In Dreams - "An Unpopular War"

I was in a Bavarian-like region in Europe. The weather was cool and misty. The town wasn't very big. It had some amazing architecture from a previous era. I found myself in the town's center, which had a large open circular paved area with roads like spokes radiating away from the center.

The region was under threat of attack from an neighboring country (didn't know which). From our response, the expected invasion would be primarily ground forces. I didn't notice any anti-aircraft capability nearby, and since we were land-locked we weren't concerned about maritime forces.

The primary military of this nation was already sent out to confront the enemy, so all that was left were the aged, infirm, housewives and children. I was assigned the duty of organizing some of these folk into an effective "home patrol"/self-aid, buddy-care/defense of last resort cadre. We didn't train much with weapons, though. We organized watch patrol details, showed people techniques of first response medical stabilization of wounded, and some minor weapon familiarization. We all realized if this group was required to fight for its' town, we would be in dire straits.

There was no patriotic display of high emotion. I only noticed a grim resolve. The remaining folk knew it would be a tough job, with no glory or public reward. They expected the worse, and went about their business with a solemn demeanor. Trying to motivate them was nearly impossible.

One odd thing about the town was they were in the midst of having a World War I reunion for surviving veterans. Yes, there were a handful of locals who'd fought towards the end of the Great War. I met one in passing, and he was the most optimistic one present. He had that fighting spirit, that gleam in his eye that convinced me he would have gladly picked up a weapon and taken on the enemy. He and some others finished their assembly, then shuffled off to individual vehicles to be chauffeured to some unknown location.

As a side note, I ran into a family who were trying to rent a U-Haul truck to use to move away from this area.  Back and forth, the man of the family negotiated with the U-Haul folk on pricing and length of truck rental. Finally, the company rep relented and allowed the family access.