Welcome to our first ever sporking of badfic. Okay, so we have sporked before -- poor little AivieEnchanted, her only heart, and her two lonely cupcakes -- we just haven't posted it for the world to see. But, now we shall. I am sporking a Steve fic today. It's a romance, actually. Poor neglected angsty Ponyboy-hatin' Steve Randle actually gets some lovin'! However, I have found recently that if Steve is not being completely demonized by teh fanbratz, then he is somehow trapped in Badficland, which is where he is now, which is why this story needs to be sporked.

I will go chapter by chapter, one at a time. Today, obviously, I shall start with chapter one.

This story is In and Out, by texaskid. (As stated in the profile info, we will name names.) The story will be in regular font, while my commentary will be in bold.

xxx

( Cut for length ... because your f-lists are important to me )

xxx

So that concludes the first ever Scoreboard sporking. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves, and be sure to come back next time for ... *cue "Psycho" theme* Chapter Two.

Poor Steve, trapped in Badficland. You know this is only to bring out teh angstz and make us feel bad for little Mary Sue, 'cause her boyfriend's in the hospital, her dad's in jail, her mom ran away with Two-Bit's dad, and she's all flustered. Oh, what a life!

... Is it absolutely terrible of me to say that I'm looking forward to Chapter Two? Or, well, I'm at least looking forward to sporking it.

Have a nice evening! :)

Peace,
Queen Jane

It's very late, and I'm still up. I really had nothing better to do and I figured while I was just sitting here, chilling, why not post these? I memorized all twenty-six of them a while ago, that is, the phonetic call signs that were used to communicate via field and helicopter radio during the Vietnam War.

Although the radios used were in fairly good shape, it was hard to hear sometimes, and if a radiotelephone operator or helicopter pilot had to give/receive coordinates, it was often hard to hear the different letters and numbers that the speaker was saying, especially if the radio reception left much to be desired. So -- and I'm sure these existed long before Vietnam -- somebody came up with a list of call signs to accompany each letter of the alphabet.

Here is the list, complete from my memory. I have a book that lists them all in the back but I swore to myself I wouldn't use it ever again. I like memorizing these, anyway. I'm weird like that. :)

... No, I actually did have to consult my book because it's been a while since I've looked over these and I actually forgot a few, lol. Forgive. =o

So, anyway, here we go:

A - Alpha
B - Bravo
C - Charlie
D - Delta
E - Echo
F - Foxtrot
G - Golf
H - Hotel
I - India
J - Juliette
K - Kilo
L - Lima
M - Mike
N - November
O - Oscar
P - Papa
Q - Quebec
R - Romeo
S - Sierra
T - Tango
U - Uniform
V - Victor
W - Whiskey
X - X-Ray
Y - Yankee
Z - Zulu

Here is the definiton, according the book Platoon: Bravo Company -- phonetic alphabet: word alphabet for use in radio communications, developed to eliminate pronunciation errors caused by similar sounds of letters of the alphabet.

Letters weren't just involved in coordinates, too. They also used these call signs as company titles -- for example, instead of "A Company," you'd have, "Alpha Company," instead of "B Company," you'd have, "Bravo Company," and so on (though companies never usually extended past the letter H).

These call signs, such as Alpha and Zulu, were also used to distinguish between some higher and lower ranking officers (not respectively; I was just using Alpha and Zulu as an example because those are the two I've seen most often when associated with rank).

For more information, here is a great Wikipedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet

:)

Brought to you by your resident Vietnam War expert -- yes, I enjoy bragging about it -- Queen Jane! (Or, well, goodnitesaigon, in this case.) I'll also be linking this page to our Scoreboard profile at FF.net, just because we think it's imperative that people know the real facts about it. 

First things first. This is going to be, at most, your basic information. We can always come back and add to it. But it's definitely important information. As the title clearly states, it's what you need to know! At the end, I am including various links to additional sites about the Vietnam War that may better or help with any other research you might have to do. Obviously, I can't include everything here, as that would just become too long and everyone would die. Well, okay, that's not what I meant. But you catch my drift.

Of course, if you have any questions about specifics or just anything in general that I didn't cover, feel free to ask. I probably know it, and chances are, I can help you.

Now, we shall begin.



Additional Links:

The Vietnam War -- Wikipedia Article -- lengthy, but well worth the time if you're really looking to research it!

Vietnam War.com -- self-explanatory. the war has its own website now, apparently. I was not aware of this until recently. anyway, very good resource!

Vietnam Pix.com -- very visual resource, with lots of history and stuff like that. I used this one when I "researched" (I put that in quotes because I really didn't need to research) for my speech on the Vietnam War last year.

TIME Archive Collection -- all of the TIME magazine covers from 1955-1995 that featured the Vietnam War in some way; also includes various quotations regarding the war

The Language of War -- terminology and slang used by servicemen in Vietnam. very important that you know these, I think. they really come in handy. the rest of that site is a great resource, too. I believe it was based off of a special on PBS.

Terminology and Slang -- another glossary of terms/slang used in Vietnam. while I recommend both this and the latter site, this site has a much longer and more detailed list.

---

That should do it for the time being. Now, here are some movie recommendations, if you're a visual learner. Yes, I have seen all of these, and yes, they are all fabulous. Some are better than others, but I like them all ... even though Hollywood doesn't always do these veterans justice. But anyway!

Movies

We Were Soldiers -- my all-time favorite movie. based off of the book, We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young by Lt. General Hal Moore (Ret.) and Joe Galloway, this is the true story of one major turning point in the early battles of the Vietnam War. this takes place in November, 1965, in the Ia Drang Valley in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. cast includes Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott, Chris Klein, Keri Russell, and Barry Pepper, and is rated R for graphic war violence and language. IMDb page, for more info.

Full Metal Jacket -- more of a satirical, grim-humored look at the Vietnam War through the eyes of a platoon of Marine recruits. directed by Stanley Kubrick, it takes place from boot camp to the streets of 1968 Hue. definitely rated R for some of the foulest language I've ever heard, sex themes, and lots of blood, though good movie nonetheless, and gives you a very real look at the way Marine drill sergeants treat their "maggot" recruits. IMDb page, for more info.

Platoon -- takes place in 1967-1968 Vietnam. from IMDb: A young recruit in Vietnam faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man. warning, also very bloody and lots of foul language, and drug use, but a very good look at the war. it starts Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, and Willem Dafoe. IMDb page, for more info.

Hamburger Hill -- a look at one of the most historical and one of the bloodiest battles in the Vietnam War, fought on what was nicknamed "Hamburger Hill." if any of you have AMC, apparently this movie is going to be on that channel on this Sunday at 5:30 p.m., and again on Monday at 2:30 p.m. check it out, Tivo it if you can! one less movie you have to rent! IMDb page, for more info.

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam -- based off of the excellent book of the same name, this "documentary" type film features the real letters of American servicemen and women sent home to their friends and families from overseas. all of the letters are read by various actors and actresses, and are set to real Vietnam War footage and still pictures to help tell their story, with lots and lots of great music of the era as a background. I definitely recommend this one, it's really one of my favorites. IMDb page, for more info.

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Next time, I'll make another post about Vietnam that includes book recommendations, places where certain branches fought (they didn't just send them wherever they chose to), radio call signs that were used by soldiers and pilots alike (because I memorized them, naturally), and more. Because I don't feel my work here is done. But this is the least I can offer for now. Hope it helps!

I would have kept going, but I've got to do my Chemistry homework and go to bed.

Oh, and note to the blissfully ignorant fanbrats -- now you have no excuse for poor research. It's all right here!

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