Washington Rangers

## Overview

Founded in 1910 in response to a massive crime wave, the Washington Rangers were a law enforcement organization that fought crime in Washington State from 1910-1937. based on the success of both the Texas and recently disbanded Arizona Rangers, the Washington Rangers were made to fight a massive crime wave in the state after veterans of the Aleutian Islands War ran multiple crime organizations in Washington. After a collection of massive gunfights just outside of Walla Walla (referred to as the Walla Walla War) in 1937, many of the gangs from Washington fled the rangers to the states of Oregon and Idaho. The Washington Rangers then became the Pacific Rangers to patrol the 3 states to find the criminals. The Bones Family were known to have clashes with the Rangers (both the Washington and Pacific).

## Origins

The Washington Rangers were founded in 1910 by Dan Harresol, who himself was a former Arizona Ranger (though he was born in Olympia). He returned home to Washington after the disbanding of the Arizona Rangers the year before (who were disbanded due to being almost entirely wiped out at the Battle of Tucson during the Border War). He saw the massive influx of crime into his home state after the horrific Aleutian islands War, with disgruntled and impoverished veterans turning to crime. Harresol proposed the idea of the Rangers to the Washington Governor, who accepted and gave Harresol the funding to pay for himself as Captain, 3 Sergeants, 18 Privates, and enough guns and ammunition to supply them. These men made the original Washington Rangers, who went on to do great things.

## Equipment and Uniform

***Weapons:*** The signature weapons of the Washington Rangers can be split into 2 Eras: the Dawn Era and the Dusk Era. In the Dawn Era (1910-1924), the Rangers used older US Marine Corps and Navy *Lee Navy Rifles* and a bit newer *M1903* rifles (all that was given to the Marines and National Guard troops in the Aleutian's, so the Rangers could really only use those). They also were issued brand new *M1911'*s in 1911, directly from the manufacturer as a special gift of support. In 1917, the Rangers acquired brand new *M1917 Revolvers and Rifles* from the US Army and Marines. Finally in 1924, the beginning of the Dusk Era, the Rangers were given brand new *M1924 Garands*. This, plus the introduction of *Colt Monitors* into the Rangers, caused them to have a massive boost in firepower.

***Gear:*** The Rangers were issued a mix of older Military gear, hunting equipment, and newer items. In the beginning, the Rangers had older military ammunition Webbing from the Boxer Rebellion (again, due to the somewhat high presence of Marine units in Washington. The older equipment in the Washington troops was phased out after the Aleutian Islands War due to the old gear getting men killed, hence why a surplus of it was available). They used canteens from that same period and some various hunting equipment. As time went on, the government gave them more and more modern Gear, making them on par with Military units. However, they always kept their stand-out uniform.

***Uniform:*** The Washington Ranger uniform consisted of a Green slouch hat (do note: it was not of Australian design, but rather a more flat that had a forest green color and a black band wrapped around it near the base), a Forest Green button up shirt that had various Ranger patches on them (for rank, unit, etc..), dark blue jeans, and military boots and boot wraps. Along with the previously mentioned gear on top. And of course, the honorable Ranger Star was proudly worn on their chest. It was a golden Star with engravings on it that read "Washington State Rangers. Custodire Domum Suam" (latin for "to keep his house", meaning to protect their home of Washington). Though a simple uniform, its look quickly became iconic. They were quickly called the "good ol Green and Blue" in reference to their uniform colors.