I’d like to clarify I didn’t shoot myself, that was a scratch from a piece of shrapnel from the rocket or shell that hit the rear hatch.

Also, I don’t think I smell a lot worse than you hombres, like most folks that can I wash every chance I get, at least when there’s water around. You pre-war folks slather yourselves with all kinds of stuff you smell like a French whorehouse of Bakersfield councilman! I guess I can see how I come across as a little “earthy” in comparison.

“National Guardsmen, police, and Marines soon found themselves outnumber 100 to 1 against people that had nothing to lose. Some units fought well, some overrun, other deserted to save there own families or communities. It became apparent that there was just not enough troops to hold the area, so the marines withdrew to Barstow to Hold the line at the marine supply depo there and guard what they could of Palmdale and Lancaster.”

“Nothing to lose”? Please. These people had everything to lose: their lives. From being on the business end of a mass wave attack more than once as a Trucker: they almost never work. When they do, it’s because the attackers must already have all the things a regular military unit does, like cohesion, command, leadership, morale. They make up for what they don’t have (training and weapons) using numbers. A mob has none of these. Every member is not there on a suicide mission, they have one thing on their mind: survival. They have no leaders, no one egging them on, no reason to keep attacking once the first guy falls. I could see a cohesive unit like a gang taking out a squad via ambush… but an entire Marine and National Guard force of over a battalion, with artillery and air support? Please, unless pre-war Marines were total pussies compared to now (and somehow I doubt that) it couldn’t happen. The mobs would be mowed down like wheat. Even with 100-1 odds, once the first 10 in the wave goes down, the other 90 would be going the other way because they’re not fanatics like Red Chinese human wave or a Japanese Banzai attack with no fear of death. On the contrary, they really just want to live!

What really could have happened is these military units fell apart due to mutiny or desertion, probably started fighting each other. The official story is there to cover this up, put the blame on the victims. What happened is seen as shameful and best forgotten. Because most of the Marines survived and most of the civilians did not, guess who’s story is the one that gets told? In the Deadlands, they tell a different story, one that has more of a ring of truth. But don’t bring this up to a Marine unless you want to be spitting out teeth. Or internal organs.

“The Fear and panic destroyed whatever sense of community that was left, and every neighborhood became its own enclave. Mobs quickly over run most areas which then turned on other mobs for the dwindling food and water supplies. Within months the population was down to less than a 1/5 th the prewar population. By the end of the first year, 125,000 people were still alive in the ruins.”

That’s basically crap, too. People tell this like it’s gospel, like the refugees and civilians fought and killed each other in an orgy of violence and savagery. When things are at their worst, that’s when communities pull together. Even today when (trust me) folks are a lot less civilised than before the war. The truth is, the few folks with education say that maybe 5% or 10% of the population died through violence, tops. Look around! We’re in a desert, especially the old city of Los Angeles. Most of the people died from thirst, starvation and disease. Like nowadays.

BillyS