“On Memorial Day, I stood on Main Street in Fairport, N.Y., as I do every year, saluting the flags as they pass carried by veterans. I also stood on July 4th and I will again on Veterans Day.”This is how Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Louis J. Malucci celebrates the soldiers who served the United States of America.
The 11th day of the 11th months is the day for American Veterans. November 11is also Armistice Day and Remembrance Day for the other parts of the world. It also coincides with the official end of the First World War that ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of year 1918.
Mr. Malucci joins America in celebrating the troops, but he thinks that there are other soldiers on another silent but different war that people have forgotten about.
“Those we honor are veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and those embroiled in Afghanistan, and in current mid-East adversaries. But there are others who have been forgotten; those who served in the so-called “Cold War.” The retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel said.
The Cold War was known to be more of a psychological rather than a physical battle, but there were soldiers according to Mr. Malucci that have sacrificed their lives during these times. The Cold War had also less fatalities compared to the First and Second World Wars, but everyone were always bathed in the tension brought upon by the differences of the USSR and the United States. There were no rolling tanks, there were no squadron of airplanes, but being on the brink, on the edge, was hard enough for people who lived during that time.
The Cold War has ended and World War 3 didn’t actually occur so it’s easy for people to remember what everything was all about.
“But who remembers that war? Not many. Not many remember Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at the UN Security Council, banging his shoe on the table yelling, “We will bury you! Our missiles could hit a fly in the sky.” Even fewer remember, his shoe never actually hit the table. But who remembers?
We have forgotten those orange circles with triangles in them, designating air raid shelters in case of a nuclear attack. They admonish citizens to stay inside for 14 days after a nuclear attack, until the gamma rays dissipate and to not eat leafy vegetables which could hold in radioactive elements. But who remembers? There are at least 26 Cold War veterans whose remains are still missing.”
We may have forgotten what has happened, but during Veterans Day, Mr. Malucci devotes this day to the cold war veterans, who according to him “perished in fatal training accidents as part of the force that made the Soviets think twice before launching a nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies…”
This Veterans Day, I hope we all remember those who have served and those who are currently serving. Happy Veterans Day to all.
