Watchmen, the movie based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore, features a rambling storyline of geo-political scenarios that borrow from the history of the late 20th century. Woven into Moore’s prose is the threat of Communism, with its perceived ideal of world domination opposed by the free nations; and the buildup of arms and nuclear weapons hurling the planet toward the possibility of Mutually Assured Destruction. In this created world, Moore and the film’s director, Zack Snyder, spin the tales of superheroes, including Dr. Manhattan who, with his fearsome power, wins the Vietnam War, keeps the Soviets at bay and performs other deeds for the government, as does his unsavory associate The Comedian.
The real story of this period has many heroes. I offer here a few examples of those who faced danger and sometimes recrimination to take their places in the history of the Cold War period.
USAF pilot Francis Gary Powers logged many hours flying the Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance jet for the CIA when he became a Cold War casualty. A Soviet surface-to-air missile took the plane down over Sverdlovsk on May 1, 1960. Powers parachuted to safety but was unable to destroy the craft and the jet survived the impact well enough for the Russians to recover its sensitive spy equipment. Powers was tried for espionage in the Soviet Union and received a harsh sentence but was exchanged within a year for a KGB agent. Back home he was initially criticized for not destroying the plane or committing suicide prior to interrogation. A Senate panel cleared him and he returned to the air as a test pilot. He was killed while piloting a news helicopter in Los Angeles in 1977 and was decorated for his CIA work posthumously. In an effort to understand his father better, Gary Powers Jr. founded the Cold War Museum and recently talked about both to ArmchairGeneral.com.
Two of the many heroic actions performed by U. S. military personnel during the Vietnam War were at Hill 488 and the Dong Ha Bridge. In June 1966 thousands of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers advanced through rugged mountains toward the American air base at Chu Lai. U. S. Marine recon forces watched their progress and called in bomb strikes. On June 15, a detachment of 16 Marines and two Navy corpsmen under Staff Sergeant Jimmie Earl Howard fought off a force of more than 400 VC that was advancing up all sides of the virtually coverless small plateau known as Hill 488. Howard used a number of clever techniques to heighten the spirits of his men and play psychological warfare on the VC, who withdrew shortly after dawn. Howard was awarded the Medal of Honor and the force became the most highly decorated small unit in U. S. military history.
Capt. John W. Ripley, while acting as an advisor to South Vietnamese Marines, single-handedly placed 500 pounds of TNT along the substructure of a key bridge at Dong Ha while under fire. His strategic placement of the boxes of explosives and successful detonation on April 2, 1972, resulted in the bridge’s complete destruction in front of 20,000 advancing NVA soldiers and 200 tanks. The highly decorated Marine retired as a colonel and passed away late last year.
Finally the USS Pueblo, a Navy technical research ship, was fired upon and boarded by North Korean forces on January 23, 1968. The North Koreans maintained the ship was spying within territorial waters when they seized the vessel and jailed and tortured the crew. The ship’s captain, Cmdr. Lloyd M. Bucher, was forced to sign a confession of espionage, though he cleverly mocked his captors in the process. After 11 months the crewmen were released. Court martial was recommended for Bucher and another officer but never carried out. The ship remains in North Korean hands though it is still a commissioned vessel. Ironically, this week the Communist government of China is wrangling with the Navy over spy vessels in the South China Sea. As long as nations distrust each other the Cold War will continue to play out in some form.
Related Articles |
