How far do YOU go? Alias and Story

[John Henry Quick]

I chose the name of John Henry Quick because he joined the Marine Corps on my birthday in 1892.  He was awarded the Medal of Honor when he was a Gunnery Sergeant in 1898 during the Spanish-American War for his actions at Guantanamo Bay  (ninety years later I was at Guantanamo Bay and I was a Gunnery Sergeant, though I did not earn a Medal of Honor...  ). 

 

Quick was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross during World War I for his actions at the Battle of Belleau Wood.  It is now a century later and every Marine knows about the Battle of Belleau Wood.  We call each other Devil Dogs because the Germans started calling the men of the 6th Marine Regiment "Teufelhunden" which more literally means "Dogs from Hell." 

 

A 19th Century man showing Europeans what American bravery looks like, much to their dismay.  Many men have made the ultimate sacrifice by making a split-second decision to save their mates by doing something like jumping on a grenade, etc.  I am in awe of that because the older I get the less sure I am that I could do it.  For me, John Henry Quick stands out even above the others because he was not in immediate danger, and yet he calmly chose to brave withering fire that no one else would and continued doing so until the mission was accomplished and his entire unit was saved from destruction not once, but twice. 

 

Where does such courage come from?  I have thought about changing my alias because I certainly don't deserve any comparison with him, but I have decided to keep using it because I want him to be remembered.  He was a hero of the highest order who unfortunately has largely been forgotten.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_H._Quick

 

 

[Lead Hammer]

I heard the Line a long time ago.....  "It hit him like a Lead Hammer".   It just stuck in my mind, until SASS.

[McCandless]

I would like to change my alias, but I haven't come up with one the "fits" yet.  I wanted mine to be a historical figure, and after casting around, chose James Newton McCandless, who was a civil war ass't surgeon, (captain).  Who, after the war was assigned to Fort Whipple in the Arizona Territory.   Anyway, around 1867, someone fired off a gun, too close to his face and his eyes were somewhat damaged.  He retired from the Army and opened a pharmacy in nearby Prescott.  He is known for concocting and marketing a cathartic that was nicknamed "the 45-90", 'cause "it went through you like a shot". 

 

Anyway, SASS wouldn't let me do "James Newton McCandless", or "J.N. McCandless" or any such, but they would let me do "Doc McCandless"  oh well...  then down at Last Stand in Orlando 'round about 2004, they misprinted my name badge as "Duc McCandless".  That was too good to pass up, so I bought some duck calls and went with it.  Never changed my name officially, but now I'm known locally as Duc.  Seems to work.

 

  

[Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646]

Those who have seen me shoot do not question my alias.

 

 

Imis

[Cholla Bob]

Grew up in Arizona and Texas and if I had one run in with a Cholla I had a hundred so there you go.

[Father Kit Cool Gun Garth]

 

17 hours ago, Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 said:

....previous text removed only to .

 

Allie M. Molt was, according to my mother, a great-great aunt. I don't know much about her. I found the name on her calling card that was in a collection of cards my grandmother gave me.  Following is that card and one I made using it. The middle initial M looked like Mo to me.

....subsequent pictures removed only to .

 

 

Ms. Allie Mo:

     I find your backstory on your alias to be just as fascinating as your hubbies'.

     Historical, ancestral documentation such as your great-great aunt's calling card is invaluable and should be cherished and remembered such as you did with your alias.

     I do though have to admit that I completely misunderstood your alias from the time I first wrote on the SASS WIRE.

     I seriously took it as a play on words for the ALAMO....Allie Mo.

     My apologies and I will look at your alias differently from now on. 

[Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217]

Dear Kit,

 

When I was discussing aliases with Hubby, he brought that up and told me that many people select play-on-words aliases.

 

Sometimes, I tell people to "remember the Allie Mo."

