Recording the stories of the Cold War before they are lost…
Manuel Alzaga returns to the podcast after his debut in episode 57 with his experiences as US Army 18-year-old assistant artillery gunner in West Germany. He tells of his first impressions of West Germany, details of the 1982 Reforger exercise(return of forces to Germany) Exercise, as well as the life expectancy of front line soldier on the East … Read more
Phil Logan served in the US Army from 1986-1991. He went through infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia was sent to Germany and assigned to the ground defence force for the Pershing II tactical nuclear missiles. He describes in some detail defence tactics including against Warsaw Pact Special Forces, the West German Red Army Faction … Read more
Today we speak to Manuel Alzaga who as a 17 year old joined the US Army in 1981.Manuel signed up to the artillery and tells his story from life of poverty in Los Angeles through to deployment in West Germany for a Reforger exercise. Before we get going you can really help us get … Read more
Today we’re talking to Neil Gussman who trained on the M60A1 tank in the 1970s. This was the standard main battle tank of the US Army from the 1960s through to the 1980s. If you are enjoying the podcasts you can get exclusive extras including previews of future episodes, as well as content that … Read more
Today we talk again with Neil Gussman who was an M60A1 tank commander in West Germany tasked with defending the Fulda Gap which was a key likely Warsaw Pact attack route. We talk about his rushed initial deployment where he faced Warsaw Pact tanks across the border, details of various exercises he was … Read more
Welcome to episode 19 of Cold War Conversations Today we’re talking to Francesca Akhtar who holds a BA Hons in American Studies with 1st class honours from Canterbury Christ Christ Church University in Kent, and a Masters degree in US history & Politics from the Institute of the Americas, University College London. Her main research … Read more
Before we start I’d like to say how humbled I am by the level of interest in the podcast and the kind comments from our many subscribers. If you’d like to support us further and get some extras then head over to Patreon. There’s also links on the home page of the website at www.coldwarconversations.com. … Read more
Welcome to Episode 13 of Cold War Conversations. I have always been intrigued by a video posted on Youtube filmed in the 1980s by a then young US army soldier documenting his first days in Berlin for his family back at home. Now I never dreamed that I would find, let alone talk to that … Read more