Hi, I'd REALLY APPRECIATE it if someone could answer these questions for me. I have to interview someone about Cold War.


How old were you during the Cold War era?


When did it become clear that a Cold War was in progress?


How did you feel about it?


How did it change your life?


What are some lasting effects of the Cold War on your life?


What weapons were used in the Cold War?


How did you react when you found about the Berlin Wall?


What about when it came down?


Do you remember about Duck and Cover training?


What are some of the significant events of the Cold War that you remember?


How did the cold war shape the American economy, if it did in any way?


THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!


Like I have said before, these forums are for our veterans......its NOT for college projects or news paper articles. I am going to allow this only because my fello veterans had showed alittle interest in the subject. But, I am very weary of these questionaires.

Constantine71
Lead Moderator
"Wars and Conflicts"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Constantine71,

quote:

Originally posted by annx3ette:
Hi, I'd REALLY APPRECIATE it if someone could answer these questions for me. I have to interview someone about Cold War.

How old were you during the Cold War era?
I was born in 1943 & lived throughout the Cold War (1946 - 1991)

When did it become clear that a Cold War was in progress?
News media was full of information about the threat posed by Soviet Union, Communist China, & their allies.

How did you feel about it?
As a patriotic American the communist threat concerned me &, of course, I wanted the Free World to prevail.

How did it change your life?
For one thing, I along with my parents & friends, volunteered for the U.S. Air Force trained & administered Ground Observer Corps and participated in scanning North America's skies for Soviet air strikes. The idea that communist air forces might drop nuclear bombs on us at any time is just something we lived with.

What are some lasting effects of the Cold War on your life?
I remain a dedicated, patriotic American. Threats posed by international communism throughout the Cold War have been replaced by threats of terrorism by Islamic "facists" who would impose their form of life upon Civilization. Now, I'm an old man & a retired peace officer. Still, I volunteer every week for the local Sheriff's office.

What weapons were used in the Cold War?
The whole array of modern military weapons were available. Of course, conventional U.S. Forces fought against communist Soviet clients in Korea & South Vietnam. Soviet Forces fought against Western supported forces in Afganistan. There were many other small "client" conflicts throughout the Cold War in South & Central America, on the African continent, etc. Throughout the Cold War, the real threat was thermonuclear weapons which are capable of destroying the world as we know it. The threat of using those horrible weapons is likely what kept a major war from breaking out between the U.S. and its Allies and the U.S.S.R. and its Allies.

How did you react when you found about the Berlin Wall?
The Berlin Wall had a major impact upon my military experience. When Wall construction began (August, 1961), I was in Basic Combat Training in the U.S. Army. We rushed through our training cycle to prepare for deployment to Europe in the event communist forces invaded Western Europe. Later, I was fortunate to serve in West Germany & Berlin. For more information about the Cold War in Berlin please see: http://www.berlin-brigade.de/.

What about when it came down?
When the wall came down (1989) I was well into my civilian law enforcement career. It was a surprise in that I hadn't envisioned life without the Cold War or the Berlin Wall. The world had become familiar with the "order" imposed by the Cold War.

Do you remember about Duck and Cover training?
Yes. It wasn't considered a "big deal" at all. Duck & Cover training was just a part of life for kids growing up in the Cold War. The Federal government installed a huge air raid siren in the little town I grew up in -- it was just a part of life.

What are some of the significant events of the Cold War that you remember?
The Berlin Airlift (1948-49) was a big subject of conversation. President Truman was blamed for throwing away tax money to save the German capital which we had only recently bombed into dust. The Korean Conflict was very significant. My older brother served in Korea at that time. Later, I trained & served in the Ground Observer Corps until it was deactivated in about 1956. I recall the French-Indochina war, the invasion of Egypt by Israeli, French, & British Forces as well as the Hungarian Uprising in 1956. My own military service (1961-1964) was significant &, like I mentioned, I served on the Cold War's "front line" in Berlin. Later, I was involved in law enforcement & other operations which included many significant Cold War events.

