Some Words for May 1st

Ladies and Gentlemen, the great Roman orator Cicero once said, “Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but poorer still is the nation that having heroes, fails to remember and honor them.”

In our society some men are lionized for their great wealth, or their political power, or their social position. Some are renowned for their athletic ability. Others are accorded celebrity status as film stars or rock icons. But of all the titles in the world I believe the proudest is that of veteran because it refers to an individual who was willing to give up everything for America.

In William Shakespeare’s play “Henry the 5th,” the king of England on the eve of the last great battle of the One Hundred Years War, stood before his beleaguered and out numbered soldiers and said to them,

”We few, we happy few, we band of brothers, for he who sheds his blood with me this day until the ending of the world is my brother.”

The veterans who wore the uniform of this country are a brotherhood. They represent less than 7% of the population making them members of the most exclusive fraternity in America, forever connected by a shared sense of duty, commitment and willingness to sacrifice their lives that set them apart and make them different from everyone else in our society.

Let us remain friends and stay united as veterans, and extend one to the other, the mutual respect earned by men who stood together in defense of America.

“Let us, we few, we happy few, until the ending of the world, remain a band of brothers.”


We gather here on May 1st to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the 5 Decade long struggle known as "The Cold War". Many may ask why commemorate these men on May 1st. The fall of the Berlin Wall or the dissolving of the Soviet Union are anniversaries that might just as well be the one marked on the calender for this occasion.

Allow me to tell you why.


May 1st Communist Party Workers day, a day In the Communist Block mandatory upon the proletarian organizations of all countries to stop work on [[May 1]], This was a day to celebrate the accomplishments of the State and maybe most importantly to show case the power of the Red military machine. I do not think there is anyone of us old enough who cannot remember those ominous news reel images of troops, tanks, and missiles rolling down the parade route endlessly in Moscow and repeated all over Eastern Europe and Asia and even in our own hemisphere.

These images were a annual reminder to us that we were locked in a ideological struggle that was a very real threat to our freedoms and our very way of life.

How would we respond to this menace? The only way we could respond was to check communist aggression wherever and whenever it reared its ugly head and for three generations young Americans answered that call from the Fulda Gap to Korean DMZ . From Jungles of Southeast Asia to the radar stations in the Arctic. The Air, the land, on and under all the 7 Seas. Proxy wars and a doctrine called MAD these men and women answered the call and went all over the globe to contain the spread of communism and some never returned.

So on May 1st a day that celebrated the Communist worker and military might, We too Shall honor the worker: the Airmen, Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers who lie in rest here will not be forgotten for the work they have done to keep this country free . "Lest We Forget" a grateful nation remembers and thanks you for your service.

Call Senators Kennedy and Collins Today

Greetings everyone,

Tomorrow Wed. Apr. 29 several members of the ACWV are scheduled to meet with Senator Kennedy to discuss the Cold War Victory Medal.

Please everyone call his office today or tomorrow at 202-224-4543 to express your support for the Cold War Victory Medal and ask Senator Kennedy to support this medal.

Senator Collins is on the brink of introducing legislation to authorize the medal, she may need a little push to help her make the decission. Call her today or tomorrow at 202-224-2523 and express your concern and support. Ask her to please introduce legislation for a Cold War Victory Medal.

The VFW, American Legion, Amvets, and Korea War Veterans all support us, mention this when you call the senators.

We need your help right now.

Thanks,

Jerry


Jerald Terwilliger
National Vice Chairman/Treasurer
American Cold War Veterans

"We Remember"
www.americancoldwarvets.org
http://jerry88acwv-americancoldwarveterans.blogspot.com/

Sean Eagan of americancoldwarvets.org will be on POW-MIA Radio Hosted by Rod Utech Sunday April 26th to discuss the May 1st Day of Remembrance for Forgotten Heroes of the Cold War.

Listen Live on line Sunday April 26th at 4 P.M. MST 6 P.M. EST

Here

POW/MIA Radio is broadcast by the American Freedom Network

Sean and Rod will discuss Cold War veteran issues and the May 1st Day of Remembrance for Forgotten Heroes of the Cold War.

(http://www.americanewsnet.com). Its flagship station is KHNC 1360AM out of Johnstown, CO. You can also catch their broadcast on Satellite: G-9 Channel 2, Sub-Audio 7.76, Horizontal Polarit

Greetings from American Cold War Veterans,

We would like to extend a invitation to you for the following events on May 1st 2009 :

• CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST – ROOM 902 SENATE OFFICE BUILDING 8:00 – 9:30 AM MAY 1, 2009.
• NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR FORGOTTEN HEROES OF THE COLD WAR SECTION 3, ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY MAY 1, 2009 CONDUCTED BY AMERICAN COLD WAR VETERANS.

Sincerely,




Sean Eagan Chairman
American Cold War Veterans, Inc.

