In one way or another, the “Cold War” affected everyone. Two sides in a cold conflict had amassed a weapons arsenal so formidable that either one could destroy an entire continent. There was always an underlying fear that at any moment someone might press a red button and effectively end the world. The only thing that kept the world intact was something called “Mutually Assured Destruction.” Both sides knew that if that red button were pushed, the other side would retaliate and another red button would be pushed half a world away. Neither continent would survive. Civilization as we knew it would end. History and progress would be turned back by several millennia.
Here is the story of one participant in the cold war. A young man from England, growing up in America, joins the US Air Force during the Vietnam war, a conflict that was anything but cold. Follow him through the brutal competition of Air Force pilot training, through grueling survival schools, and into the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron where he flies the Mach 2 F-106. Thrill with him as he soars through the air at supersonic speed. Live through the anguish of waking up to find that the cold war appears about to explode into Armageddon. Grieve with him at the death of two of his comrades in arms.
Everyone who grew up during that tense era has a story to tell. Collectively, those stories are the history of the cold war. Here is one of those stories.