How did the cold war shape the American economy, if it did in any way?[/b]
A real economist would probably tell you that in terms of gross domestic product, the U.S. spent more revenue for defense during the Cold War than it does today in our war against international terrorism. What impresses me most is the magnitude of inflation. When I graduated from college (1968) my starting salary was only $418 per month. That seems very low but I rented a furnished house for only $65 a month and could buy a week's worth of groceries for about $20. Today, in retirement, my pension is significantly higher than my starting salary was just out of college.


THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 13433578,

quote:

Originally posted by annx3ette:
Hi, I'd REALLY APPRECIATE it if someone could answer these questions for me. I have to interview someone about Cold War.


How old were you during the Cold War era?
I was born in 1946 so you could say I lived through all of it.


When did it become clear that a Cold War was in progress?
For me it was always in progress till the Berlin wall came down


How did you feel about it?
I never realy gave it much thought other than I would be enlisting in the service as soon as I was able, to fight communism if necessary.


How did it change your life?
Thats an unknown. I knew no other life. Joining the service did change my life for the better though. I grew up. The guys I hung around with, for the most part, ended up in jail or dead from booze and drugs and I never got into that. Instead I got out of the service and went to school. It paid off in the long run.


What are some lasting effects of the Cold War on your life?
I don't trust politicians. Because of a couple things I was involved with I lost confidence that the men in the military wouldn't be backed up when they needed it when international politics was involved. You can read about it here www.USSLiberty.org

What weapons were used in the Cold War?
Everything we had in the arsonal except for nuclear and biological. Chemical warfare was used if you count agent orange.


How did you react when you found about the Berlin Wall?
I remember watching information about the Berlin irlift but not very much about it. I woundered why somebody would build a wall like that and then I found out later it wasn't so much to keep people out as it was to keep people in. Then I didn't care for it.



What about when it came down?
Deep satisfaction that we "won"


Do you remember about Duck and Cover training?
Yup. We pushed the desks up against the inside walls and got under them. I also remember fallout shelters. I'me quite suprized you didn't ask about those. There were exibits and sales all over the country and if you realy look hard you'll probably be able to find a few still around in peoples yards.


What are some of the significant events of the Cold War that you remember?
The Cuban Missle crisis. The Bay of Pigs invasion. The Korean War. Viet Nam. The USS Liberty. The USS Pueblo. Grenada Invasion. Dominican Republic. I've probably forgotten a few.


How did the cold war shape the American economy, if it did in any way?
Can't realy say other than it sparked a whole generation of products from the race to space. We've benifitted treamendously from the space program and products that have come from it.


THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

No thank you for asking.

what should I write for who you are?
like a nickname or something.
i dont need any formal or real names or anything like that

but thank you so much!

Click on my screen Name, GerryRM3, and you can see my profile.

Please refer to my military.com Personal Message.

Perhaps you'll find it ironic that even though the West's Cold War victory is evidence that our free market/capitalist economic model is superior to the communist/socialist/collectivist system, many 21st Century politicians are proposing socialism in the U.S.

Good luck with your Cold War project! Please let us know of the final result.

This says it all:


Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate
West Berlin, Germany
June 12, 1987

This speech was delivered to the people of West Berlin, yet it was also audible on the East side of the Berlin wall.
2,703 words

Thank you very much.

Chancellor Kohl, Governing Mayor Diepgen, ladies and gentlemen: Twenty-four years ago, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin, speaking to the people of this city and the world at the City Hall. Well, since then two other presidents have come, each in his turn, to Berlin. And today I, myself, make my second visit to your city.

We come to Berlin, we American presidents, because it's our duty to speak, in this place, of freedom. But I must confess, we're drawn here by other things as well: by the feeling of history in this city, more than 500 years older than our own nation; by the beauty of the Grunewald and the Tiergarten; most of all, by your courage and determination. Perhaps the composer Paul Lincke understood something about American presidents. You see, like so many presidents before me, I come here today because wherever I go, whatever I do: Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin. [I still have a suitcase in Berlin.]