Web:	http://americancoldwarvets.org/
Blog:	Cold War Veterans Blog
Email:	Sean.Eagan@gmail.com
Phone:	716 720-4000
Network:	My Fast Pitch! Profile

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST – ROOM 902 SENATE OFFICE BUILDING

8:00 – 9:30 AM

MAY 1, 2009

SPONSORED BY

AMERICAN COLD WAR VETERANS

“WE REMEMBER”

WELCOME TO MEMBERS AND GUESTS

INVOCATION – CHAPLAIN

WHY WE ARE HERE – SEAN EAGAN, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, ACWV

BREAKFAST, FOLLOWED BY VISITS TO SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES,

PLEASE JOIN US AGAIN AT 12:00 NOON

SECTION 3, ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

FOR

FORGOTTEN HEROES OF THE COLD WAR

NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

FOR

FORGOTTEN HEROES OF THE COLD WAR

SECTION 3, ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

MAY 1, 2009

CONDUCTED BY

AMERICAN COLD WAR VETERANS

“WE REMEMBER”

WELCOME

INVOCATION – CHAPLAIN

PRESENTATION OF COLORS

WHY WE ARE HERE – SEAN EAGAN

REMEMBERING FORGOTTEN HEROES OF THE COLD WAR – FRANK TIMS

REMARKS – ERNIE GALLO, USS LIBERTY VETERANS ASSOCIATION

REMEMBRANCE – CHAPLAIN

BELL CEREMONY

TAPS

FLOWERS AND MILITARY HONORS AT GRAVE SITES

INDIVIDUAL VISITS TO LAOS MEMORIAL; THRESHER MEMORIAL STONE; VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL; AND KOREAN WAR MEMORIAL

Well, it wasn’t really a war, was it?’

Apr 10, 2009 by Susan Mohammad


The Cold War was characterized by covertness, but it was real enough to almost consume Scott L’Ecuyer. Nearly two decades after it ended, the former mechanic at a nuclear missile silo in North Dakota was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that he says stemmed from his service with the Strategic Air Command in the late ’80s. He watched for Soviet attacks, managed the missiles’ temperature to prevent them from detonating—and was never more than three rings away from the phone during the 18-hour workdays. However, it was constantly asking himself if he was ready to “kill millions” by ensuring that the 450 warheads at the silo were always ready to launch that took its toll. But L’Ecuyer, now 43, is covering his own medical expenses since he isn’t recognized as a veteran: because war was never declared, 1945 to 1991 is classified as peacetime. And that makes Cold War vets in the U.S. who served outside of recognized action periods like Korea or Vietnam ineligible for the same pensions and benefits that traditional combat veterans receive.

According to the American Cold War Veterans organization, as many as 12 million U.S. veterans, like L’Ecuyer, are affected by the lack of recognition. Now these “forgotten” U.S. vets have begun demanding the same pensions and benefits as other veterans, who collect a pension on the basis of serving during a recognized war, serving a full military career, or being injured while in service. They are also pushing for a medal honouring their contribution (as is happening in Britain as well). While some politicians have supported the vets (Hillary Clinton unsuccessfully introduced the Cold War Medal acts of 2003, 2005 and 2007)—one obstacle, the Cold War vets say, is lack of support from other veterans. “If you didn’t get shot at, your service doesn’t register—a ‘my war was better than your war issue,’ ” says L’Ecuyer.


While Canadian Cold War vets don’t have their own medal (the government does recognize those who served under NATO through the Special Service Medal with the NATO bar), they are equal to other vets regarding pensions. A spokesperson for the British Cold War Veterans group, Tony Morland, says he’s lost hope his government will recognize the vets with a medal, and says most Cold War vets would be recognized if NATO issued the honour instead. “The Cold War was won by the NATO alliance sticking to its task,” says Morland. “It is now standard practice for NATO to issue medals for joint operations. One need only look at the Balkans and more recently in Afghanistan.” British veterans petitioned Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s office last year asking for a service medal, but were told that they are only issued to those who have been subjected to risk and rigour “greatly in excess of what is reasonable to expect during normal service activity.”

For L’Ecuyer and others like him, the issue isn’t about glory. “During remembrance ceremonies, I don’t know which group to stand with,” says L’Ecuyer. “That’s the part that stings, when someone says you aren’t a veteran, you weren’t in combat. You were in combat in your head. I had to make a deal with the devil to fix those [missiles].”

Tags: American Cold War Veterans organization, Cold War, Cold War veterans
Posted in World 1 Comment »

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A Blockhouse survives as relic to Cold War

An enormous concrete structure known around Adair Village, or as the Blockhouse is seen on Feb. 19, in Adair Village. The building once housed the SAGE Direction Center, a Cold War-era Air Force installation designed to defend the West Coast from Soviet nuclear attack.

By BENNETT HALL
(Corvallis) Gazette-Times

ADAIR VILLAGE (AP) — Right in the middle of Adair Village squats a massive, rectilinear pile of concrete.

Unmarked and nearly windowless, its perimeter guarded by a cyclone fence topped with three strands of barbed wire, the three-story structure known locally as ‘‘the Blockhouse’’ is a weird sort of contradiction — it’s the biggest thing for miles around, but it’s so utterly featureless that it seems to blend into the background, going almost unnoticed by the steady stream of motorists flowing past on Oregon Highway 99W.

