Not just once, but twice, Ed Sullivan horrified America when he showed this 1956 British short animation to his audience because he thought its message was so important. It depicts what many feared then, just as today, the annihilation of all life due to nuclear war.
Tonight, my obssession with the Cold War continues. ‘World War III’ is a so-called mockumentary offering an alternative history version of the end of the Cold War which turns all too hot.
This 1998 film combines actual historical footage with fictional scenes to depict what might have transpired if, following the overthrow of Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet troops, under orders from a new hard-line regime, had opened fire on demonstrators in Berlin in the fall of 1989 and precipitated World War III.
It was directed by Robert Stone and distributed by ZDF along with an English version, offered in collaboration with The Learning Channel.
Today actually marks two major anniversaries in the history of US Special Operations. First, is the creation of the 75th Ranger Regiment through the activation of its 3rd Battalion. It’s also the date of 1993’s Battle of Mogadishu during which, elements of TF Ranger which was deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia, conducted an operation on that city’s Olympic Hotel in order to capture key leaders of the Aidid Militia.
Unfortunately, during the exfil portion of the raid a battle ensued that claimed the lives of 18 Americans and wounded another 73. Additionally, CW3 Michael Durant was captured by the militia. Fortunately, Durant was later repatriated and went on to retire from the 160th. Of the men killed that day, two would be awarded the Medal of Honor, Delta Operators Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart for their selfless efforts to protect Durant after his aircraft, callsign Super 64 was shot down.
For those of you unfamiliar, one of the best accounts of the battle is contained in the book, “Blackhawk Down” by author Mark Bowden. Much of the information was serialized prior to the book’s publication in the Philadelphia Enquirer. Later this was made into a movie bearing the same name.
If you want to here more from a man that was there in the thick of it, check out Panteao Productions‘s “Battle of the Black Sea” featuring MSG Paul Howe (USA, Ret).
Please take a moment to remember these men and their sacrifice.
This is for you youngsters who’ve only heard about “The Pig” in bedtime stories.
h/t Matt H!
The ingenuity of the American service member never fails to amaze me. For those of you who don’t understand what they are looking at, those are twin M-3 Grease Guns mounted gunship-mode in a US Army O-1 Bird Dog observation aircraft during the Southeast Asia Wargames.
There was a time when Green Berets were well known for being Force Multipliers. Back then, an “Operator” was a character named Ernestine on “Laugh In”.
This photo depicts several SF NCOs outside of Camp Charles E Hosking at Bien Hoa, Vietnam, when they were proud to be Force Multipliers.
Back in the 80s there were Survivalists and unfortunately, they got a bit of a bad name in the popular press, even being portrayed as villians in more than a few selections of fiction because of their fixation on nuclear conflict and the use of weapons.
The new millennium dawned and with it a new moniker; Prepper. Preppers come in many flavors, including pacifists who work toward sustainable food sources. While Preppers are often looked at as kooks in media, but there’s nothing wrong with being able to rely upon yourself, if even only for a few weeks.
Here are a couple of magazine advertisements aimed at Survivalists.
Over the course of my career, I used the old wooden-style barracks as both barracks as well as work space. For example, there were numerous occasions where they were used for exercises and as transient billeting. When 3rd Group first reactivated in 1990, we used the Old Division Area barracks on Bragg as our unit buildings until the compound on New Smoke Bomb Hill was completed.
What about you?