Our gathering today is being broadcast throughout Western Europe and North America. I understand that it is being seen and heard as well in the East. To those listening throughout Eastern Europe, a special word: Although I cannot be with you, I address my remarks to you just as surely as to those standing here before me. For I join you, as I join your fellow countrymen in the West, in this firm, this unalterable belief: Es gibt nur ein Berlin. [There is only one Berlin.]

Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe. From the Baltic, south, those barriers cut across Germany in a gash of barbed wire, concrete, dog runs, and guard towers. Farther south, there may be no visible, no obvious wall. But there remain armed guards and checkpoints all the same--still a restriction on the right to travel, still an instrument to impose upon ordinary men and women the will of a totalitarian state. Yet it is here in Berlin where the wall emerges most clearly; here, cutting across your city, where the news photo and the television screen have imprinted this brutal division of a continent upon the mind of the world. Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar.

President von Weizsacker has said, "The German question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed." Today I say: As long as the gate is closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind. Yet I do not come here to lament. For I find in Berlin a message of hope, even in the shadow of this wall, a message of triumph.

In this season of spring in 1945, the people of Berlin emerged from their air-raid shelters to find devastation. Thousands of miles away, the people of the United States reached out to help. And in 1947 Secretary of State--as you've been told--George Marshall announced the creation of what would become known as the Marshall Plan. Speaking precisely 40 years ago this month, he said: "Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos."

In the Reichstag a few moments ago, I saw a display commemorating this 40th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. I was struck by the sign on a burnt-out, gutted structure that was being rebuilt. I understand that Berliners of my own generation can remember seeing signs like it dotted throughout the western sectors of the city. The sign read simply: "The Marshall Plan is helping here to strengthen the free world." A strong, free world in the West, that dream became real. Japan rose from ruin to become an economic giant. Italy, France, Belgium--virtually every nation in Western Europe saw political and economic rebirth; the European Community was founded.

In West Germany and here in Berlin, there took place an economic miracle, the Wirtschaftswunder. Adenauer, Erhard, Reuter, and other leaders understood the practical importance of liberty--that just as truth can flourish only when the journalist is given freedom of speech, so prosperity can come about only when the farmer and businessman enjoy economic freedom. The German leaders reduced tariffs, expanded free trade, lowered taxes. From 1950 to 1960 alone, the standard of living in West Germany and Berlin doubled.

Where four decades ago there was rubble, today in West Berlin there is the greatest industrial output of any city in Germany--busy office blocks, fine homes and apartments, proud avenues, and the spreading lawns of parkland. Where a city's culture seemed to have been destroyed, today there are two great universities, orchestras and an opera, countless theaters, and museums. Where there was want, today there's abundance--food, clothing, automobiles--the wonderful goods of the Ku'damm. From devastation, from utter ruin, you Berliners have, in freedom, rebuilt a city that once again ranks as one of the greatest on earth. The Soviets may have had other plans. But my friends, there were a few things the Soviets didn't count on--Berliner Herz, Berliner Humor, ja, und Berliner Schnauze. [Berliner heart, Berliner humor, yes, and a Berliner Schnauze.]

In the 1950s, Khrushchev predicted: "We will bury you." But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history. In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind--too little food. Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself. After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor.

And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand the importance of freedom. We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been released. Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed. Some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control.

Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system without changing it? We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace.

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

I understand the fear of war and the pain of division that afflict this continent-- and I pledge to you my country's efforts to help overcome these burdens. To be sure, we in the West must resist Soviet expansion. So we must maintain defenses of unassailable strength. Yet we seek peace; so we must strive to reduce arms on both sides.

Beginning 10 years ago, the Soviets challenged the Western alliance with a grave new threat, hundreds of new and more deadly SS-20 nuclear missiles, capable of striking every capital in Europe. The Western alliance responded by committing itself to a counter-deployment unless the Soviets agreed to negotiate a better solution; namely, the elimination of such weapons on both sides. For many months, the Soviets refused to bargain in earnestness. As the alliance, in turn, prepared to go forward with its counter-deployment, there were difficult days--days of protests like those during my 1982 visit to this city--and the Soviets later walked away from the table.