 

Regards,

 

Allie

[Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217]

PS I've searched for her on various Genealogy sites, with no luck.  Her real name may have been Alice Marie. Still looking. I just asked to join a FB group for the county in Illinois where the family was from. I traced the family back to 1698 in Germany. Interesting stuff.

[Griff]

Alias?  What alias?  

[Charlie Whiskers]

14 hours ago, Sixgun Sheridan said:

I just picked mine because it sounds badass. 

 

Seriously, I use my middle name which is a lot more Western-sounding than my first and last.

 

Your middle name is Sixgun? Good choice.

[The O'Meara Himself]

My original SASS alias was Tipperary, the county in Ireland where my grandparents came from. Everybody has heard the song "It's a Long Way to Tipperary".  Turns out the CAS shooters never heard that song, and I got tired of being called Temporary or Tupperware, etc. So I changed my alias.

     There was an old TV show called 'Tales of Wells Fargo" with Dale Robertson as Jim Hardy, Wells Fargo agent.  There was a character on the show, a "Gentleman stagecoach robber" played by William Bendix, who (One TV critic wrote) "for some unknown reason called himself The O'Meara"  (Jim Hardy could never catch him). well my last name is O'Meara, so there you go, I'm now The O'Meara Himself.  ( the Celts in Ireland and Scotland called the leader of the clan "The" like THE MacKenzie or The Mc Donald or The O"Kelley)

     I invented an elaborate backstory for The O'Meara, (Born in Ireland, ran off with some Gypsies at 13, was "Transported' by the British Queen to Amerikay, made sort of a living as a gambler with a supplemental income from robbing Wells Fargo stagecoaches, etc. etc. 

     That's  my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

Himself

[Wyatt Hurts SASS#72737]

Gee it Hurts and Oh it Hurts were already taken

 

Wyatt Hurts

[Sixgun Sheridan]

4 hours ago, Charlie Whiskers said:

 

Your middle name is Sixgun? Good choice.

 

Actually, after my miserable performance at the range today I might have to change my name to Shotgun Sheridan instead. 

[Marauder SASS #13056]

Back when I first started, we were encouraged to make up a back story.  That was part of the fun - and then share the history or myth.

 

My work required me to move around quite a bit.  Thirteen months in one place was a record for us.  So I was obviously  someone who moved around - thus a Marauder.   But we were very active with Bible studies, small groups, etc  And I came from a small western town called Morrill near the Wyoming border so I started out as the Morrill Marauder as sort of a pun.  After a year or so, I shortened it to Marauder.

 

Also, in honor of my Dad.  He moved from Arkansas to central Nebraska in a covered wagon when he was 5.  Since he was the oldest child, he could not ride in the wagon as that was for the babies.  He had to walk essentially the entire journey. He learned to live off the land due to poverty and eventually became a line rider.  He would go out for 3 or 4 weeks checking the cattle, range conditions and those dreaded fences.  They provided a few line shacks but they were only last resort in bad weather, usually not much and possibly dirty.  So he preferred to sleep outside.  Took his own basic stuff for food.  A major component was sower doe started so he could make biscuits (in a pan) and pancakes.

[Black Mike]

My Dad's nickname. 

[Sergeant Duroc]

My alias is in honor of both my grandpas.  One grandpa ran a truck for Sergeant Quarry.  One of my best childhood memories was riding in the back of the truck with all my cousins whenever we were together.  My other grandpa raised Duroc hogs.  When we went to the farm we would help with chores.  Our favorite pig to feed was "Action" the boar.  I had two wonderful grandpas and very fond memories of my childhood.  This is my way of keeping those memories alive...

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

I was called The Forty Rod Kid ( or Forty Rod, or Forty) by a guy I worked with when I was still in school.

 

I don't need to make up a back story because I am, in fact, a legend.  

