Page 6 - Aerotech News and Review, Dec. 1 2017

Cold War veteran recalls Cold War high stakes
by Dennis Anderson
special to Aerotech News
LANCASTER, Calif.—For a long time Danny Bazzell, one of the Ante- lope Valley’s foremost advocates for bridging the civilian-military culture gap, wondered openly if he was real- ly a veteran. And for years, he never told anyone that he was a veteran.
“My unit, the 2nd Battalion, 77th Armored Regiment, was a reinforce- ment unit, trained to replace com- bat losses in the Fulda Gap, should a shooting war break out,” Bazzell told an audience of about 300 gath- ered at the recent Veterans Military Ball. “However, I never fired a shot in anger. In fact, I never even left the United States, spending my entire tour at Fort Lewis, Wash., attached to the famed 9th Infantry Division.”
The Fulda Gap was a wide valley straddling the former Cold War bor- ders of the Federal German Republic, and East Germany, the Soviet-occu- pied German Democratic Republic. It was through that valley that war plan- ners believed a Soviet armored strike would be most likely to sweep into the Western European states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The Veterans Military Ball, or- ganized by a committee gathered at Coffee4Vets, was held at the Grand Ballroom of University of the Ante- lope Valley, exactly one week before Veterans Day.
The group honored Bazzell, gen- eral manager of the Flight Test His- torical Foundation, and Col. Angela Suplisson, vice commander of the Air Force Test Center, of which Edwards Air Force Base is a critical compo- nent.
Veterans at the Nov. 4 event, held in advance of Veterans Day, turned out in black tie, and in dress uni- form, and even “mess dress,” the most formal suit-up for members of the armed forces. Mess dress is the equivalent of a tuxedo combined with a dress uniform, and decorations will be worn.
In a room full of Vietnam War vet- erans, veterans of the Korean War, and even World War II, plus the Post 9/11 Wars, Bazzell bridged the topic of what America’s troops did to con- tribute to the nation’s security during the Cold War.
The Cold War was that long du- ration of “containment,” a standoff between the world’s two global su- perpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. It began nearly with the ending shots of World War II in 1945 and ended with the disintegra- tion of the Soviet Union in 1991.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB spy, described the breakup of the Soviet Union as the “greatest historical catastrophe of the 20th century,” untold millions, and most historians conclude it was the war with the highest stakes. That it ended without a breakout of nuclear war between the superpowers, that could have ended civilization, is mo- mentous.
When Bazzell enlisted in the Army in 1979, the nation’s scars from the long Vietnam War had barely begun
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to heal. The Soviets invaded Af- ghanistan, and hostages taken from the U.S. Embassy were being held as “guests of the ayatollah” in Tehran for 444 days, until the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan.
“At the time, the United States had been facing down the Soviet threat for 32 years, and would continue to do so for another 12. As Cold War- riors our job was to train, and be pre- pared to fight, should the call come and to be thrown into the fray like so many before us, and so many after.”
Bazzell continued, “The Soviet Union had built their military forces to become the largest on the planet.”
In Europe some 250,000 U.S. troops were part of a force of nearly 1 million NATO troops facing off against roughly 1.5 million Warsaw Pact troops along the West German- East German border in the Fulda Gap.
“Day in and day out we trained and honed our battle skills, so in the event we were called to action, we would be ready to answer that call as profes- sional soldiers,” Bazzell said.
The Cold War exacted a cost in lives, in addition to the burdens re- quired from the national treasury to sustain a global force to counter the challenge, principally from the Soviet Union.
There are “likely few of my fellow Cold Warriors who do not know of fellow soldiers who lost their life or were seriously injured as we prepared for the possibility of a shooting war with the Soviet Union ... Despite the absence of a formal declaration, there were many casualties as a result of the Cold War.”
Bazzell cited statistics from the American Cold War Veterans orga- nization:
• An estimated 22 million mili- tary, Department of Defense civilian employees, intelligence personnel, foreign service and other federal em- ployees did Cold War duty.
• More than 3,500 Army personnel died of gunshot wounds, fragmenta- tion and rocket-propelled grenades and truck bomb blasts between 1965 and 1975 outside the Vietnam War operations area.
• In Cold War incidents involving U.S. aircraft, 346 American pilots were shot down. Of them, 187 were recovered alive; 36 recovered dead; 123 pilots listed as missing, with 269 civilians missing. The U.S. govern- ment has not revealed the fate of the missing to next of kin.
• From 10 separate Cold War co- vert operations, 124 U.S. soldiers are listed as Missing In Action.
“It is hard to estimate how many U.S. military personnel died in cap- tivity as a result of the former Soviet Union’s transporting U.S. POWs to Soviet bloc nations during and imme- diately after World War II, Korea and Vietnam, since there is no reporting on those who died in captivity that is reliable ... most Cold War losses went unacknowledged until a decade or so ago,” Bazzell said.