But through it all, the alliance held firm. And I invite those who protested then-- I invite those who protest today--to mark this fact: Because we remained strong, the Soviets came back to the table. And because we remained strong, today we have within reach the possibility, not merely of limiting the growth of arms, but of eliminating, for the first time, an entire class of nuclear weapons from the face of the earth.

As I speak, NATO ministers are meeting in Iceland to review the progress of our proposals for eliminating these weapons. At the talks in Geneva, we have also proposed deep cuts in strategic offensive weapons. And the Western allies have likewise made far-reaching proposals to reduce the danger of conventional war and to place a total ban on chemical weapons.

While we pursue these arms reductions, I pledge to you that we will maintain the capacity to deter Soviet aggression at any level at which it might occur. And in cooperation with many of our allies, the United States is pursuing the Strategic Defense Initiative--research to base deterrence not on the threat of offensive retaliation, but on defenses that truly defend; on systems, in short, that will not target populations, but shield them. By these means we seek to increase the safety of Europe and all the world. But we must remember a crucial fact: East and West do not mistrust each other because we are armed; we are armed because we mistrust each other. And our differences are not about weapons but about liberty. When President Kennedy spoke at the City Hall those 24 years ago, freedom was encircled, Berlin was under siege. And today, despite all the pressures upon this city, Berlin stands secure in its liberty. And freedom itself is transforming the globe.

In the Philippines, in South and Central America, democracy has been given a rebirth. Throughout the Pacific, free markets are working miracle after miracle of economic growth. In the industrialized nations, a technological revolution is taking place--a revolution marked by rapid, dramatic advances in computers and telecommunications.

In Europe, only one nation and those it controls refuse to join the community of freedom. Yet in this age of redoubled economic growth, of information and innovation, the Soviet Union faces a choice: It must make fundamental changes, or it will become obsolete.

Today thus represents a moment of hope. We in the West stand ready to cooperate with the East to promote true openness, to break down barriers that separate people, to create a safe, freer world. And surely there is no better place than Berlin, the meeting place of East and West, to make a start. Free people of Berlin: Today, as in the past, the United States stands for the strict observance and full implementation of all parts of the Four Power Agreement of 1971. Let us use this occasion, the 750th anniversary of this city, to usher in a new era, to seek a still fuller, richer life for the Berlin of the future. Together, let us maintain and develop the ties between the Federal Republic and the Western sectors of Berlin, which is permitted by the 1971 agreement.

And I invite Mr. Gorbachev: Let us work to bring the Eastern and Western parts of the city closer together, so that all the inhabitants of all Berlin can enjoy the benefits that come with life in one of the great cities of the world.

To open Berlin still further to all Europe, East and West, let us expand the vital air access to this city, finding ways of making commercial air service to Berlin more convenient, more comfortable, and more economical. We look to the day when West Berlin can become one of the chief aviation hubs in all central Europe.

With our French and British partners, the United States is prepared to help bring international meetings to Berlin. It would be only fitting for Berlin to serve as the site of United Nations meetings, or world conferences on human rights and arms control or other issues that call for international cooperation.

There is no better way to establish hope for the future than to enlighten young minds, and we would be honored to sponsor summer youth exchanges, cultural events, and other programs for young Berliners from the East. Our French and British friends, I'm certain, will do the same. And it's my hope that an authority can be found in East Berlin to sponsor visits from young people of the Western sectors.

One final proposal, one close to my heart: Sport represents a source of enjoyment and ennoblement, and you may have noted that the Republic of Korea--South Korea--has offered to permit certain events of the 1988 Olympics to take place in the North. International sports competitions of all kinds could take place in both parts of this city. And what better way to demonstrate to the world the openness of this city than to offer in some future year to hold the Olympic games here in Berlin, East and West? In these four decades, as I have said, you Berliners have built a great city. You've done so in spite of threats--the Soviet attempts to impose the East-mark, the blockade. Today the city thrives in spite of the challenges implicit in the very presence of this wall. What keeps you here? Certainly there's a great deal to be said for your fortitude, for your defiant courage. But I believe there's something deeper, something that involves Berlin's whole look and feel and way of life--not mere sentiment. No one could live long in Berlin without being completely disabused of illusions. Something instead, that has seen the difficulties of life in Berlin but chose to accept them, that continues to build this good and proud city in contrast to a surrounding totalitarian presence that refuses to release human energies or aspirations. Something that speaks with a powerful voice of affirmation, that says yes to this city, yes to the future, yes to freedom. In a word, I would submit that what keeps you in Berlin is love--love both profound and abiding.

