We have Lost one of our Own...

[Son of a gun-ner]

I joined this forum too late to interact with Alpha, but I still caught his "presence."

I am sorry to hear of his passing, and my condolences to his family and friends should they read this.

I will admit to being very curious about the man from snippets I read here, and things I heard there.
Is there any members that knew him well enough that could put together a thread to honour him by telling his story?

RIP Alpha.

[jarndice]

Hi Mick, I think either Sassgrunt or Painless Wolf would be the best source for all things ALPHA.

[Son of a gun-ner]

Hi Mick, I think either Sassgrunt or Painless Wolf would be the best source for all things ALPHA.

Thanks Shaun.

Well, if they are willing to get together on a collaboration, and make such a thread. I know many members, regular and staff would greatly appreciate it.

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning, Mick,
Thank you, Sir. I knew him online, here and in chat afterwards for years. Alpha was a _very_ private man who went to great lengths to keep his real life separate from his Online one. Even now. The one person here who spent time with him away from a computer is Sassgrunt ( that I know of ) It would be up to him to speak out if he wished to. It would be Good to one day have a Permanent Post notating past Members of the Group like Alpha. Guys who made a difference for better or worse or for whatever reason, they kept interest in the Hobby and in the Forum that gives all of us an Online Home.
regards,
Painless

[jarndice]

As Painless said the General was a very private person with a wicked sense of humour,
I do not know how good his Russian really was,
I gained the impression that it was very good although whenever we spoke together in that language he gave a very good Norman Collier version.
He got Painless and I to compose poetry in the fashion of Japanese Heiku which frazzled my brain and gave the General endless laughs at our collective expense.
I really do miss him and have done for too long.

[Son of a gun-ner]

Thank you Mr Painless.

Yes, it would be good to have a special type of memorial thread.

Yes, I can see where you're coming from. If Mr Sassgrunt does wish to say anything about Alpha the man. It can be as much or as little as he wished, if anything at all.

[Will01Capri]

RIP Alpha
Condolences to his friends and family

[sassgrunt]

Looks like I've been elected to share a bit about who Alpha was. In fact, that's going to somewhat difficult, since as has been said already, he was a VERY private person. I met him soon after he joined this board in 2013. We arranged to meet in person and struck up a friendship. I can tell you that he had a wide range of interests, including RC tanks, anime, Godzilla, and airsoft guns. He was the one who introduced me to Girls und Panzer, which he liked very much. He was convinced that the animators used Tamiya 1/35 models to get the details correct, and really liked that the series made reference to actual battles, tactics, and vehicle details. Along with the RC tanks he built that were from that series, he also scratchbuilt figures to go with them, as nobody had produced figures in 1/16 scale.

His wife had severe health issues, (he would never talk about what they were), and he was her sole caretaker for about 30 years. He was rarely able to leave the house for any length of time, and after she passed away last year; I hoped that he would be able to have more time for his own interests.

He retired from the US Marine Corps as a Major in the late 90's, and wanted very much to go back in after 9/11 happened, but his wife's care prevented him from being able to do that. He was friends with a local hobby shop owner who sold RC helicopters, vehicles, and tanks (Heng Long); as well as a wall full of airsoft pistols and rifles. He became the de facto repairman for anything that came into the shop that quit working, and he did the repairs at his home. I don't think he got paid for it, but do believe he was allowed to keep the broken/unnecessary parts.

For most of the years that I knew him, he loved to bicycle down to the store for supplies, but as his health deteriorated in the past year or so, he relied on people to get him there and back. I believe that he spent SO much effort on taking care of his wife that his own health was not given enough attention, and it just wore him out.

I do know that he really enjoyed contributing to this board, and couldn't understand why people would get so frustrated with some of his comments, which he meant to be helpful and informative. And, he commented on EVERYTHING, which is how he got to so many posts in the time he was here. He got temporarily banned from the board twice, and then for good in 2016. I asked him if it really bothered him, and he seemed to be okay with it. His attitude was that a few people spoke up against him more vocally than the majority who didn't really care one way or the other; and that if that's what the board wanted, he was okay with not contributing to it any more. I know he continued to look in on the builds here, and enjoy the work that members put into them. -Mike

[jarndice]

Thanks Mike,
I remember the times he was given a yellow card and then I came back from my holiday in Mauritius looking forward to more outrageous PZ111s and broken Russian only to discover my hero had been banned,
My understanding was that Herman stood in his corner but not many others,
His knowledge of Small arms was impressive as well as military blades. and he had an extraordinary grasp of international military history.
But it was his original view of the world that had me entranced and laughing like a child at the same time.
You mentioned the Figures he modeled and painted which really did highlight his armour and bought it to life although there were times a decent pair of sunglasses would have helped.

[Son of a gun-ner]

Thank you Mr sassgrunt.

I, and I'm sure, many others appreciate you taking your time to fill us in about Alpha.