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| Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin with their # 2's right behind them |
31JAN50 - Truman Announces Development of H-Bomb - President Truman announces that he has authorized the development of a "Superbomb" after finding out that the USSR had compromised the ability to develop a hydrogen bomb through their spy Klaus Fuchs, a USA scientist in the nuclear program. Just under 3-years later, "Mike" was detonated and ushered in the era of the "Hell Bomb", as the device was referred to back then. The world has lived under the shadow of a thermonuclear destruction event since then. Read more here.
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31JAN68 - Viet Cong Attack US Embassy - I remember this day as a teen. Saw the reports on the TV as my parents watched. This, and the entire TET Offensive that year, is what caused me to become more aware of the Vietnam War. I realized that I may become part of this if it does not end by my 18th birthday. As we all know, it didn't end so I joined the Navy. I didn't want to "tromp through rice paddies" as I said back then. I have been binge watching the TV show Wonder Years, and a recent episode was on the 12-year old main character Kevin, seeing the war TV coverage. I faded right back to those very same years in my mind. Don't remember much about the rest of the show that night, something about a protest walk out at the junior high, etc but I sure do remember the real film of firefights, explosions, wounded men, and defiance of the troops against authority being shown on the evening news. More information is available here and all over the internet. A YouTube video is available here.
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| "Bunker's Bunker" - US Embassy Saigon |
31JAN72 - North Vietnam Presents 9-Point Peace Proposal - Peace talks were stalled to the public eye but Kissinger was busy behind the scenes. To break the stalemate President Nixon had the information of an 8-point plan, discussed in secret meetings, made public. In response, and to get their version of the facts out, the North Vietnamese released their 9-point peace plan proposal (political one-upmanship I guess). It worked to get the ball rolling again and just about a year later a solution was found and the Paris Peace Accords were signed. How many died as these talks continued? The article is here to learn more.
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| Kissinger and Le Duc Tho Photo Op |
6FEB85 - Reagan Doctrine Announced - Dropping the old "Containment " policy established by President Truman, President Reagan used the 1985 SOTU address to redefine our policy in regards to the USSR. The Cold Warrior in him wanted to push back on the Soviets so he established a new view, in that the USA would support "Freedom Fighters" across the world to defeat the USSR. Other Cold war oriented parts of the speech present limiting nuclear arms, SDI support, and a call for a strong defense. You can read the entire address here.
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| President Reagan, VP George H.W. Bush, Speaker Tip O'Neill |
31JAN90 - First McDonald's Restaurant Opens in Soviet Union - not much to say here other than the Big Mac and capitalism come to Moscow in a very big Cold War thawing move! A video podcast with more facts is here.
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| 30,000 people showed up on opening day. They expected 1,000. |
Entertainment -
I could not find a Cold War related movie release for this week but did find two for next week. I decided to introduce one of those early this week.
The Falcon & the Snowman Movie Release - released on February 8, 1985, the movie, based on the true exploits of two men's espionage during the 1970s, explained the complexities of their lives that caused them to spy on their native country for the Soviet Union. One did it for his convictions and one did it for the money and excitement. While researching this movie I found out that they are both out of prison now (served their prison time and parole period) and have moved on with their lives. The movie is not available for digital download or streaming that I could find but the disc is available on Amazon and other online outlets. YouTube.com has quite a few movie clips as well as the trailer. The movie trailer link is here. Buy the movie here.
Billboard Top 100 for 1964 - "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles - The British Invasion Starts! Music changed forever with this group. A multitude of hits over the years influenced the world and, their songwriting was influenced by the world. From this quirky pop hit in 1964 to the insightful Imagine by John Lennon in 1988, these four young men from Liverpool England sure impacted music during the Cold War. I can still visualize the living room scene as the Beatles were introduced on Ed Sullivan and my older sisters going crazy screaming, my mom and dad telling them to quiet down, and my brother and I sitting in the back wondering what was happening. Listen to the video here.
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| Man, they look so young! |
Thanks to History.com, YouTube.com, Reagan Presidential Library, and the World Wide Web for the images and videos used here today.
Share your Cold War story! Where did you serve? Military or Civilian? Stateside or Overseas. Fulda Gap? Berlin? NATO? CIA? State Department? The Dew Line? On a Missile Battery? Down in a Silo? At Sea? Under the Sea? In the Air? According to the VA over 26 million Vets are still alive. I'd bet that most served in the 1945-1991 time frame and I'd like to share your story on this blog. As long as it isn't still classified, email me with your story and I will post it here. proudcoldwarrior@gmail.com
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