Perhaps this gets to the root of the matter, to the most fundamental distinction of all between East and West. The totalitarian world produces backwardness because it does such violence to the spirit, thwarting the human impulse to create, to enjoy, to worship. The totalitarian world finds even symbols of love and of worship an affront. Years ago, before the East Germans began rebuilding their churches, they erected a secular structure: the television tower at Alexander Platz. Virtually ever since, the authorities have been working to correct what they view as the tower's one major flaw, treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind. Yet even today when the sun strikes that sphere--that sphere that towers over all Berlin--the light makes the sign of the cross. There in Berlin, like the city itself, symbols of love, symbols of worship, cannot be suppressed.

As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that embodiment of German unity, I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner: "This wall will fall. Beliefs become reality." Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom.

And I would like, before I close, to say one word. I have read, and I have been questioned since I've been here about certain demonstrations against my coming. And I would like to say just one thing, and to those who demonstrate so. I wonder if they have ever asked themselves that if they should have the kind of government they apparently seek, no one would ever be able to do what they're doing again.

Thank you and God bless you all.



Note: The President spoke at 2:20 p.m. at the Brandenburg Gate. In his opening remarks, he referred to West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Prior to his remarks, President Reagan met with West German President Richard von Weizsacker and the Governing Mayor of West Berlin Eberhard Diepgen at Schloss Bellevue, President Weizsacker's official residence in West Berlin. Following the meeting, President Reagan went to the Reichstag, where he viewed the Berlin Wall from the East Balcony.

BACK TO SPEECHES

I was born in 1937 and I have been through it all. My problem with this discussion is I hate conversing to a closed door.
Who are you that resides in Maryland? Be more specific about why you would like these questions answered.

I guess it's a one way street. Are we not worthy of a simple answer?

I am curious why you need this information also? A book? A thesis? Political misuse?

You kids do not no how good you have it today. there are a lot of people out there that tell you about that time in history. both side then you decide which you want to hear.

Here’s a couple of websites that should be of interest to you:
http://www.coldwar.org/education/powers_testimony.html
http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/coldwar/index.shtml

How old were you during the Cold War era?
I was born in 1937, that would make me about 10 or 11

When did it become clear that a Cold War was in progress?
When some politician told us

How did you feel about it?
It was just a part of my life

How did it change your life?
How would we know? Besides, I spent most of that time on active duty

What are some lasting effects of the Cold War on your life?
Cold wars can to hot at any moment

What weapons were used in the Cold War?
For me, M1, M14 and M16

How did you react when you found about the Berlin Wall?

Sorry, I was thinking Berlin Air Lift, I was 14, I could not have careless about the world situation.

These are my memories concerning the building of the Berlin Wall I thought we would never let them get away with it. I expected us to even go to war with them if necessary.



What about when it came down?
We (my wife and I) visited Berlin in 1970 saw both sides and I knew it would happen someday.

Do you remember about Duck and Cover training?
Yes, in school but only once or twice, as I recall

What are some of the significant events of the Cold War that you remember?

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956, I was stationed in Germany my unit was on alert to go – loaded and ready to move out – I wonder how things would have changed if Ike would sent in the troops. The Korean war and the Vietnam war were a results of the cold war

How did the cold war shape the American economy, if it did in any way?
Up and down, just like any other 50 years in American history.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: OldArmyWOPA,

OldArmyWOPA, your reply to the Berlin Wall question is puzzling. The Wall was built in 1961 -- you were 24 (not 14) years old and already in military service. Surely, you recall the upheaval it caused in U.S. Armed Forces. Please clarify. Thank you.