Fanfic / The Boys of '85

After the end of the Vietnam War, the United States Military has been shamed facing slander from both home and abroad. But in the year 1985 a portal to parallel dimension opens in Japan and the United States is given the chance to redeem itself.

The Boys Of '85 By Karaya2, is a Alternate History / Alternate Universe of the manga Gate - Thus the JSDF Fought There.

The story takes place in late 1985. Specialist Allen O'Hare is on leave and visiting his family in Montana when Gate opens in Ginza Tokyo. The army that comes through slaughters innocents in the city and even attack the United States Embassy. The invasion is repulsed by the Japanese Self Defense Force and a quick reaction team sent by the United States Marines. In response the United States Military upholds their end of the Mutual Defense Treaty and sends a task force of Army, Marines, and Navy to assist the Japanese with combat operations beyond the gate. Specialist Allen O'Hare is one of the first Americans to set foot beyond the Gate. Accompanying him are his comrades, Private First Class Rayland Monroe, Specialist Connor Mulligan, and Staff Sergeant James Smith.

The author of The Boys of '85, Karaya2, is a United States Army Tanker. He is a colleague of another Gate Author Shmack1812, a former Marine Tanker and author of Here We Go Again. Karaya2 was displeased with the lack of world building in the story and began writing his story. The story parallels canon in several aspects but diverges in several major areas, claiming that breaking canon is one of the best ways to world build. Karaya also uses the story as a medium to give the reader a glimpse into Cavalry Formations, the army, and the military as a whole.

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This fanfiction provides examples of:

