I grew up a tail-end baby boomer, as the country was being run by the World War II generation and patriotism still ran strong, despite the post-Vietnam war pushback from some parts of society. Ever since I was a little kid, I enjoyed playing “war” with the neighborhood kids and building World War II models with my favorites being tanks from both sides.

Witnessing the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the fall of Nicaragua to the Sandinistas and further communist unrest stirring around the world, I had no doubt what I wanted to - what I needed to do - as I neared my 18th birthday and high school graduation. I contacted my local Army recruiter to sign up. I decided to turn a childhood hobby into a real-life profession of arms: tanks!

As I saw Western Europe continuously threatened by the Warsaw Pact, I said no way were we giving the Russians any more. After finishing basic and AIT training at Fort Knox, I specifically asked for West Germany as my first duty station. I landed a spot in an armor battalion with the 8th Infantry Division in Mannheim, with our GDP focused on the ever-important invasion route through the Fulda Gap.

This first assignment began a satisfying career in the armor branch, serving with the 24th, 4th, and finally the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea. I’ve always had great respect for the men who came and served before me in the remote and lonely outposts of democracy like Korea, which was a terrible place to fight so long ago. However, I take pride in having served with my counterparts from all the service branches who stepped up when their country needed them as the first generation of the “all volunteer” force. Not too bad of an ending either, as an old tanker witnessing the demise of the Warsaw Pact in my lifetime.