Cold War Archives - TogetherWeServed Blog

U.S. Military Rank Insignia

The U.S. Military Rank Insignia has a long and proud history. Many of the ranks adopted by the United States military at the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 are still in use today. The early military took a lot of inspiration from the British and French forces. Over time, the military rank insignia has come to represent American valor. These emblems, worn on the uniform to denote rank, help people identify military personnel’s rank and pay-grade at a glance. Evolution of U.S. Military...

Service Reflections of Sgt Thomas Voss, U.S. Air Force (1975-1978)

Air Force Reflections, Cold War

My father was the primary reason I joined the USAF. He served during the Korean conflict from 1951-1954. Sadly, he passed away in August 2020. He didn’t leave any hard copy records behind to define his timeline. He spoke to me at length about his tour of duty in Hawaii, where he was a radio security specialist. His group monitored the communications between aircraft pilots and their contacts. They reported on any non-regulation exchanges on radio frequencies. After my original posting of this reflection, I have secured my dad’s military records and DD-214 from the National Archives. Now I have a much clearer picture of his military service, especially the ribbons and medals he was awarded. During his four-year tour in Hawaii, he was decorated with the following: Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, and the U.N. Service Medal.

How Armistice Day Became Veterans Day

Military Myths and Legends, World War I

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the belligerent armies fighting World War I finally laid down their arms and stopped killing each other for the same pieces of blown-up mud they'd been fighting over since 1914. The Origins of Veterans Day The First World War killed as many as 22 million people worldwide and left some 23 million more wounded. An estimated 53,000 of those killed were American service members. Another 204,000 Americans would return home wounded....

Service Reflections of TSgt Harry Walker, U.S. Air Force (1956 – 1976)

Air Force Reflections, Vietnam War

I came from a small textile town in North Carolina, and being poor, once a young person finishes school, the only work in that county is mostly the textile plants, and that is a dead-end job. I wanted to get away from that type of future. One day, I happened to be in town at the bus station, and I happened to notice an Air Force sergeant dressed in blues waiting for a bus. He was sharp-looking, and it made an impression on me that lasted. I lived pretty far from town and school, and I missed quite a lot of school days, which put me behind in my high school grades. Fortunately, my school had a counselor who had taken an interest in my situation and felt that my best option was the military. So, at 17, I talked my mother, who was a single mom raising a large family, into signing up for me to join the Air Force. That most certainly was the best decision I could have made. On January 3rd, 1956, I was on my way to Lackland for my basic training. I was a high school dropout, and my future looked bleak had I stayed in that town, but I was not sure it would have been much better to be uneducated in the military.In December 1965 I went to Navy Basic Training in San Diego. I was also required to attend weekend drills. After several months I was having second thoughts about serving Active Duty in the Navy. My best friend had joined the Air Force six months prior to my enlisting and liked it. He suggested that I see an Air Force recruiter. I took the AFQT and got 95 percentile across the board. The recruiter said that ALL technical training areas would be open to me. The only rub was that I had to be formally released from the Navy so I could join the Air Force. I got a release and I enlisted in August 1966 and went through Basic Training at Amarillo AFB.

Service Reflections of LTC Guy Edmondson, U.S. Army (1982-2010)

Army Reflections, Global War on Terror

As a young man, I had no father figure in my life. My father passed away at the early age of 37 (I was 7 at the time). As I was entering my teenage years, my mother dated a retired Air Force Colonel who got me thinking about joining the military. I joined the ROTC Corps in high school and was mentored by a World War II veteran and a Viet Nam veteran, both retired Master Sergeants.
During my senior year in high school, my mother married the man who I consider to be my father. He pushed for me to continue my education in college. With his help, I got through college in only four and a half years. William “Chile” Childers assisted in putting my gold bars on and received my first salute. In exchange, he got a 1932 silver dollar from me.
In essence, it was not one person that influenced my decision to enter the service, It was a host of people. My high school instructors, a retired Air Force Colonel (Robert Hull) and my dad. All were equally responsible for my career.

Service Reflections of MGySgt John Street, U.S. Marine Corps (1972-1999)

Marine Reflections, Vietnam War

Well, I was a little bored with school for starters even though I was a very good student. If I had followed my older brother’s lead I would have done two years at St. Pete JC in Clearwater, FL. After that who knows; he went into the USAF.
I suppose I was also ready to get away from my life as a shy-loner-dateless nobody in high school. My best friend Jeff (RIP 2006) and I somehow ended up climbing the stairs to the Armed Forces recruiting offices in downtown Clearwater, Florida in the early spring of 1972. We were actually looking for the Air Force recruiter, but I don’t recall exactly what our motivation was. As it happened the Air Force guy was out of the office, but the Marine recruiter, Gunny Bill Goddell, right across the hall, was in.
I’ve always chalked it up to fate. When I was a kid one of my favorite books to check out of the elementary school library, which I now have a copy was ‘Leatherneck’, a picture book about life in the Marine Corps by well-known author C. B. Colby. Quite a coincidence. When we found out the Marines had an Air Force too we were hooked. We delay-enlisted for aircraft maintenance guarantees in April 1972 and shipped to boot camp in October.

Service Reflections of LTC Don G. Fite, U.S. Army (1961-1987)

Army Reflections, Vietnam War

I was in my 5th year of college, and I knew I was not going to be able to complete it. The Dean advised me to “find myself by entering the service,” which made sense as the draft would be coming for me, so rather than take my chances with that, I decided to choose my own path by joining.

Service Reflections of SGT Michael Fouts, U.S. Army (1972-1976)

Army Reflections, Vietnam War

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents SGT Michael Fouts's legacy of his military service from 1972 to 1976. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to...

Service Reflections of EM2 Floyd Farrar, U.S. Navy (1957-1962)

Navy Reflections, Vietnam War

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents EM2 Floyd Farrar's legacy of his military service from 1957 to 1962. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to...

The Chopper Popper

Gulf War, Military Myths and Legends

The grounds of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs are packed to the gills with Air Force history. Among the legends on display is a green-colored Air Force Reserve A-10 Thunderbolt II (also known as a Warthog), positioned with its nose skyward. A closer look at that nose reveals its name: "The Chopper Popper." How the Chopper Popper Keeps the Tradition of Nose Art Alive Nose art isn't that common in the Air Force these days, but it's not totally forbidden. The aging but plucky...

An Airman’s Journey by Robert M. Fletcher

Korean War, Military Book Reviews

From the Korean War to the Vietnam War era, the author shares his memories and provides photos of his service with the U.S. Army and with his career the U.S. Air Force. Covered in the early part of the book are details of how he is exposed to military life, the drudgery of barracks duties, like cleaning latrines, and the kitchen police, overcoming all of those to become a surgical technician, and getting assigned to different air bases to finally reach a forward station in South...

Cold War Double Agents Within the CIA

Cold War, Military Myths and Legends

How much do you know about Cold War double agents within the CIA? Just recently, news has been released by a CIA analyst that, during the Cold War, there were double agents who worked for the CIA while remaining secretly loyal to communist spy agencies. There were nearly 100 fake CIA “agents” in East Germany, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. These “agents” made up false intelligence that was then passed on to the U.S. policymakers for years.

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