Blogger Kevin Trainor Jr. has a Kindle book out that answers his daughter's question, "What Did You Do In The Cold War, Dad?"
He spent it in Germany, which meant he mainly drank beer and pissed off his sergeants.
His is a delightful little romp through a four-year hitch in Military Intelligence. These are the men and women who spent a year learning Russian only to wind up on some awful mountainside in Germany in a small office with a deck of cards, a dozen roommates and enough tedium to last a lifetime. Trainor is one of the few soldiers since antiquity who actually wanted to go to Fulda.
But -- spoiler alert -- he and thousands of bored young men and women kept that war cold, which was one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of mankind.
When we erect a monument to the Cold Warrior, let it be a bronzed statue of a Löwenbräu flippy.
His is an entertaining recollection of those who helped keep the balloon from going up. If you have 99 cents, a Kindle, and an afternoon, find out what James and Melody Trainor's daddy did in the Cold War. He also included some short essays on the post-9/11 military and profiles of a few good men.
Get it here.
I can see it now... Sitting in a plywood SCIF. Not that I can confirm that for another fifty years.
ReplyDeleteThree tours with the 497th RTG at Schierstein, which unless you were actually in Germany, nobody's ever heard of. Plus tours in England, Vietnam and Panama, and a few years Stateside. At least we had a REAL SCIF -- sort of.
DeleteI did two cruises off Beirut, including gunfire support missions and 18 terrifying months with an Aviation Training Squadron in Texas.
ReplyDeleteAnd some of us served in that little proxy war AKA Viet Nam during the Cold War.
ReplyDeleteAnd Korea
DeleteAnd a half-dozen others we're not supposed to talk about. . .
DeleteOthers spent it in missile siloes, either maintaining them or being ready to launch on command. Many with Northern Tears in the Northern Tier, North Dakota and Montana. Why Not Minot? Freezin's the Reason!
ReplyDeleteDon't forget drilling holes in the oceans on SSBN patrols. Waiting and ready for the order you hope never comes.
DeleteI caught an East German soldier on the west side of the border once, but he was just a bored private from the other side.
ReplyDeleteBest $0.99 you'll spend today.
ReplyDelete