Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Taps for Sergeant Larry Brom, USMC

We have just learned that my friend and comrade-in-arms Larry Brom, Sergeant, USMC, has died of a heart attack after a long illness.  Larry is the author of The Sword and the Flame colonial rules and many other rules that have provided many, many fun games for all of us over the years.  He is survived by two daughters, Lori and Christy.





I first met Larry when he was living here in Jackson in the 1970s and developing his TSATF rules.  I enjoyed a couple of games at his house while I was home on leave from the Army.  Larry and I always joked about the merits of our respective services and I had the utmost respect for his service with the Marines in the Korean War where he was awarded a Purple Heart.

Larry wrote that his father took him to see the premier showing of "Gunga Din" in Chicago in 1939 and he became enthralled with it.  It influenced the development of his wargaming rules.  So this is for you, Larry:


’E carried me away
To where a dooli lay,
An’ a bullet come an’ drilled the beggar clean.   
’E put me safe inside,
An’ just before ’e died,
'I ’ope you liked your drink,’ sez Gunga Din.   
So I’ll meet ’im later on
At the place where ’e is gone—
Where it’s always double drill and no canteen.   
’E’ll be squattin’ on the coals
Givin’ drink to poor damned souls,
An’ I’ll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din!   
      Yes, Din! Din! Din!
   You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!   
   Though I’ve belted you and flayed you,   
      By the livin’ Gawd that made you,
   You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

(from Rudyard Kipling's poem "Gunga Din")





Good job, bugler!  We will miss you.



6 comments:

A J said...

So sorry to hear Larry Brom has passed away. His rules set has influenced a great many in this odd hobby of ours. He'll be sadly missed.

Fitz-Badger said...

I have fond memories of some games with TSATF back in the day. Several years ago I bought a newer set of the rules (the old copy had gotten lost somewhere along the way of moving house multiple times).
'Eres to you, Larry Brom!

Bluebear Jeff said...

"The Sword and the Flame" is still my favorite set of Colonial rules . . . it almost always provides a fun action-filled game.

I never met Larry Brom, but I have enjoyed playing his rules. Beside his daughters, his legacy lives on every time we roll Colonial dice.


-- Jeff

Don M said...

We all live on through the lives we touch, and he has touched many and will continue to do so for many years to come......Not a bad epitaph.

Unknown said...

A man who served his country in Korea and whose memories and sleazy jokes made him a asset on long trips, a man who married for love and raised two wonderful daughters, a man I will always be proud to call my friend, Rest easy Larry Brom.

Philip J. Viverito said...

The Sargent will be missed but his works will go on well after him. He has lived a life that touched others in ways were never be able truly measure. Our sympathy goes out to his family and friends.
Philip Viverito