Hervé Denevan Morrison (1 September 2632 – April 2668) was a highly decorated Terran Imperial Air Force officer and special forces operator who served in the elite 71st Studies and Observations Group, better known as Beaumont's Raiders, from 2665 to his death in 2668. His cause of death has been kept, like many activities of the Raiders, a military secret. He was mentioned in despatches for his heroism in his early career as an Air Force Pararescue operator and was promoted during his service with the Raiders to Air Officer. He briefly served as the group's commanding officer from July 2667 to January 2668, but served for most of his time as its Executive Officer and tactical planner. A large part of the unit's successes are attributed in current scholarship to his tenacity and forethought.
Early life[]
Hervé Denevan Morrison was born on September 1st, 2632 to Jeffrey Sean Morrison, a flight control officer of Irish and Spanish ethnic background, and Maven Calvez, a servicewoman of the Imperial Marines of French and Breton ancestry. He was born at the 6th Street Hospital in the city of Balfour on planet Zama III, a heavily-industrialised and urbanised world in the Banat region. His parents left in 2639 aboard a colony ship, taking their son with them, to escape the endemic poverty and violence on their homeworld. However, during the travel, both of his parents died in an accident; an airlock underwent a catastrophic failure and vented a section of the ship, taking them with it. Morrison, then seven years old, was settled at the planet Kojima.
He was raised at the State Orphanarium in the planet's administrative capital, Miyazaki and attended Hyūga Primary School from age 7 through age 13. He was adopted in 2645 by Arthur and Alma Blank, business owners in the planet's capital. He was sent to the St. David's School for Boys from age 13 to 18, matriculating in April 2651.
Military service[]
Morrison enlisted in the Imperial Terran Air Force on May 3rd, 2651. He was trained at the Miyazaki Air Force Base for Basic Training, Airman Survival School, and initial Pararescue School after qualifying for Pararescue specialty. He was sent out to the Arcturus Military Training Complex on planet Plautus for further training, going through Army Airborne School, Navy Diver School, Air Assault School, and Air NCO School training until April 2652. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and assigned to the 23rd Air Rescue Squadron in the Banat.
He served with the 23rd ARQS from 2652 to 2663, rising to the rank of Technical Sergeant and becoming the staff planning and tactical operations NCO for the 23rd ARQS headquarters. He took part in over 257 combat jumps during that period, as the 23rd ARQS operated as the special air operations and rescue unit attached to the XXIX Army Corps during the Imperial civil conflict against the Colonial Liberation Organization. The unit was also used as a counter-terrorist direct action unit on several occasions, in which Sergeant Morrison acted as the tactician for field operators. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant Major.
In the spring of 2663, he was transferred back to his homeworld to serve in the Kojima Air Headquarters as a staff NCO for tactical and operational planning against terrorist attacks. On two occasions, he directly led counter-terror and hostage rescue operations against CLO attacks. He served in this role until September 2665, and the Kojima Incident. He was assigned to an ad-hoc special operations task force to handle the crisis, and personally neutralised the terrorist leader during the recapture of the space station. He was given a battlefield commission as an Air Officer on September 10th and assigned to the 71st Studies and Observations Group as its XO from 2665 through 2668, temporarily serving as its CO when Captain Beaumont was injured and hospitalized in mid-2667. The team served on the front lines of the war as a special reconnaissance and covert operations unit, but was reassigned as an elite counter-terrorist unit and strike team after Captain Beaumont's recovery.
Morrison died in April 2668. The exact day is unknown, but he was declared dead to reports on April 19th. His body was never recovered, and the causes of his death remain unknown and classified. It remains unknown as to whether he perished in combat, in a training exercise, or in some other circumstance. He left behind no siblings or natural parents, and his adoptive parents disowned him after he enlisted in the Air Force, and had no contact with him after 2651. He was posthumously promoted to Flight Captain and given an empty-casket state funeral. It is speculated that, had he survived the war, he may have ended up in a high position of authority or standing in the Air Force, as a staff officer or aide-de-camp in the Air Staff. The other members of the Raiders went on to have successful and influential careers.
Summary of Air Force career[]
Enlisted in the Imperial Terran Air Force 3 May 2651. Attended Airman Basic Training from 30 May to 23 August 2651, Airman Survival School from 1 September to 17 September 2651, and Special Warfare Basic Course from 28 September to 14 November 2651. Attended Army Airborne School from 1 December to 20 December 2651, Navy Diver School from 29 December 2651 to to 24 January 2652, and Air Assault School from 1 February to 28 February 2652. Went to Air Non-Commissioned Officer School from 6 March to 18 April 2652. Assigned to 23rd Air Rescue Squadron, 112th Air Support Wing, Air Forces Banat from 4 July 2652 to 21 April 2663. Assigned to Kojima Air Headquarters Planning Staff, Counterterror Division from 1 May 2663 to 8 September 2665. Commissioned an Officer of the Air Force 10 September 2665. Assigned to 71st Studies and Observations Group from 10 September 2665 to April 2668.
Died under unknown circumstances April 2668, declared officially dead 11 April 2668. Posthumously promoted to Flight Captain 1 June 2668. Buried, empty casket 12 June 2668 at Kojima Airman Cemetery.
Dates of rank[]
- Airman Basic (E-1): 3 May 2651.
- Airman First Class (E-2): 2 September 2651.
- Senior Airman (E-4): 5 October 2651.
- Sergeant (E-5): 18 April 2652.
- Technical Sergeant (E-6): 20 July 2657.
- Air Officer (O-1): 10 September 2665.
- Flight Lieutenant (O-2): 1 August 2667
- Flight Captain (O-3): 1 June 2668, posthumous
Awards and decorations[]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Iron Cross
- Air Force Cross
- Silver Star (3 times)
- Bronze Star (3 times)
- Combat Flight Badge (in silver)
- Close Combat Badge (in gold)
- Air Force Service Medal (3 times)
- Wound Badge (6 times)
- Master Parachutist Badge
- Banat Campaign Medal
- Great War Campaign Medal