Cold "Peace" by Matt
Davison
I'm always amazed at how many think of the Cold
War as peacetime. If this were truly the case, why not
refer to it as the Cold "Peace." People, especially
veterans, cannot understand that Cold Warriors faced the
same hazards, daily, year-in-year- out. It's easy to
dismiss this kind of service as "peacetime," but that
misses the point. This was a different kind of service,
a different kind of war, and it deserves recognition.
I was involved in what was referred to as the
"shooting gallery off Japan," serving with Air Force
electronic "Floor stations" operated by the U.S. Air
Force Security Service, where we monitored Communist
radar emissions and missile tests from many locations
along the Pacific rim. The largest, with over 1,000
airmen, and the controlling center for the Pacific, was
the 6920th Electronic Security Group at
Misawa AFB, Japan. Russian MIGs from their airfield on
the Kurile Islands would regularly buzz our station, but
no encounters ever occurred because U.S. fighters would
scramble quickly. I also remember when the Communists
slapped a blockade on Quemoy and began an artillery
bombardment. This was a flash point that put us on full
alert.
The thing "hot war" veterans need to remember,
is that we all answered the call, drafted or
volunteered. America needed its guardians of freedom and
we were there. We served around the globe for 46 years,
ensuring that freedom would not disappear at the hands
of totalitarian Communist regimes. We did this in places
most of the world never heard of, in the air, on land
and at sea.
Cold War is a term that invites many
stereotypes, and yet involves many shades of warfare –
conventional and unconventional, open and in the
shadows. We served in the bunkers of NORAD and over
Soviet airspace, tracking Soviet submarines and
detecting enemy radar signals along the coast of North
Korea and the USSR, deployed to Nike Hercules nuclear
missile units that defended places ranging from New
Jersey to forward locations along the Iron Curtain and
Korean DMZ, and in places most have never heard of.
Sometimes the Cold War turned hot, and we accepted that
risk.
The number of killed and wounded in Cold War
operations has been unresolved over time. These deaths
were often shrouded in secrecy and classified as
"accidents" due to political or security reasons. The
VFW has recognized the number as being at least 382
hostile fire deaths at the hands of Communist forces,
but many believe that number should be much higher.
Robert Gates is quoted as saying "...and so the greatest
American triumphs became a particularly joyless victory.
We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades."
From the first fatal shootdown in 1946 over
Yugoslavia, to the 17-man crew shot down over Armenia in
1958, and other fatal shootdowns over the Sea of Japan
and North Korea, this was never a Cold "Peace." Another
oddity in all of this are the deaths of Army Major Dale
Buis and Master Sgt. Chester Ovnand, at the hand of the
Viet Cong in Bien Hoa. These deaths occurred in 1959,
prior to the IRS designated Vietnam Era. They are listed
as "Cold War" KIA, and yet they are the first two names
on the Vietnam Veterans Wall.
There are those who say that a day should be
set aside to nationally honor those who served to
contain Communism. And there are those who believe a
Cold War medal should be given to those who had served
during this time. The medal was proposed, only to be
vetoed by then President George W. Bush, even though it
had the backing of Senator’s Clinton, Collins, Schumer,
and Lincoln. Maybe, under the leadership of President
Obama, these Cold Warriors will finally be recognized
for their vigilance and sacrifice in what was arguably
the most dangerous era the world has ever known.
-Matt Davison, Proud Cold Warrior and
CWVA Member