Volume 32, Number 5
Armistice Day Championship Preview
This one is for all the marbles! The Indy Squadron's most prestigious event will be held for the 32nd consecutive year on the first Saturday in November. The winner receives a very special edition of the squadron's most coveted prize, the Victory Medal. Every Victory Medal is a gold medal hung on a red ribbon, and this year's version is a re-purposed award from a rifle shooting competition in 1947. There will only ever be one such award and it goes to the 2020 Indy Squadron champion!
We will return to our Lewisville, Indiana venue for this year's Indy Squadron Armistice Day Fits Championship. A short warm-up game will begin at 11:00 am on Saturday, November 7, 2020. Please expect an early end to this game. It is merely a warm-up. We would like to have dice rolling for the first turn of the tournament by 1:00-1:30 pm. Here is the full data:
Indy Squadron's Armistice Day Fits Tournament 2020
Saturday, November 7, 2020
11:00 am
108 S Market Street
Lewisville IN
Please note that Google maps consistently gets the address as being north of US 40. This address is south of US 40, regardless of what your digital map claims.
Armistice Day Championship Preview
This one is for all the marbles! The Indy Squadron's most prestigious event will be held for the 32nd consecutive year on the first Saturday in November. The winner receives a very special edition of the squadron's most coveted prize, the Victory Medal. Every Victory Medal is a gold medal hung on a red ribbon, and this year's version is a re-purposed award from a rifle shooting competition in 1947. There will only ever be one such award and it goes to the 2020 Indy Squadron champion!
We will return to our Lewisville, Indiana venue for this year's Indy Squadron Armistice Day Fits Championship. A short warm-up game will begin at 11:00 am on Saturday, November 7, 2020. Please expect an early end to this game. It is merely a warm-up. We would like to have dice rolling for the first turn of the tournament by 1:00-1:30 pm. Here is the full data:
Indy Squadron's Armistice Day Fits Tournament 2020
Saturday, November 7, 2020
11:00 am
108 S Market Street
Lewisville IN
Please note that Google maps consistently gets the address as being north of US 40. This address is south of US 40, regardless of what your digital map claims.
Whosyercon Open Re-Scheduled for December 19
The Indy Squadron's Whosyercon Open is has been held every spring since 2014 at the Whosyercon gaming convention on the west side of Indianapolis. However, the convention was canceled this year due to claims of an alleged virus pandemic. As a result, Indy's Whosyercon Open was postponed.
A brief survey among Indy members demonstrated the squadron's typical level of spirit and esprit de corps. The majority clearly wanted to hold a Whosyercon Open for 2020 in order to continue the championship and maintain an uninterrupted history for game records. This will also permit squadron members to keep trying for Indy's Triple Crown (the Armistice Day Tournament, Red Baron Fight and Whosyercon Open titles). Only Rick Lacy and Stephen Skinner have won the Triple Crown, and no one has won all three events in the same year.
The 2020 Whosyercon Open is now scheduled for December 19 at a yet-to-be-named location in central Indiana. Our Lewisville venue is the probable location but full details will be announced as soon as they are available.
The Indy Squadron's Whosyercon Open is has been held every spring since 2014 at the Whosyercon gaming convention on the west side of Indianapolis. However, the convention was canceled this year due to claims of an alleged virus pandemic. As a result, Indy's Whosyercon Open was postponed.
A brief survey among Indy members demonstrated the squadron's typical level of spirit and esprit de corps. The majority clearly wanted to hold a Whosyercon Open for 2020 in order to continue the championship and maintain an uninterrupted history for game records. This will also permit squadron members to keep trying for Indy's Triple Crown (the Armistice Day Tournament, Red Baron Fight and Whosyercon Open titles). Only Rick Lacy and Stephen Skinner have won the Triple Crown, and no one has won all three events in the same year.
The 2020 Whosyercon Open is now scheduled for December 19 at a yet-to-be-named location in central Indiana. Our Lewisville venue is the probable location but full details will be announced as soon as they are available.
The World War I Conspiracy Is Not A "Theory"
If you thought you knew the origins of the First World War, it's time to revisit the topic. In this issue of ISD, we bring you the first of an incredible new three-part documentary series by director James Corbett exploring the known, documented, but rarely discussed conspiracy that started World War I. No "theories" are suggested. This conspiracy is historical fact, based on documented evidence. It will change the way you view the First World War.
If you thought you knew the origins of the First World War, it's time to revisit the topic. In this issue of ISD, we bring you the first of an incredible new three-part documentary series by director James Corbett exploring the known, documented, but rarely discussed conspiracy that started World War I. No "theories" are suggested. This conspiracy is historical fact, based on documented evidence. It will change the way you view the First World War.
