabbed the phone on his radio and began giving his orders to the command post. Adrian turned back and fired the rest of the shots in his magazine. Of the six rounds, only three struck true. One German fell to a head shot, another to a leg wound and the third was left holding what was left of his foot. As whistling sounded again, Adrian ducked down into the ditch along with the rest of its occupants. He looked around and saw what was left of his platoon hugging the ground. The artillery sounded with thunderous explosions. Adrian could hear trees bursting and dirt hitting the ground. He peaked his head up and saw Germans scrambling back into the woods. Few of them made it back. As the barrage ended, Leslie tapped him on the shoulder.
"Sir! The captain's on the horn!"
Adrian took the phone and put it to his face.
"Sir?" asked Adrian.
"Adrian, you and your boys have been ordered to hold position. You're staying there until further notice. Dig in tight, I'll have someone come for you in the morning, understood?" replied the Captain.
"Yes sir," responded Adrian.
He handed the radio's phone back to Leslie and looked to the men. If Third hadn't been enough to hold Jerry back, how were they supposed to? Adrian gave the order to dig in and kissed his rosary, it was going to be a long day.