[Marshal Dan Troop 70448]

Had 2 heroes of the TV screen, later became close friends with both. One alias was taken, one wasn't.  MT

[Cactus Jack Calder]

My maternal grandfather died when my mother was six years old. Although my grandmother remarried before I was born she always told me of her ‘first love’. John Calder was a pure blood Scot born to immigrant parents. I don’t know if he was truly called Jack, but he worked in a lumberyard and likely the men in the yard used nicknames for each other rather than formal address. I even named our second son after ‘grandpa Calder’ which delighted my grandmother no end.

The Texas part came from my just having seen the Kirk Douglas movie ‘Texas Jack’ and I couldn’t pass it up. If anything I should be called ‘Jersey Jack’ as that is where I was drug up, however, it didn’t occur to me at the time.

Incidentally my avatar is the only picture I have of John Calder. It sat on top of my mother’s dresser all her life.

[watab kid]

i gotta agree with ali here , this has been a great read , great thread , i hope it carries on for a bit yet , im enjoying it a lot , 

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

After tours of duty on both sides in the War Between the States, including one year spent hiding under the bed, Driftwood Johnson pulled up stakes and headed west to seek his fortune.

 

He spent his first ten years in the west trying his hand at various occupations, such as buffalo hunting, mining, mule skinning, cattle ranching, and law enforcement. Finding he had no aptitude or talent for any of these professions, he crossed to the other side of the law and spent the next ten years variously as a bank robber, cattle rustler, train robber, and dog kicker.

 

Sadly, he had no talent in these professions either. Eventually he found his true calling as a Colorful Character in saloons who would put the touch on tenderfeet for drinks and tips by regaling them with legendary tales of past feats of bravery and skill.

 

Always first to the bar when anybody hollered ‘Free Drinks’.

 

Usually passing out the axe handles when it was time for a riot or a lynch mob.

 

Usually hiding in the back of the room when a posse was forming to go after some desperado.

 

He could empty a room just by standing up and starting to pontificate.

[BRAZOS CAIN]

Randolph Scott played Brazos Cain in the Movie The Gunfighter

[Brimstone Bill Willson]

William Wilson was born in 1842 on a small farm in eastern Tennessee.  He was inline to follow his father's and grandfathers's path as a mountain farmer, then the war started.  The promise of adventure was too great and he and all his school buddies joined in with a irregular cavalry unit.  He never was know as a good shot but with three or four captured large caliber revolvers ablazing, he terrified the enemy.  His buddies started calling Brimstone.

[Lawman Mays]

On 1/19/2018 at 2:34 PM, Father Kit Cool Gun Garth said:

I am in the process of preparing a submission to the Cowboy Chronicle as to how I developed my alias, and until then. I remain in the rabbit hole.

Can't wait to read it as I have been curious about your alias ever since I joined SASS.

[Kulshan 20262]

Well, I didn't get very far.  Was born and raised in NW Washington in sight of Mt Baker, it was named Kulshan by the Indians, now I live in NW Oregon.

 

I don't shoot good enough to need a backstory, WYSIWYG.

[Sixgun Sheridan]

Sixgun Sheridan was born in the flatlands of Ohio but answered the call of the mountains out west in the Washington territory. He worked lots of odd jobs but soon established a fearsome reputation as a skilled gunfighter, hence the name. Of course there were some who would dispute the legend, claiming that what it really meant was that it often took him at least six shots just to hit anything, but most were too afraid to find out which story was actually true.

[Hashknife Cowboy]

It just seemed like a natural fit for me, "Yoos-ta-be-Kid", I use to be a lot of things.....for starters, younger.

[Chili Pepper Jack]

I eat hot peppers on about everything and the wife walked in when I was cutting up some jalapeños for my eggs and asked "How ya doing Cilil Pepper?" and that was it.

[Brett Black]

Brett Black is My Real Name lol 

[Shotgun Willie Nelson]

Didn't come up with a story line, but did quite a bit of research.

I have mentioned a couple of these in the recent past, but some I haven't

I first wanted to go with Sam Bass, my wife's great-great grand father...taken.