He added, “We know that several hundred men were interrogated by the Soviets as these interrogation re-
Photograph by Dennis Anderson
Col. Angela W. Suplisson, vice commander of the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and Danny Bazzell, Army veteran and general manager of the Flight Test Historical Foundation, at the Nov. 4 Veterans Military Ball hosted at the University of the Antelope Valley.
we Cold Warriors accomplished as a deterrent force that I started acknowl- edging to people that yes, I am a vet- eran,” he said. “I served with pride beside some of the best people I have ever known, people I am proud to call my brothers, and I served knowing that it took millions of individual men and women like myself, who put their lives on hold and personal safety at risk, to be ready if needed.”
“Without their efforts we would never have had a hand in putting an end to the 44-year Cold War, one of the most dangerous times in our na- tion’s history,” he said.
“To all my fellow Cold Warriors, and all veterans, I say, ‘Thank you for your service.’ Stand tall, be proud of your service and take comfort in knowing you did your duty faith- fully,” he said.
In the veterans grouped at the Vet- erans Military Ball, whether they served in World War II (and some did), or in the Korean War, or the Vietnam War, or Desert Storm, or the wars that came after 9/11, all, all stood up and gave Sgt. Daniel Bazzell, Army tanker, Cold War, a standing ovation.
Editor’s note: Dennis Anderson is a clinical therapist who works with veterans and military mental health issues. Like Bazzell, he also is a vet- eran of the Cold War.
ports have been discovered, but those men never returned home.”
From September 1945 until August 1991 — the approximate span of the Cold War — the Associated Press re- ported “an astounding 407,316 ser- vice members died while serving.
But Bazzell noted that while Cold War duty often carried with it condi- tions of danger and hazard, it was not
combat in the hot sense of the word. “After all, how could I hold a candle to the men and women of the ‘Greatest Generation,’ the men of the ‘Frozen Chosin,’ or those of you who
served in Vietnam?”
He put the question to the large au-
dience, which contained many who had served in combat.
“It was only after realizing what
AFTC vice commander lauds community heroes
by Dennis Anderson
special to Aerotech News & Review
LANCASTER, Calif.—Speaking to an audience of about 300 veterans and family, plus military supporters and active service military, Col. Angela W. Suplisson shared a few thoughts on her concept of what constitutes a hero.
Suplisson is vice commander of the Air Force Test Cen- ter, headquartered at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. She reports to the Test Center’s commanding two-star general, Maj. Gen. David A. Harris, and provides key executive di- rection in running a $31 billion enterprise of more than 18,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel, accord- ing to an official Air Force biography.
Test Center personnel are based at Edwards, and also at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn.
Recently, Suplisson talked about heroes at the Veterans Military Ball hosted at the University of the Antelope Val- ley. She sat at a table of honor with Rep. Steve Knight, R- Calif., who sits on the House Armed Services Committee and was an Army veteran of the Cold War.
She had forefathers in World War I, World War II, and her father was a squadron commander in the Air Force, and she followed in that family tradition.
Those family members became the role models she chose to emulate, and she doesn’t even resent a brother who took a commission in the U.S. Navy, she joked.
But, to the group she addressed, “You are the heroes. Who you are, and what you have done.”
Audience members included veterans of World War II, well into their 90s, and also Korean War and Vietnam War veterans. There were also veterans of the wars fought since Operation Desert Storm, and after the terror attacks of 9/11.
nity included local businessman Jin Hur, who hosts the weekly Coffee4Vets coffee klatsch and information forum at Crazy Otto’s Restaurant on Avenue I.
“Jin Hur is just so generous in what he does to serve the coffee to veterans for free, and provide a place where they can meet.”
The Coffee4Vets breakfast table meeting happens on Tuesday mornings at the Crazy Otto’s on Avenue I. An- other morning group, the Antelope Valley Veterans Com- munity Action Coalition meets on Wednesday mornings at Birdies restaurant on 10th Street West in Palmdale.
Suplisson went on to identify other groups that met her idea of providing a hero model for people who want to support veterans of the armed forces.
“Tom Hilzendeger, and Vets4Veterans,” she said. “Tom and his group are just so committed to helping.”
She just said “Wow!” about the work done by the com- mittee that organized the Veterans Military Ball, overseen by Vietnam War Era Army veteran Debbie Herron, joined by Juan and Atherine Blanco of Coffee4Vets.
Vets4Veterans formed nearly a decade ago, and emerged from a talking therapy group for veterans coping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The group recently hosted its 8th annual Vets4Veterans Car Show, followed soon after by the group’s annual golf tournament. Proceeds from the events go to scholarships for veterans recently released from service, in transition, taking classes at An- telope Valley College.
Vets4Veterans also helps with short-term emergency grants for veterans, such as immediate grocery needs, or short-term emergency hotel stays.
“These are heroes,” Suplisson said.
Another group the colonel lauded is the Point Man of the Antelope Valley talk group that meets weekly on Tues- day evenings. The group works closely with the AV Wall
Among those she cited as authentic heroes of commu-
See HEROES, Page 7
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December 1, 2017