Today it stands cold, dark and silent. But flash back a half-century, and the Blockhouse was a concrete beehive called SAGE, its corridors filled with men and its rooms crammed with electronic surveillance equipment that constantly scanned the skies. The building was a sentinel standing watch against the looming threat of nuclear annihilation. During World War II, the area had been home to Camp Adair, an Army cantonment that held as many as 50,000 men, briefly making it Oregon’s second-largest city.

In 1958, at the height of the Cold War, the site was returned to military control and became Adair Air Force Station.

Adair Air Force Station was headquarters for the Portland Air Defense Sector of NORAD — the North American Air Defense Command — and its main reason for being was the Blockhouse, officially known as the SAGE Direction Center. The acronym stood for Semi-Automatic Ground Environment, a computerized control system for tracking and intercepting enemy aircraft. The Adair installation was one of 22 around the country designed to spot incoming Soviet long-range nuclear bombers before they could drop their loads of destruction on American soil.

Responsible for the defense of eight Western states, the SAGE Direction Center continuously monitored the readouts of 16 long-range radar stations. In case a hostile aircraft was spotted, the station could scramble U.S. jets from the 322nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, the 84th or the 456th in the San Francisco Bay Area, the 194th in Fresno or the 190th in Boise.

Although primitive by today’s standards, SAGE was highly advanced for its time.At its peak, Adair Air Force Station was home to 860 Air Force officers and enlisted men and 150 civilian support personnel. Most of them spent their working days inside the Blockhouse, monitoring or maintaining the electronic equipment.

One of those men was Jim Juntunen. Now 69, he’s a retired lieutenant colonel living in Corvallis. In 1963, he was a brand-new second lieutenant on his first posting out of officer’s school.

In his three years at Adair, he worked in the ‘‘blue room,’’ a cavernous space on the third-floor dimly illuminated by the glow from about two dozen computer consoles. As a weapons controller, Juntunen was assigned to one of the consoles, along with a technician.

The circular screen was split down the middle by a line representing the West Coast between Southern Washington and San Francisco Bay, and the operator could zoom in and out to focus on particular sectors.

‘‘We never had a real threat, thank goodness, but we did have instances of unidentified aircraft,’’ Juntunen said. ‘‘Maybe a commercial aircraft had wandered off their flight plan for some reason. We’d have to scramble some aircraft and go out and take a look and see what it was.’’

By checking flight plans and conferring with Federal Aviation Administration flight controllers, SAGE personnel could usually determine that an initially unidentified aircraft was harmless, and not the leading edge of a nuclear strike by Soviet long-range bombers. But not always.

Juntunen recalls one instance when his crew couldn’t identify a plane heading for the Oregon coast. Not sure what they might be dealing with, they sent two F-101 jet fighters streaking from Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato, Calif., to find out.

‘‘They were about 80 miles off the coast when we intercepted them,’’ Juntunen said. ‘‘They identified it as an airliner. They gave us the tail or registration number, and we were able to confirm it with the FAA.’’

While this sort of thing didn’t happen often, Juntunen said, it was probably more common than the American public ever realized because of the stealthy tactics used by Air Force pilots.

‘‘The fighter came up underneath the aircraft, and astern,’’ he said. ‘‘They got up close enough to ID the aircraft and peeled away. I don’t think they ever knew they’d been intercepted.’’

All these years later, Juntunen doesn’t remember exactly what was going through his mind that day when a blip on a radar screen sent his crew into full alert.

‘‘But probably the main thing was ’I sure hope this is some airliner that’s off course, because the alternative is something I don’t want to think about,’’’ he says today.

By the end of the 1960s, the threat of Soviet nuclear bombers had been replaced by the threat of Soviet nuclear missiles and SAGE technology was becoming obsolete. On Sept.15, 1969, Adair Air Force Station shut down, and now the community of Adair Village has grown up in its place. Justus Seely bought the old Blockhouse in 2002 with plans to lease it to industrial tenants, but he hasn’t had many takers.

His countertop and floor covering business occupies about half of the 40,000-square-foot ground floor, with the other half rented out as storage space. The rest of the building is empty. Scavengers have picked over the building pretty thoroughly, but a few Cold War relics remain.

The basement, set up as a fallout shelter, still has a small cache of Civil Defense supplies — cans of emergency drinking water, a tin of survival wafers, a sanitation kit — stored just in case the unthinkable happened.

But up on the second floor, in the very heart of the giant concrete cave of the Blockhouse, one key part of the old SAGE installation remains: the War Room. It’s a glassed-in cubicle looking out over the building’s control center, where the station’s top brass could keep track of everything that was happening in the Portland Air Defense Sector.

This is where the sector commander would oversee the constant training exercises that kept his men ready to meet the Soviet nuclear threat — and coordinate the response if that threat ever became real. Today, nearly 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it’s hard to remember how serious the danger seemed in those days. But for an old cold warrior like Juntunen, the memories remain vivid.

‘‘We had a saying out there,’’ he recalled. ‘‘The saying was, ’This job consists of hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.’’’