35 years ago today, we won the Cold War. The Berlin Wall fell to the will of the people. Communism failed, and the world would know peace instead of nuclear obliteration. There was so much hope and joy.
I was there. When I got to Berlin, the border guards were still killing people trying to escape. When I left, Germany was once again a single nation. We knew it would take them at least a generation to heal the wounds.
(Pictures as found elsewhere on the internet.)
51 years ago, 24 May 1973 was my last day "Protecting the Free World from Soviet Aggression". Crew Chief, F-102 Delta Dagger, Alert Barn, Keflavik, Naval Air Station/Reykjavik International Airport. The Air Force intercepted Tupolev Tu-95 bombers on their "cigar" runs to Cuba. The Navy ran P-3 Orion sub killers.
ReplyDeleteNothing smart and exciting like Intelligence.
Intelligence is mostly boring and repetitive, and normally ignored or creatively misunderstood by the movers and shakers. Crew chiefs really get around, and get to see the results of their efforts.
DeleteAs a passenger, I grew to adore combat landings and takeoffs! It's not quite so much fun when there are a series of pings! and holes suddenly appear in the fuselage, though. The crew chiefs get testy when that happens, and the pilots get creative.