“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! ”

peyton

peyton

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Some how with everything going on we missed marking President Reagan's speech. "On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood before the Berlin Wall, symbol of a totalitarian empire that robbed millions of basic human dignity and freedom, and delivered one of the great speeches of the twentieth century".
Berlin Wall: Reagan's Speech Anniversary

I was sitting in a restaurant at Fort Lewis eating dinner in Tacoma Washington November 9, 1989, and the TV over the the Bar had something going on. I got the bartender to turn up the volume and I got to witness history.

Fast forward to 2013, I have been working and surrounded and protected by soldiers from the Warsaw Pact countries, all working to bring peace in Iraq and Afghanistan!!
 
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Those were some wonderful times as the Soviet Union began to crumble. I knew they were really through when "Leningrad" became St. Petersburg again in 1991.
 
I looked around at the Bagram chow hall, had Poles, Lithuanians, Czechs, plus a dozen other foreign soldiers there enjoying a meal. These soldiers are all young, they probably were born after the war came down and the Warsaw Pact dissolved.
On a seperate note, 5 US Corps was inactivated yesterday, the US military sent its last M1 Abrams tank plus the last A10 thunderbolt home.

I sure hope our government does not expect to fight a third war on the European Continent (oh, we already fought two).
 
Good story about this speech yesterday on NPR. It seems the powers around the President (chief of staff, Sec. of St., Def., etc.) did not like the line. They though it sounded "Un-Presidential" and weak. Peter Robinson, who wrote the speech, figured the line would be cut and dropped his argument for it to stay. In the end President Reagan wanted it and ended the debate by asking his assembled aids "I am still The President?"
 
Czech soldier killed in Afghanistan - funeral cereromony - YouTube


Peyton-

Thanks for the info about our allies, some of whom were once in the Warsaw Pact nations.

Hit the link to see a fallen Czech soldier returned from Afghanistan. The media almost entirely ignores our allies, unless they have a story about Prince Harry and his helicopter, as worthy as he is. (I think a lot of him.)
 
I owe a lot to Ronald Reagan, as I was in his "600 Ship" Navy....

I joined the U.S. Navy in 1979, Jimmy Carter was President and the Navy was under manned and under paid. 1980 Ronald Reagan was Inaugurated, and immediately started building up the Navy. Went from 300 or so ships up to almost 600, like 587 or so. Navy folks got raises and promotions quickly, when it came time to re-enlist it was not a hard decision to stay. I ultimately stayed 22 years and retired, almost certainly at a higher rank than if Ronald Reagan had not been President and pushed for a big Navy and big defense.

Under later Presidents, the Navy was cut back to 300 or so ships once again, promotions slowed, veteran and retiree benefits have eroded....

I know we probably don't need 600 ships today, but we are working the ships and crews we have to death, same with the Army and Marines, today service members stay deployed more than they are at home, and the down sizing continues.

Where are the "Ronald Reagans" of today?
 
What a thrill

I was assigned to a then classified HQ in Holland when THE PRESIDENT made that speach-We were floored-To think that the guy would get in the face of the soviets-Our Dutch friends were equally amazed-One guy who worked for Eurocontrol gave me the tracking tab for THE PRESIDENTS airplane-
They were done in by American jeans and rock and roll-with help from our P2 and cruise missles-I was in the last battalion assinged border guard-the mission was cancelled-that was the end-then no more alerts.
 
I will also say Prsident Gorbachev was very instrumental in getting the ball rolling on letting the countries choose for themselves what they wanted to do.

In the current European countries we have made a huge investments in the former WP nations. Germany has restricted manuevers due to "environmental damage". Hungary, Poland and Romania have all said to our military, "Come on over and your welcome here".
I failed to mention Romania, Georgia, Kosovo and Hungary earlier. At Kandahar Airfield and the southern part of Afghanistan these countries provide a large part of the coverage.
Heck, I remember when Russia and Georgia went to War in 2008 or 2009, every aircraft the US had showed up in Iraq and Afghanistan, picked the Georgian military up and flew them home and they went into action the moment they stepped off the planes.
I was in Germany in the early 80's and we were always told of the "RED HORDE" ready to over run us. I never thought we would win using our dollars, rock and roll, and promise of a better life.
 
Thanks for reminding me of this. I remember his "ash heap of history" speech too, before the British Parliament, wasn't it? I had almost forgotten what it was like to have a truly presidential President. I'll probably never see another one. :rolleyes:
 
Nico Testosteros said:
Reagan was an actor, of course he could deliver lines.
Click to expand...

Reagan might have been an actor and yes he could deliver lines but he also made you proud to be an American. The current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania can deliver lines also. That's about all he has in common with Reagan.
 
The fall of The Wall was special for me. I was assigned to Berlin Brigade, detached to Allied Checkpoint Alpha in Helsmstedt in the mid-80s. Went to work everyday about 50 yards from an East German gun tower. Nothing makes you appreciate freedom more than living under the eyes of those who would shoot their citizens for the crime of leaving.
 
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Let's not forget the downside. Like the huge influx of Russian organized crime. Even the Mafia looks like choirboys compared to the Russian mobs. :eek:
 
I really liked Reagan..........a man with guts!

I retired from the Air Force in 1977 with 55% pay based on 22 years service. At that time every 6 months the CPI was figured out and we all got pay raises based on it - TWO raises each year based on the CPI.

Reagan got elected and took one look at that and had a fit!!

Them it got cut back to ONE raise each year based on 1/2 the CPI.

Saved America billions.......................

We don't have politicians like him any more!!
 
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