Dating myself here a little but my grand mother used to tell me when I was a wee-one and someone asked my name, I'd tell them Cheyenne Bodie ( drawn out Shyyyy-annn Bohhhh-dy)...taken

Josh Randall, (Steve McQueen in the Bounty Hunter) ...taken

Jack Diamond...Taken

Though about J Frank Dalton, The old guy that claimed to be Jesse James... Even thought about going with Sam "Bass" Elliot.. neither were taken,

But then listening to Uncle Willie singing about setting around in his underwear...

It wasn't taken, so it is now...

SWN

 

[Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217]

I love these threads; but, don't always answer as they come up so often.

 

So, I think it should be pinned; instead of just pinning a grumpy  "don't do this" thread. After all, Saloons (ACS)* are for fun. If I get too many complaints, I MAY unpin it.

 

Maybe, this way, more people will participate since they won't have to keep telling the same story.

 

Carry on!

 

*PS For you newbies, ACS stands for Always Capitalize Saloon.

[Utah Bob #35998]

On 1/19/2018 at 1:23 PM, Mud Marine,SASS#54686 Life said:

I already wore "Western" clothes at our family place so that was not a fun thing to do in SASS events.

 

Although a lot of SASS members wore US Cavalry outfits, I could not stomach donning doggie outfits. In a humid, buggy place long, long ago, I saw some horrible things happened to them because they were inattentive and unsquared away which upset me, So, as a Marine and cryptologic analyst, I decided to wear period correct 1875 Marine Corps uniforms. I adopted the alias "Mud Marine" since that was the farthest thing from me. A Mud Marine is an infantryman!!!   :-)

I wear a cav outfit. I was a 7th cavalryman in the huid buggy place. We were neither inattentive nor unsquared away.   No doubt occasionally some units were. But that wasn’t exclusive to the army. Depends on the leadership. Both army and marine units. 

[Festus G Lonetree]

On 1/19/2018 at 11:23 AM, Mud Marine,SASS#54686 Life said:

I already wore "Western" clothes at our family place so that was not a fun thing to do in SASS events.

 

Although a lot of SASS members wore US Cavalry outfits, I could not stomach donning doggie outfits. In a humid, buggy place long, long ago, I saw some horrible things happened to them because they were inattentive and unsquared away which upset me, So, as a Marine and cryptologic analyst, I decided to wear period correct 1875 Marine Corps uniforms. I adopted the alias "Mud Marine" since that was the farthest thing from me. A Mud Marine is an infantryman!!!   :-)

 Back in the day I recall my instructors at the Data Processing school in Quantico threatening to send me off to Camp Lejeune to be an 0311, if I didn't get the hang of SQL inner joins. I had no desire to leave the air conditioned Data Processing Center to be a Mud Marine in The Swamp.

 

My MOS was 4063 (cobol programmer), but like every other Marine, I was convinced that I was Rambo.

 

 

[Tall Tale Todd]

I ate a lot of broccolli as a child so I grew up tall (6'4") and I have a knack for tellin' stories. 

[Festus G Lonetree]

Festus G. Lonetree was born in a Arizona mining camp, a fair piece from here.  He came into this world with no hat or boots and a cranky disposition. It didn't take long to address the hat and boots issue, but the cranky disposition remains to this day.

 

Like his Ma and Pa, and most of the Lonetree clan, he has solitary tendencies and prefers the company of animals to that of people. Early in  his youth, on a hunting trip, his horse was startled, pitched him off and bolted, leaving him with a badly bent leg. Luckily for him, his pack mule Ruth stayed put and he was able to ride her back to camp where the doc was able to tend to his injury. The leg was saved but it never worked quite right after that, and he was left with a permanent hitch in his get along and a preference for riding mules instead of horses.

 

Surly and disagreeable, it's often said that Festus dislikes everyone except his mule, but that ain't true. He likes his dogs too.