• Adaptation Expansion: This Story parallels the original plot but this time the Americans are now a part of the team.
• Alliterative Family: While their parents don't fit this, the three O'Hare children do: Allen, Anna, and Adam.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Allen's younger brother, Adam, who is deep in the anti-war, anti-military movement, and as such hates both Allen and their father, calling Allen a "baby-killer" when Anna tries to get him to come down to talk. Despite the sum total of Allen's military career at that point being, in his words, "to stare at the Russians in the Fulda Gap". He starts to get better after reading about what the Army is doing in Falmart.
• Anti-Air: M163 PIVADS, MIM-72 Chaparrals, and M42 Dusters make up the Task Forces air defenses.
• Author Appeal: The author of The Boys of 85, Karaya, is a Soldier in the United States Army, as such many scenes between characters are based off of interactions he had with others while serving. The Battalion featured in the story, First Battalion Eighth Cavalry Regiment, is the unit he is currently assigned to.
• Background Music: Throughout the story the author slips in popular songs of the 80s.
• Band of Brothers: The men of Third Platoon, the Green Beret ODA, and the crew of Gypsy Wagon.
• Bash Brothers: Rayland and Connor throughout the story. Rayland and Connor constantly bicker over their taste in music, this digress where the take jabs at each other whenever possible.
  Connor: Jesus Christ, don't you have anything else?
  Rayland: Fuck Mul, all you do is complain about my music.
  Connor: Cause it fucking sucks! Queen ain't real music.
  Rayland: You tryin' to start a fight? Killer Queen is top shelf!
• Big Brother Instinct: Third Platoon, especially Rayland, have this towards Lia, the wolf girl they found in Kester. Rayland steps in between her and Rory when the latter is scaring her, and later refers to her as "little sis"
• Big Brother Worship: In contrast to his younger brother, Anna, Allen's younger sister, idolizes him and the military, has been wanting to become the first female fighter pilot ever since Allen joined up, and has been repeatedly sent home from school for getting into fights with anyone who says something bad about the military.
• Bigger Stick: Recon Team One gets this in the form of a M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Recon Team Three also gets this when a flight of F-15s are sent to provide air support after the dragon attack.
• Buffy Speak: When Rayland is questioning the survivor of the Imperial attack on Kester. Also when Itami is trying explain an Airstrike to Lelei.
• Cool vs. Awesome: The Flame Dragon fighting F-15s.
• Cool Plane: The F-15C. During the Cold War and even now the F-15 remains one of the best fighter aircraft in the world.
• Cunning Linguist: Rayland picked up the Special Language pretty well and becomes the primary translator for the RCT1.
• Convenient Misfire: In Chapter Four, Allen's M2 jams during a skirmish with the Imperial army, forcing the Americans to rely on Rayland and his M60 GPM.
• Crossover: The 1985 versions of Jasper Kincaid and company appear at the end of Chapter 9
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The battle of Alnus, just like in canon.
• Death from Above: The flight of F-15s from the United States Air Force and presumed other aircraft coming in the near future. Japanese F-4 Phantom IIs arrived in the special region in chapter Four.
• Demoted to Extra: Canon characters such as Itami are given very little page time.
• Deuteragonist: Several characters fit this role:
  • Staff Sergeant Stephen Pershing, commander of This Machine, the M2 Bradley attached to Third Platoon.
  • Captain Robert Masson, a US Airforce fighter pilot
  • Captain Donavan Sinclair, commander of the task force's Green Beret ODA^note Operational Detachment-A, the basic 12-man unit of the Army Special Forces.
  • Sergeant First Class Taylor Cain, Tank Commander of the Abrams Bravo 1-4.
  • Private Lance Dupont, Driver of the Abrams Bravo 1-4.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Sergeant Kaiser is completely unphased when Rory tells him that she's a 900-year-old apostle of the god of war and death, simply replying that he's a sergeant in the US Army that served 4 years in Vietnam, ending with telling her to "Try me, kid".
• Eldritch Location: The tunnel between the two gates. Anything thrown far enough at the right side of the tunnel will loop back and come out the left side, and vice versa, and various radio channels play famous broadcasts from the past^note The three played are from Adolf Hitler, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (specifically the "Date of Infamy" speech), and Winston Churchill (specifically the "We shall fight on the beaches" speech).
• Elites Are More Glamorous: United States Green Beret Captain Donavan Sinclair and his ODA get a significant amount of focus.
• Ensign Newbie: Lieutenant Nathaniel Wheeler, a ROTC graduate, is put in command of a platoon made up of Vietnam, Grenada, and Honduras veterans.
• Equipment Upgrade: The U.S Army contingent of the Task force is getting M1IP Abrams main battle tanks to replace their M60s. The Marines are still using their M60A1 RISE's.
• A Father to His Men: This is portrayed through Sergeant James Smith on several occasions.
  James: Do you kids ever stop arguing? I got to deal with kids back home, don't want to deal with them here.
  Allen: Alright dad we'll stop, just don't turn the car around.
• Fix Fic:
  • Like most stories in the category this one is also a fix fic. Instead of just Japan going through the Gate a 1985 United States joins them.
  • Karaya also decided to "Fix" the Italica scene. Instead of "Ride of the Valkyries" the air assault group plays "Hungry Like The Wolf" by Duran Duran.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Something is going on with Christianity on Falmart. Rayland notes that the ruined church they stay in resembles an old Christian church, including a lot of the holy symbols, and that it's odd that something they obviously put a lot of resources into building would just be abandoned, Rory leaves the motor pool after noticing the cross Rayland is wearing, and later on she tries to kill him after the Battle of Italica.
  • During the journey to the Special Region, the task force picks up radio broadcasts of speeches made during World War Two by Hitler, FDR, and Churchill. In Chapter 9, a UN scientist discovers the remains of an abandoned Soviet T-34 in the Special Region.
• Get Out!: Sergeant Kaiser yells this when Rory refuses to leave the Motor pool, especially after she reminds Lia about her parents death.
• Heroic Lineage: Of a sort. Allen's father was a fighter pilot and Wild Weasel in Vietnam, his grandfather was a marine who fought at Iwo Jima and Chosin, and his great-grandfather fought in the Argonne. Allen is the latest generation, and his sister Anna also wants to serve when she grows up.
• Hidden Depths: Despite being a bit obnoxious and purposefully playing up certain southern stereotypes, Rayland is extremely intelligent, plans to become a history teacher when he gets out, and has a two-year history degree. He's able to note that a ruined church they come across resembles a Christian Church in the Roman Empire from around 450 AD.
• I Call It "Vera": In Chapter Two, Allen sees a M2 Bradley named "This Machine". The same Bradley is assigned to Recon Team One. In Chapter Five there is an Abrams tank named "Gypsy Wagon".
