veteran’s corner

Les Bakke

The Soviet Union and the US were allies during WWII. Although neither nation trusted the other one, Russia had expansion aspirations into Eastern Europe. Following World War II, there existed a rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, lasting until 1990. It was known as the Cold War. During this time, many conflicts and international incidents occurred between the two nations, some become hot wars.

The first major event took place in Germany. Following WWI, Germany was divided into four sectors controlled by the Russians, British, French and US. Berlin, although within the Russian sector, was similarly divided into sectors. On 24 June 1948, the Russian government announced that the Autobahn, the highway connecting western Germany to Berlin would be closed indefinitely ‘for repairs.’ Russia also blocked all barge and train traffic from entering West Berlin. The Allied response was quick. After deciding against military action, the Allies used cargo planes to deliver food, fuel and other goods to the people living in West Berlin. Although the projects code name was ‘Operation VITTLES’, it became the Berlin Airlift. The Russians lifted the blockage on 12 May 1949. The Airlift continued until September in order to build up supplies in West Berlin. At this time, the US, Canada Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO agreed to consider an attack against one as an attack against all.

When about 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean army poured into South Korea on 25 June 1950, it became the first of the hot wars. Many in the US Government believed that this action was the first step in a communist campaign to take over the world. The US called for and received a resolution from the United Nations calling for the military defense of South Korea. Within days of the resolution passing, the US entered the war and succeeded in pushing the North back to their own country and more. In late 1951 China entered the conflict on the side of the North and threatened to attack US and UN troops if they got too close to the Chinese border. US and UN troops were under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur and President Truman got into a public disagreement on how the war should be run. In April 1952, Truman fired MacArthur for insubordination. On 27 July 1953, the US, China, North and South Korea agreed to an armistice, bringing the fighting of the Korean War to an end. It is known as the Forgotten War’ by many, In 1994 the Pentagon put Korean War battle deaths at 33,652 and other deaths in the war zone from illness accidents and other non-combat causes at 3,262 for a total of 36,914. It was during this time period that the anti-communist movement spurred by Senator McCarthy flourished.