Pierre De'Calero
Pierre De'Calero | |
|---|---|
 Pierre De'Calero | |
| Birth name | Pierre Antonio De'Calero Flores |
| Nickname(s) | Le Commandante |
| Born | September 29th, 1940 Porté Folas, Inyursta |
| Died | July 1991 (disputed) N/A |
| Buried | N/A |
| Allegiance |  Inyursta |
| Service/ | |
| Years of service | 1957 - 1969 |
| Rank | N/A |
| Battles/wars | |
| Other work | International Volunteer Fighter |
Pierre Antonio De'Calero Flores (alternate spelling DeCalero or de Calero) was a counter-revolutionary fighter who rose to fame in the Inyurstan Civil War and later participated in other Cold War Conflicts. Supporters and fans of his mythos have described him as a "freedom fighter" while critics and enemies see him as a "reactionary terrorist". Some leaders and political activists have credited him as being one of Inyursta's founding fathers for the ideals he helped spread and achieve. Since his death he has become a cultural icon of global counter-revolution from Inyursta to Gran Cuscatlan to Ruolnik.
Early Life
Pierre De'Calero was born in a middle-class fishing village in 1938, the son of aspiring businessman Clément De'Calero and his loyal wife Eva Flores, alongside two younger brothers and a sister. He spent his youth assisting his fathers fledgling consumer goods store, unloading and unpacking boxes, sweeping the floors and occasionally working as a clerk. A boy with little free time it should be noted he also played as a flanker in the local rugby team, as well as a significant interest in chess. He had one romantic interest his entire life, a young woman by the name of Maria Galluicci, both of whom had known each other since children and planned on getting married.
However, in 1958 his life would come crashing down. Following the Soviet-backed socialist coup, his father's business was forced to be shut down as all resources were held in common, and the government would now maintain and control the supply and distribution of all goods. Bankrupted and broken, his family had nowhere to go except to immigrate to the USA; but Pierre remained firm and convicted in his sense of pride and nationalism and would not be thrown out of his homeland. In a letter to a close friend he writes:
- "Alas, to my dismay my father, mother and siblings are forced to relocate, driven from their homeland like animals out of the forest. A sudden sympathy takes hold of my body for the Cuban people, who are also forced from their homeland due to Soviet imperialism. Unfortunately I feel I must stay, as only the Inyurstan people can free themselves from the red menace..."
Things took a turn for the worse when his fiancé, who was now just approaching two months with child, was accused of treason against the state and counter-revolutionary activity for her care of a man who was subsequently accused and executed by firing squad as a CIA informant. The validity of the Solévereu regime's claim is widely disputed, and the CIA denies any involvement prior to 1961. She was sentenced to "exile", however, this form of exile required she walk a land-mine covered bridge into a neighboring nation whilst blindfolded. On August 14th, 1958 Maria Galluicci and her unborn child were killed and her remaining body parts tossed into a shallow grave alongside hundreds of other "traitors" and "counter-revolutionaries". Many scholars and historians credit this event as a key turning point in Pierre De'Calero's life that would cause him to become the character he was.
Inyurstan Civil War
Within months of the takeover, several revolts had taken place, including a truckers strike and a bankers protest. Both were immediately suppressed by government forces in a bloody crackdown. Pierre found himself standing at the forefront of a fishermen's strike, protesting the unnecessary controls and restrictions following collectivization. Soon, the protest turned violent, and outnumbered police quickly fled the scene. Government forces were called in, arresting and executing the police who had fled, as well as a systematic offensive against the coastal villages in Marindino. Armed with only a large hunting knife, Pierre assisted the local rebels as they battled government forces block-by-block; and he had absolutely no qualms with the manner for which he slew those that had killed his lover.
After a few days, government forces began to push into the coastal communities, and the fledgling leadership was forced to take refuge in the jungles and swamplands of the island of Marindino. However, widespread and eventual all-consuming "defections" and revolts occurred in the military, and soon the "rebels" found themselves closer to paramilitaries, operating alongside the former army regulars as they laid seige to the government hold-outs supported by leftist militias and international leftist forces. The various factions banded and formed an umbrella organization called ICRA (Inyurstan Counter-Revolutionary Alliance). It is believed Pierre was trained directly by CIA agents, and he soon found himself in the upper echelons of the rebel command, however the exact nature of his training (if any) and subsequent rise through the ranks is still officially unknown.
He first stepped into the spot light when he led the rebel forces at the Battle of Gracio after the previous commander, Colonel Ricardo Calderone was mortally wounded by an enemy sniper. De'Calero utilized a well-concealed ploy to draw opposition forces away from their field guns and anti-air emplacements by causing them to believe the rebels were mounting an all-out attack against their HQ near the port. Pierre was also accredited with one of the only surface-to-jet kills with an FIM-43 Redeye missile against a low-flying Mig-17 during a shootout near Medilla.
