Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962
 

I was a 17 year old in USCG boot camp during the Cuban Missile Crisis and all I remember is that we were told that it was a close call. Now more than 40 years later and a lot of reading about it, it was indeed the closest (I think) we have been to an all out nucleur war. Does anyone have any experiences during this time.

Bob

I was in Junior High School during the crisis. We practiced duck and cover a lot in Cincinnati. :D

Big Red One in the Cuban Missile Crisis
 

I was a 19 year old Sp4 gunner on an 81mm mortar squad with the 1st Infantry Division at Ft. Riley, Kansas. My unit, 1st Battle Group, 28th Infantry "Lions of Cantigny," had just returned from a Navy/Marine Corps Amphibious Assault Course at Little Creek, Virginia and thought we'd get the opportunity to practice our new skills on Cuban shores. All Big Red One units were pulled out of the field and their troops set about packing every bit of equipment we had. Trucks with trailers loaded with weapons, ammunition, and equipment were parked on Company Streets ready to carry us south. The Division's 121st Communication Battalion deployed to Florida to establish communication for the pending Cuban invasion. We slept in shifts, in our clothes awaiting the call to move out. Our morale soared -- we were excited and rearing to go. When the whole thing was fortunately called off we felt let down. Not long ago, I read that the Soviets had five nuclear weapons ready to employ against a US invasion force (which would have included me). In my old age, I feel fortunate that we didn't go.

welcome mortar comrade...
 

I believe you are the first other mortar person on here. I was getting lonesome... :e: :ah:

Welcome Home !

Larry

Hey, Larry, we old mortar-men gotta' stick together!
I trained on the 4.2" and 81mm -- gun crew, FO and FDC -- was assigned to an 81mm squad in a rifle company. After about a year & a half, I was assigned to an anti-tank squad -- gunner and later squad leader on a M-40A1 106mm recoilless rifle. In those days that MOS code was 112 -- Heavy Weapons Infantryman (I think it's now 11C). I enjoyed the mortar/anti-tank role better than I would have being a rifleman although that 81mm and ammo got a little heavy on long humps. Also, we dug a lot of BIG holes. :h:

mortars and such...
 

when I first got to Vietnam I was assigned to a leg unit, the 3/22,
and went out in the field for about a week to FSB Crook. Then they transferred several of us to a mech unit, the 2/22(M). Not sure why. I guess there was a shortage of our MOS. It was in the middle of December, so I got lost in the rear for almost two weeks and got to see the Bob Hope show. I also missed a trek up Nui Ba Den mountain by the legs. From what I understand the mortar equipment was flown out on choppers for them. I always wondered about humping the baseplate ! In the mech unit we were part of everything. They had us out on ambushes, LPs, and OPs, plus I had to man the .50 on our track. All our mortar tracks had big white squares on the side to mark 4th platoon. The 3rd platoon had triangles I believe. Anyway it made us good targets. The 3 gun tracks carried something like 60+ rounds including illum and white-phosporus. I always wondered what would have happened if an RPG hit one of them. I worked in FDC for the last 6 months. I posted a picture of me working with the "computer".
Did you ever use the recoiless rifle in combat ?

Larry

Viking1...
 

Regarding it being: "The closest we've come (I think) to all out nuclear war", I (maybe The History Channel and where I get much true info from also?) see things differently.

I figured that The Cuban Missile Crisis was purposefully orchestrated, and a masterful way of getting America's Missiles off of The Soviet Union's doorstep in Turkey. Beautiful Poker Playing.

All the phoniness of Kennedy facing The Soviets down aside,...Kennedy folded a pat hand in Turkey for a hand that hadn't even been delt-out yet in Cuba. I still wonder to this day whether The Missiles on the Soviet Ship that turned around and went back after the secret agreement, actually had REAL missiles on board (or not). I guess we'll never know?

Still, getting existing missiles off of your doorstep simply by pretending to place missiles in Cuba,...is some pretty-shrewd negotiating. It's no wonder that The Russians can waltz-us-around-so-good to this very day.

Neil

Not only did the US remove its missiles from Turkey, our President promised to not invade Cuba.

Wow...Delta
 

More politically appeasing and/or caving-in than I thought.

Would you know if that any other time in history The USA made such an agreement of NOT TO INVADE with any other country?
Just curious.

Neil

Here's a link to a good document on the Cuban Missile Crisis:

http://www.hpol.org/jfk/cuban/