Does the text size of the Indy Squadron Dispatch display in an easy-to-read manner on your screen or device? Please let us know in the comment section below if the font size is too big or too small on your screen. Thank you!
Fits Society Mini Con Report 2020
Thanks to the efforts of George Henion and a handful of brave Dawn Patrol die-hards, the Fits Society Spring Mini Con was held with great success on October 22-25 at the Zilber Medical Research Center in Milwaukee. Originally scheduled for spring, the event was canceled after allegations of a new virus plunged the nation into intense fear. However, with the pandemic narrative now falling apart under scrutiny from 27,000 international epidemiologists, doctors and scientists and new bombshell information from the Centers for Disease Control, many venues are now re-opening and canceled events are being re-scheduled as the public awakens to the truth.
Rather than cave into pressure and strike the entire event, George saved it by securing a handful of firm commitments from attendees and then finding a suitable venue. That group turned out to be a total of 9 veteran players, less than a quarter of the usual turnout, but enough to save the 2020 Fits Society Mini Con.
Gaming began on Weds evening, October 21st and continued through Sunday afternoon. Wyatt Kapustancek won the overall weekend championship with Ken Mrozak taking the first Milwaukee Cup, a replacement event for the scheduled Masters event that was pulled from the itinerary to the disappointment of all those in attendance.
The Brewhouse Inn & Suites that George selected for out of town guests was excellent and easily the best hosting hotel ever for the Mini Con. The room reserved for gaming was spacious, well appointed and actually better than some of our previous venues (not to mention less expensive). The smaller gaming group allowed for more conversation and a better chance to get caught up on each others' lives. It also reduced the noise level and allowed us to spend more time verbally assaulting Jim Selzer, who was a great sport (mostly) and Ken Mrozak, who was not (although he got the last laugh by blowing us all away in the Milwaukee Cup).
Food was delivered by the Pizza Shuttle, and George saw that the entire group had an abundant and affordable selection of snacks and soft drinks. And despite the lower attendance and a prize closet starving for new awards, George also managed to dig up an exciting collection of books and prizes for everyone at the end of the event.
The event also saw the confirmation of a new nickname. Game designer Mike Carr was emphatic with his new Dawn Patrol moniker for Ethan "The Python" Skinner. Several players offered comical suggestions on how The Python should roll his dice and exemplify his new nickname, which was readily accepted and appears to be permanent.
It can be truly said that George Henion in particular, in company with a handful of hardcore Dawn Patrol veterans, saved the 2020 event and turned it into an enjoyable and unexpected success.
But a couple of major disappointments kept the event from being perfect. The Indy Squadron (Stephen and Ethan Skinner) drove nearly 300 miles to compete only to learn upon arrival that the winner would be named by total kills scored. And since the Indy players were unable to arrive early Thursday morning after driving six hours, they started about 8 games behind everyone else and were essentially eliminated from competition before the event even began. Worse yet, the Masters game was pulled from the schedule to accommodate players who could have attended but chose not to, penalizing the people who made an effort to save the event.
This would be comparable to a group of players who drove from Wisconsin to play in Indy's Red Baron Fight only to be told upon arrival that they would be given a -100 point penalty in the main event and by the way, Red Baron Fight has been canceled in favor of a new event that you've never heard of, and thank you for showing up. That was clearly the biggest negative in an otherwise enjoyable weekend, and it must be addressed at future events if we expect players from out of state to participate.
But the real miracle is that the event was held at all and for that we are thankful. Indy Squadron personnel competed in a total of 34 games, scoring 4 kills, suffering 9 lost pilots and creating one new ace (Lt. Demetrius Hall, Sopwith Camels, 12/5, Stephen).
Mini Con photo journal below ---
"Extremes of Fortune" Book Review
Available from Casemate Publishers, $34.95 US
Martin Massey's British BE2d observation machine was flying over enemy trenches on February 4, 1917 when the Albatros of German ace Werner Voss dove on him and began firing. Massey's observer was immediately hit several times and may have died instantly. As soon as Massey began his evading maneuvers, the BE2 burst into flames.
A British ground observer watched the entire fight and said that Massey's handling of the burning airplane was "superbly magnificent." He sideslipped the BE2 to the ground and jumped from the cockpit while the plane was rolling to a stop. His clothing remained on fire until he rolled into a snow drift.
He was taken to a field hospital with severely burned legs, blisters on his hands and a grazing bullet wound on his cheek. Massey was not expected to live, but he beat the odds.
But this was just the start of Massey's incredible story. He went on to be wounded in Palestine in 1936 and shot down again over Holland in World War II.
"Extremes of Fortune" is an intimate look at Massey's amazing life through the lens of contemporary letters and memoirs. It is well illustrated with two sections of photographs. The story is well told and definitely qualifies as adventure reading for the World War I aviation enthusiast.
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