DETERRENCE

Few Americans recognized or paid close attention to the outset of the Cold War and thereafter its enduring years, mainly because it subtly began on the heels of a victorious end to World War II, persisted for so long and few alarming situations intruded their daily lives. Only noteworthy events such as SPUTNIK, the shooting down of Gary Powers’ U-2 spy plane and the Cuban Crisis brought the potentially threatening circumstances home, and then only briefly until other news items took their place. Neither did many relate the excursions in Korea and Vietnam directly to the Cold War. If anything, those distressing conflicts deflected attention away from the specter of the underlying Soviet global threat. Nevertheless, during the last half of the twentieth century, the United States found its national security challenged over the longest continuous period in history. The Cold War, as the conflict became known, evolved promptly after World War II into a protracted geopolitical impasse and extraordinary arms race of unprecedented proportions creating a massive dark umbrella casting an ominous shadow over the country, world events and lives for forty-five years. During those fragile years most within the United States and the Free World went about their lives at a virtually unhampered pace for the unaware of the potential for an Armageddon at most any moment in time. In the fast moving microwave mentality culture we have come to live within, history seldom has time to be properly baked and savored before we urge ourselves to move on. Accordingly, many noteworthy events, the character of the leaders and commanders and the heroics of many brave men and women who played a vital role in the long drawn-out and tense Cold War era have faded into irrelevant episodes or have been forgotten. Americans love and revere their heroes and it is all too frequent that we fail to grasp the true significance of periods of the past and to recognize those involved. Herein, I want to narrowly focus on some of the prominent figures and true life exploits of many others who were overlooked as they honorably served while performing incredible feats of heroism during the remarkable period. America has never fallen short of heroes when called upon for the common defense of the nation. When our leaders have sounded the clarion call, young men and women never failed to step forward. Throughout the history of our great nation their stories and their heroics are legend. The Cold War period of uncertainty called upon America’s best and brightest to respond. This time it was not to go directly into combat and engage an enemy, but to join an elite force of warriors, train with the most sophisticated war-fighting equipment technology could provide to create a deterrent force and standby to fight and defend if necessary. DETERRENCE also provides the reader an opportunity to review and judge the performance of the nine Cold War presidents, the military commanders, relive the heroics of many of the heroes during the period, reflect on the tragedies and honor those who gave the last full measure to their country.