• In-Series Nickname:
  • Captain Swanky is nicknamed "Spanky" by the men under his command, though they never call him that to his face.
  • Sergeant Smith is nicknamed "Dad".
  • Green Beret Sergeant Janek Láska is given the nickname "Russian" by his comrades. Ironically, Janek is from Czechoslovakia.
  • Lisa the war correspondent is nicknamed Paperboy by the soldiers.
  • Lia is nicknamed "little sis" and "pup" by Third Platoon.
  • The crew of Horseman Four have the same nicknames as they do in Here We Go Again!
• Intrepid Reporter: Lisa Patterson, a war correspondent for United Press International covering the task force's operations. Before coming to the Special Region, she was in China, specifically Xinjiang province, covering the opening days of the Soviet invasion of Xinjiang.
• Little Bit Beastly:
  • Third Platoon finds a young Wolf girl^note Though many of the soldiers also call her a dog person named Lia hiding in an alleyway in Chapter Three being the only survivor of the Imperial attack on Kester, who ends up in their care. They're not quite certain whether or not it's safe to feed her chocolate.
  • In Chapter Four, the Green Beret ODA makes a deal with a Fox Girl merchant in order to get information.
• Meaningful Name: Most of the names in the story have some sort of meaning.
  • Captain William Swanky is quite well off and upper crust.
  • Fittingly for the commander of an armoured vehicle, Stephen Pershing shares a last name with General John J. Pershing, the man that the M26 Pershing tank was named for.
  • Lisa the War Correspondent gives the men the nickname of "The Boys of '85", by making it the headline of her story in the newspaper. Not only is it the title of the story, but it's significant to the men of Third Platoon, most of whom are young men aged 18 to 24.
• Multinational Team: In addition to the JSDF and US military, the taskforce also has UN Peacekeepers from various nations (so far, Ireland has been confirmed as one of them), and NATO is also planning on sending troops, primarily from Britain and the Netherlands.
• The Neidermeyer: Captain Swanky, the commander of C Company. He's a stuck up, well off, Westpoint graduate, who views himself as being better than the men he is in charge of, and stays at base camp while his men are sent out on recon.
• Oh, Crap!: The general reaction of the squad when Lisa tells them that the Soviets invaded China shortly after they deployed.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: Played with. Italica is an important trade city, and being in charge of its garrison is an important job, but Casner and Arnett know that the real reason Hazama has put Arnett in charge is because he criticized the General and now the he wants Arnett out of the way.
• Religious Bruiser: Downplayed with Rayland. He's notes that the abandoned church they stay in resembles the Catholic one he went to back home, including the holy symbols, and it's noted that he wears a cross around his neck. He's also the son of a chaplain^note Presumably a deacon, if he is Catholic.
• Retcon: The fanfic was originally set in 1960 with Pre-Vietnam War military equipment before the author retconned to be set in 1985. Daisuke Kita's rank was retconned from Captain to Lieutenant. The F-16s were originally F-18s, and were later changed to F-15s. In July 2018 update of Boys of '85 Karaya retconned a decent bit of the story. The 14th Cavalry Regiment was changed to First Battalion of the Eighth Cavalry Regiment, Charlie Platoon was changed to Third Platoon, Comanche Troop was changed to Charlie Company ^note  Nicknamed Combat Company , The Second Armored Cavalry was retconned and their tanks rolled into Bravo Company of 1-8 Cavalry, Allen's rank was changed from Corporal to Specialist.
• Running Gag:
  • Whenever Rayland or anyone else plays music, Connor will complain about how he doesn't like the song they chose.
  • O'Hare responding to an order from Sergeant Smith with some variation of "Okay, dad", only for Smith to ask him if he wants to repeat that, leading to him replying "Yes, sir". Usually while the squad is travelling in a Humvee and O'Hare is on the turret.
• Schizo Tech: Truth in Television. Due to the time period its set in, the Task Force has an interesting mix of new and old equipment, leading to things like the crew members of an Army M1 Abrams being armed with M3 Grease Guns and serving alongside Marine tankers who are still using the M60 Patton.
• Semper Fi: The US forces includes personnel from the Marines.
• Sergeant Rock: This role is filled by Sergeant First Class Richard Kaiser who is the Platoon Sergeant. He is a combat veteran of Vietnam, Grenada, and Honduras. He is first seen giving advice to Lieutenant Wheeler.
• Shout-Out: Quite a number
  • The name of the Bradley "This Machine" is a reference to This Machine (short for "WELL THIS MACHINE KILLS COMMIES"), a M1 Garand found in Fallout: New Vegas, which in turn was a reference to Woody Guthrie, who had a sticker on his guitar that said "This machine kills fascists".
  • When going through the gate tunnel, and finding out both about objects looping around if thrown at the sides and the radios playing broadcasts from the 40's, one of the soldiers comments that they must be in The Twilight Zone.
  • Later on, while en route to Italica, Higgens of the ODA starts saying the famous "There is a fifth dimension" opening after someone notes that they technically just made a crop circle, only to be told to shut up.
  • Like in Canon, the Japanese decide to play "Ride of the Valkyries" while coming to the relief of Italica. Unlike in Canon, the Americans refuse to play it, and instead play "Hungry Like The Wolf"
• The Squad: One of the squads in Third Platoon are the main focus in the story.
  • The Leader: Staff Sergeant James Smith, aka "Sarge" or "Dad", is the squad leader.
  • The Big Guy: Specialist Connor Mulligan, aka "Mul", is the squad rifleman.
  • The Smart Guy: Private First Class Rayland Monroe, aka "Ray", is the Squad Gunner, linguist, and historian.
  • New Meat: Specialist Allen O'Hare, aka "Al", is the squad grenadier and the protagonist of the story.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
  • Many of the American and Japanese personnel don't like the other nation being there, or at least specific personnel from the other nation.
  • Most of the Americans dislike or hate Rory, and several of the Japanese also dislike her.
    • The Americans are royally pissed when Itami refuses to send her away after she tries to kill Rayland, especially since his immediate reaction was to get angry at Rayland for shooting her in self defence.
  • Chapter 9 sees General Hazama send Marine Lieutenant Colonel Arnett to take over the Italica garrison, obsentibly because he has combat experience from Grenada, but most likely it's because Arnett criticized several of Hazama's actions, and Hazama wants him out of the way.
• Wham Line:
  • From Chapter 3:
    Lisa: You know the buildup of Russian and Chinese troops on the Chinese border?
    Connor: Yeah, Rayland wouldn't shut up about it when we were training on Okinawa.
    Rayland: Haha fuck you asswipe, anyways everybody thought it would blow over like it did back in '62
    Lisa: That's right. but this time it didn't. A few days after you guys deployed, the Russians came pouring into Xinjiang province. I was there covering the initial Soviet attack.
  • From Chapter 9:
    The taskforce had stumbled upon an abandoned Soviet T-34