"From
the Beginning" |
The question often asked is
what gathers a group of grown men from all over
the world and gets them to sit in front of their
personal computers, fly virtual aircraft in a
virtual arena, sometimes for hours on end, and
at times, after being so frustrated by network
lag, gaming bugs, or marital bliss turning bitter,
saddle up and come back for more. The answer to
that question has several components and without
them the Grave Diggers would never exist. The
first part to this answer is the personal computer;
all of us have one (Can't play HiTech Creations
Aces High without it) and most are very knowledgeable
in its workings. Second, we all have a love for
military aircraft, particularly the planes used
during the Second World War. Third is the Internet.
We have all flown on various combat flight simulator
games but there is nothing like flying against
a living breathing enemy as opposed to the artificial
intelligence of the game itself. Because of the
Internet, online gaming enthusiasts can play against
each other from all over the world. Fourth, you
need someone with a vision and that individual
is CobraEye. Lastly you need members, ones that
will be there in both difficult times and good.
Add those five variables up and the result is
a virtual squadron called “The Grave Diggers.”
There is a quote
from the 1964 movie 633 Squadron that states “You
can never kill a squadron.” The Grave Diggers
have survived almost a decade in the virtual online
arena’s spanning from the days of Kesmai's
Air Warrior to the present HiTech Creations Aces
High. The squadron originated sometime in the
mid 1990’s. The founding father of the Grave
Diggers is CobraEye. He formed the squadron during
the original days of Kesmai’s Air Warrior
on America Online. Eventually the squadron would
grow and move to Air Warrior II which was at the
time being hosted by Gamestorm. The squadron now
boasted a roster of over thirty members and had
gained a reputation as a force to be reckoned
with. The squadron would move again to Air Warrior
III until the fateful day of December 6th, 2001
when the servers were shut down by then owner
Electronic Arts. Squadron members tried to fill
the void searching for several months for a worthy
substitute. Just when there seemed to be no sign
of hope on the horizon along came HiTech Creations
Aces High which provided an arena similar to Air
Warrior but vastly improved. Since then the Grave
Diggers have been back together, flying high,
defending the homeland, and occasionally performing
their specialty, the sneak base capture. RadShak
now leads the squadron as C.O. and ManeDog is
the X.O. The squadron is not yet at full compliment
but the core members are there, stronger then
ever. It's true, you cannot kill a squadron. |
| The
Grave Diggers Emblem Features:
On the outer perimeter
is our motto: "Putting the Enemy
Six Feet Under by Air, Land, and Sea."
The skull in the center
of the emblem has always been the squadron
symbol.
The
Latin Quote "Ab Initio" translates
"From the Beginning". As far
as virtual squadrons go the Grave Diggers
have been there from the beginning starting
with Kesmai's Air Warrior to the present
HiTech Creations Aces High.
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