Post-Civil War
After the war he became a brief hero, seen riding a captured BTR-60 into the streets of Solévereugrad, since renamed "Citua Duvalier" in honor of the original Inyurstan rebel. For weeks, shipments of rum and cervesa flooded into the ports following the fall of socialist trade restrictions, which only added to the massed celebrations. According to his close friends and comrades, Pierre quickly became discontent in sitting idle, celebrating the newfound freedom of his fledgling republic while the "curtain of Soviet imperialism" still descended on the world, and felt it was the duty of the victorious counter-revolutionaries to help others achieve anti-socialist liberation.
The post-counter-revolutionary government (including président Martín Sarillo and general Enrique Javez) did not see eye-to-eye with De'Calero, instead focusing on internal issues such as enacting a working government and dealing with future conflict closer to home. At the time, the civil war had ended "in name only", with leftist forces still in the Southern Territories and a porous border with North Guerroca; meanwhile, some in the newfound government wanted to reclaim all of the historical borders of "Gran Iñursta" which caused further internal issues requiring attention. Even Colonel Ricardo Calderone, "architect" of the fortified citadel of Castille de Térro who believed a leftist counter-offensive against the newly liberated Inyursta was immanent declined to support De'Calero's aggressive and internationalist ideas, and quietly worked behind the scenes with his compatriots to exclude De'Calero from power. Exacerbating the choices to ignore and exclude the counter-revolutionary hero from government and military decisions was the soft elitism of the ruling cabal, comprised mostly of either previously uniformed military officers or formerly exiled economists and political theorists, saw the "gun crazy fisherman" as a liability.
Pierre, frustrated by his de-facto exile from the movement he had invested so much of himself into, began vocally criticizing his former allies, calling them "Contrés of Convenience" as well as "formerly cowards and turn-coats". He decided to take matters into his own hands and began rallying some of his most impassioned comrades. Instead of turning to yet another violent insurgency, DeCalero chose instead to self-impose his own plans of exporting counter-revolution. He then gave the famous quote:
'I have had enough of this weakness! I for one plan to fight until my dying breath to see the red oppressor purged from the land. You can join me as a brother in arms - my comrade, or you can watch me like a man watches his dog whom he can neither control nor quell - my critic."
In the short period following, he disappeared without a trace. However, soon tales and sketchy news reports of an Inyurstan man in a nearby banana republic leading self-described "counter-revolutionaries" against the left-leaning government.
Activities Abroad
His most famous foray into the international spotlight, and to the hit list of every communist from Muscgrovia to Wenchuan was when he was recorded fighting alongside the famous Diaz brothers against the Maoist regime ruling El Cuscatlan. His efforts alongside the fellow counter-revolutionaries were documented by a Nifonese film journalist. Unfortunately, due to the Vietnam War Americans cared little for another anti-communist rebellion in some other tropical backwater. However, to his ideological contemporaries and former comrades were more then happy to see the proof of the prodigal son of Inyursta out fighting communists.
It is believed De'Calero his end in Queyro, a rival archiapelago nation fighting the Merick Isles (nicknamed "Isle of Lost") who which was under a communist regime. He returned to battle leading small force multinational and multicultural volunteer brigades fighting the leftist Queyromanian government alongside the Merick Isles. He and twelve other men were cut off and surrounded, and fought to the bitter end. According to the stories of just three lone survivors, they were almost out of bullets, and the aging Pierre drove a jeep loaded with mortar shells into enemy lines before dropping a single incendiary grenade as he was subsequently shot. However, enemy sources claim he surrendered starved, crazed, and begging for his life, before he was shot and the body burned and buried in an unmarked grave. Needless to say, neither Merickian nor Queyromanian officials could ID any body as his following the conclusion of the conflict.
Legacy
Since his death/disappearance, Pierre De'Calero has become a cultural icon of sorts. Many prominent Inyurstans, including scholars, businessmen, military and political leaders (including former présidents Jack Peresque and Rosetta Marcos) have hailed De'Calero as a "founding father" of Inyursta. To adolescents even slightly involved with politics he is seen as a symbol of courage and resistance to unjust systems. His face is one of the most painted images in street art and wall murals, and even T-shirts with his face on it are a common item for political rogues and tourists alike.
In 1995, Inyursta's first aircraft carrier, the De'Calero Class Aircraft Carrier, was commissioned and named in honor of his memory.
However, his cult of personality is not restrained just to Inyursta. Gran Cuscatlan, Chuchara, The Merick Isles and Ruolnik all have significant views, honors and fans of the counter-revolutionary hero.