nada - -








What were Midnight Alerts like? I went through several that were very similar to this Berlin Video while in the Fulda Gap/Bed Hershfeld Area. Alerts, were no joke!!


http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=77e_1244145367




East German Civilian wounded by either Russian or East German border guards and allowed to bleed to death on their side of the wall fence - -



I just posted this to see how quick it would die - since no on cares - -



? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

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

Boy do I remember the alerts, comrad knew when they were coming but we never did, once I was in the shower all soaped up and threy called one, a real pain but needed at the time.

We were headed for the football field to play a little barnyard football when the sirens went, about this time of year - when those sirens cranked up, everybody always started running, just like some World War II movie - -

- - Alert - -

We was plannin’ to play a game
Or two of football on the old field
Behind the Post Theater - -
Ten or fifteen guys walkin’ along
Jokin’ - - pokin’ - - throwin’ the ball - -

And a howl came.
A howlin’ Banshee blaring and screaming
Out o’ the Kaserne’s loud-speakers - -

And guys that was walkin’
Began Stoppin’ - -

And guys that was stopped
Began lookin’ around - -

And guys that ‘d been lookin’ around
Began runnin’ for the Tank Park - -

And jeeps started dashin’ about!
Guys was grabbin’ gas-masks and rifles;
And boxes full of machine-guns were throwed
In the back o’ trucks headed for the Motor Park - -
And everybody in sight was runnin’ - -
And the sound of tanks startin’
And grumblin’ and screechin’ and growlin’
Came boilin’ from the South End of Post!

And we was makin’ time with our gym clothes,
And our fatigues, and our shoes, and our helmets,
And our field gear, and our machineguns!
And our tanks flew off of Post like - -

Comrade was already shellin’ the place!
As some dumb-ass MP stood in the middle
Of the road holdin’ an Opel and a Mercedez Benz
Full of bewildered krauts watchin’ the whole thing - -

And I was worrying what the hell would happen
To my wife and kid while I wiped the cold sweat
off o’ my hands getting ready to break
The metal bands on the ammo cans - -
When word cracked in my ear - -
Over the rumble and commotion - -
That it was all a dry run for the Brigade Commander - -

(Ayers Kasern "The Rock", Kirch Goens, Germany, 1971)

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

quote:

Originally posted by greywolfghost:
nada - -








What were Midnight Alerts like? I went through several that were very similar to this Berlin Video while in the Fulda Gap/Bed Hershfeld Area. Alerts, were no joke!!


http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=77e_1244145367




East German Civilian wounded by either Russian or East German border guards and allowed to bleed to death on their side of the wall fence - -



I just posted this to see how quick it would die - since no on cares - -



? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Not everybody had the pleasure of serving time on the Fulda Gap. Lovely weather and ya got a chance to build lots of Snowmen! And who could forget the Border Trace's with snow so deep Ya couldn't see the border to save your azz. Alerts, Graf, Wild Chicken and all the other places I can't spell.

2/11 ACR, Bad Kissingen. Lifetime Member.



And Yes GW, lotsa Memories.

Bring back any memories:

quote:

Originally posted by greywolfghost:
Bring back any memories:

Was nuttin compared to the 16 days of October 62.
Thought,Oh well,nobody lives forever anyway!!

Really made yer azz pucker.

quote:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=77e_1244145367

Oct 61, It seemed pretty close too

quote:

Originally posted by YankeeeSgt:
Was nuttin compared to the 16 days of October 62.
Thought,Oh well,nobody lives forever anyway!!

Really made yer azz pucker.

The Missile Crisis? Yes it was. It was 13 days though.

"http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/JFK+in+History/Cuban+Missile+Crisis.htm

quote:

Originally posted by greywolfghost:
Bring back any memories:

Hello GWG --- Good Thread. It is good to remember the Cold War. Including showing the photo of the dead man trying to leave commieland. Soooo many stories and news items come to mind...

... from the "Duck and Cover" song and drills { "Get under your desks boys and girls, and don't face the glass windows...!" } , to folks building underground shelters in their back yards. Public buildings with the yelow and black "CD" signs pointing to the basement. To air raid sirens ( In the city of Downey, California) every Thursday at about 10:00am...

I recall a news item from the 1980's (before the wall came down) about an East German Dentist or Doctor who would each morning for months, practice swimming many laps in a cold swimming pool... people that knew him thought he was a fitness nut --- turns out that he had been practicing for an escape swim out of communist East Germany...and made it!

Then there is the 2nd Inf. Div. which has been standing tall in frozen Korea for decades now, making sure the communist North Koreans stay on the north side of the DMZ...

---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ----- ---

Hey GWG --- in the photo above is that the M-48 Tank ? Looks familiar.

--- --- --- --- --- ------ ---- ---- --

BTW --- The medal you posted (I googled it) is the "Cold War"... looks more like the State seal of California... IMO - A medal struck to remember the "Cold War" should have shown a C-47 flying over the barbed wire and walls of Berlin, and Soldiers in the snow on the 38th Parallel checking the wire. A SAC B-52, or U-2, and Sub or ACC on patrol. Several men have died during the "Cold War"... some romanesque statue gazing/staring at sun rays has nothing to do with The Army Officers killed at Panmunjon by machetes and shovels, or the Army Officer killed dead by Soviets while he was on Patrol in Germany during the 1980's.

The frozen one at the top is an M-24 Chaffee Tank. Those in the picture just above are M-60A1 Patton Main Battle Tanks - -

The kind of M-60A1 I had . . . Good Ole Three Bongo!!

Our 'alerts' were called ACTIVE EDGE. Bergan ready packed for war (ruck to you), all vehicles backed into garages, keys in ignitions for soft skins, weapons and Crypto were collected and its off to Achmer to sit in the cold till the call out was called off!

And we didnt get a medal for it.

We ain't seen one either. There has been some discussion about a "Cold War Medal", but that's it.

quote:

Originally posted by redcoat72:
Our 'alerts' were called ACTIVE EDGE. Bergan ready packed for war (ruck to you), all vehicles backed into garages, keys in ignitions for soft skins, weapons and Crypto were collected and its off to Achmer to sit in the cold till the call out was called off!

Achmer Training Area must have been a popular place - any of this you?

Yup, I remember and the rumors that were rampant in those days'

The term 'popular' is subjective GWG! The top one is 4 Field Regt Royal artillery, AS90 in column with two 432's up front, my vehicle type, but a signals varient. It all looks horribly familiar!! Nice photos! thankyou!

We had a similar shyyt hole we had to rally to called Area 44 near Butzbach. Spent many a day doing echelon left, echelon right, and wedge formation practice after getting run off Post for an Alert. Had to get those tanks all nice and muddy so we could wash and scrub them again -

Couldn't find any pictures, though. . .

By the way, I had some great times training along side Brits and Canadians back in the '70s. Still have a little Black Beret with a Crest on it that I managed to trade some of my gear to one of them for. The Crest is kind of a gold on silver starburst with a Crown on top and BR or ER in the center... Kinda proud of that - -

Looks very similar to this:




Mounted on a silver starburst like this:

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