Veterans and Memories

A Naval officer telling about slipping a submarine into a key Russian port during the Cold War. An old Army CID agent recalling the extraordinary efforts that French security gave to protecting Charles de Gaulle from assassination. An Army provost marshal guiding another officer and me through some of the seedier sections of Frankfurt. A sergeant in West Germany estimating that if the Soviets invaded then his area would be reached in 15 minutes. An Armor officer noting that French troops were with the NATO forces on exercises during the Cold War but since France was no longer a member of NATO "we were not supposed to mention that." A general in Korea who held live fire exercises. An Army ranger describing his respect for the Turkish military. An American officer recalling his colorful chat with a Russian  officer at Spandau, the prison where the senior Nazi war criminals were held and where the British, French, Americans, and Russians took turns guarding a few old men. A colonel reporting on a briefing at the Pentagon: "We were told the volunteer Army will work." Being briefed on what the Soviets could learn from a building's electrical system. The Old Guard firing the cannons at Fort McNair.


[Photo by Andrew Neel at Unsplash]