Portraits of Characters – The World War II Soldiers
World War II Soldiers? What do they have to do with Star Trek fan fiction? More than you might think.
Origins
As a part of Day of the Dead, Tripp Tucker ends up in 1945 Bavaria as a result of a spatial and temporal interphase. So this anomaly dumps him into the United States Army, poised to liberate the Dachau concentration camp. Sharp-eyed readers will notice that three of the women who are liberated are Noemy and Milena Chelenska, along with their neighbor, Mrs. Klinghofer. However, this post concerns the soldiers Tucker meets. Of course, they all think he’s Chuck McBride, the man he displaced.
So those soldiers are Stanislaus Kuzawa, Tony Martinelli, Sergeant Randall McCoy, and Brendan O’Shaughnessy. I’ve already blogged about Herbie Shapiro, the most developed character of the bunch.
Portrayals
Stanislaus Kuzawa is played by Romanian actor Dragos Bucur. As much as Day of the Dead, at times, resembles old World War II films, I wanted the actors to be of ethnicities that closely resembled (if not matched) those of their characters.
However, I reversed myself for the next role. Because Tony Martinelli is played by Christian Slater. Yet that’s more because of the Trek connection than anything else.
Sergeant McCoy may not be played by an Irish actor, but the actor, Tom Berenger, certainly has played a soldier before (although the war was Vietnam and not WWII).
Finally, Brendan O’Shaughnessy gets an Irish actor who has played a soldier – and he was even one of several World War II Soldiers in Saving Private Ryan – Matt Damon.
Personalities
First of all, Stanislaus Kuzawa comes across as more of a jokester than the others.
Tony Martinelli recognizes the horror. However, he doesn’t do anything about it.
Sergeant Randall McCoy ends up an efficient killer, only following orders.
Brendan O’Shaughnessy also comes across as somewhat apathetic.
Relationships
None of the fellows have any known relationships.
Mirror Universe
Any of the guys could exist in the Mirror.
First of all, Stanislaus Kuzawa could take a different tack in life and be more of a family man.
Tony Martinelli could even be religious, although MU religion might be more like televangelism than monasteries.
Because a violent form of baseball exists in the Mirror, Sergeant Randall McCoy could conceivably play.
Finally, Brendan might be an assassin.
Quotes
Stanislaus Kuzawa: “That’s why there’s war brides. You shoulda chatted ‘em up, McBride. Nice young girls, maybe too young, but you bring ‘em to the states, and they learn English, and they get jobs like, like secretaries or somethin’. Or they marry some guy like, like Herbie here.”
Tony Martinelli: “Something’s not right. It feels like things just changed, big time. And not for the better.”
Sergeant McCoy: “And all of those people here, all these bodies? You did see all those bodies, right? And you know why it smells like burning skin here? Do you know why, Private? McBride, we found crematoria. I guess they threw the bodies in there but it wouldn’t shock me if living people were sometimes tossed in as well. I, I don’t know what justice is, I guess. And maybe I never will. But I dare anybody who wasn’t here to say that this didn’t happen. It did. And I was here. And I will knock the block offa anyone who ever says differently. Call me what you like, but if we were here tomorrow and not today, you know what woulda happened? Do ya?”
Finally, Brendan O’Shaughnessy: “You know what that is. How can you know what that is? Ain’t nobody seen inside any of these camps, right?”
Upshot
For one-shot characters, these guys have a depth to them. However, I have no way to really write more about them. A pity.
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