We Were Soldiers Too

A GRIPPING, TRUE STORY TOLD FROM THE FRONT LINES AS THE WORLD FACED THE POSSIBILITY OF NUCLEAR WAR This is a personal account of military service and the historical events that were happening during President Reagan's time in office as the world faced the possibility of nuclear war. The author was in the US Army from November 1980 until March 1988 which coincided with President Reagan's time in office. He quickly went from a naive seventeen year old boy to a dedicated die hard soldier ready to sacrifice his life for his country. ˃˃˃ An assignment that likely would have been at Ground Zero of a nuclear war. On the verge of World War 3 and nuclear war, "We Were Soldiers Too" is about the difficult job of serving in the infantry during a very critical time of the Cold War. Serving as the first line of defense for a Soviet invasion in Germany, he found himself assigned the responsibility of defending an area in the Fulda Gap with only one objective, to hold the advancing Soviets until reinforcements arrived.

Ground zero for a nuclear war was just over an hour northeast of Frankfurt, Germany. The small town of Fulda is nestled at the base of a natural gap in the hilly wooded terrain of West Germany and was a corridor between East and West Germany. Referred to as the Fulda Gap, this corridor was very likely the path the Warsaw forces and the Soviet Union would have taken to invade Europe. The following is a historical look at the Cold War in Germany through the careers of seventeen veterans who served there. These are their stories as they prepared to defend the Fulda Gap and ground zero. The brave men and women who served in West Germany were the first line of defense against the enemy horde that would come through the gap if hostilities ever began. Their mission was to hold that advancing horde for forty-eight hours until reinforcements arrived. None of them were expected to survive an invasion and they all knew it. This was what they had enlisted for, it was their job, and they did it proudly.

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separates North and South Korea and is the most defended border in the world. Both sides have dug their heels in and fortified the DMZ with defensive positions, mines and booby traps, missiles, and soldiers as they remain vigilant for the recommencement of a war that never ended. ˃˃˃ READ ABOUT THE DANGEROUS JOB OF OUR SOLDIERS IN KOREA ON THE DMZ! The soldiers were responsible for enforcing the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. The North Koreans violated it almost daily sending spies, marauders, hit squads, and ambush patrols into the southern controlled portion of the DMZ in their never-ending effort to destabilize South Korea and cause its collapse. Their blatant violations of the agreement has left a bloody trail of dead bodies that includes many American soldiers. This book takes the reader on a journey through the history of the Cold War and the defense of the DMZ from the perspective of nine American veterans, and eleven tours, who served in different capacities in South Korea from 1962 through 1991.

If the veterans of The Second Korean War (1966-69) hadn't pushed back and stopped all the assaults, North Korea would have attacked in mass. They would have done it with the Soviet Union's and China's blessing and support. The communist thought the United States was overcommitted to Vietnam (which we were). These veterans kept the border secured and hid the truth of our shortages from them. Here's what people don't realize-If the communist would have found our border defenses weak, there would likely be no South Korea. Success on the Korean peninsula would have emboldened the Soviets and their desire to spread communism. Europe would have been next. We would be looking at a completely different world if not for the brave veterans of The Second Korean War. Book 5, The Second Korean War-The DMZ Conflict/ provides a very good snapshot of what those veterans went through. The problems with North Korea can be traced back to the end of the Korean War. US and ROK soldiers had to follow strict rules against an enemy that ignored the rules. The Armistice Agreement clearly states that neither side can cross the border. The North Koreans did it anyway. They did it daily during The Second Korean War. A patrol comes under fire and takes casualties. Several dead and several wounded friends. The cowardly North Koreans simply ran back across the border. Then it was over. No pursuit. No retaliation. There were never any consequences for their actions. The United Nations Command would call a Military Armistice Commission meeting. Both sides would travel to the JSA and gather at the "peace" table. Complaints would be made and the North Koreans would deny it. Four to five times a month these meetings were called. North Korea would be accused and they would deny it. It was like a never-ending movie from hell. The storyline changed every day, but the ending was always the same. This is exactly why the North Koreans continue to do what they want sixty plus years later. They're never held accountable. There were never any consequences for their actions.

The focus of the United States during the Cold War was to prevent the spread of communism. The soldiers who served then were the wall that protected the world from that threat. None were in harm's way more than those who patrolled inside the DMZ in Korea. The two-and-one-half-mile buffer zone south of the border was one of the most dangerous places on earth. This book covers the history for the years following the "Second Korean War." No longer an official combat zone, it was still one of the most dangerous places in the world. Firefights, ambushes, and infiltrations continued inside the DMZ and this book documents the history of the DMZ from the perspective of the soldiers who were actually there, facing that threat each day. Read the firsthand accounts from the veterans who patrolled, "Inside the DMZ, The Most Fortified Border in the World."