Dangerous Games: faces, incidents and casualties of the Cold War
Encyclopedia
Introduction
The Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
was actually a time of hot wars, spying, and a very competitive space race. Authors James Wise
James E. Wise, Jr.
James E. Wise Jr., author, is a former naval aviator, intelligence officer, and Vietnam veteran, retired from the U.S. Navy in 1975 as a captain. He became a naval aviator in 1953 following graduation from Northwestern University. He served as an intelligence officer aboard the USS America and...
and Scott Baron
Scott Baron
Scott Baron, is a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War and former law enforcement officer in California. He is the author of They Also Served: Military Biographies of Uncommon Americans and coauthor, with James Wise, of Dangerous Games: faces, incidents and casualties of the Cold War, Women at...
call attention to the political and military volatility of this period by uncovering and relating unknown or long-forgotten incidents of the period. Among them: the murder of a U.S. naval attaché on the Orient Express
Orient Express
The Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.The route and rolling stock...
; an East German soldier's leap to the West in Berlin; two CIA officers' imprisonment by China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
for twenty years; Capt. Bert Mizusawa's
Bert Mizusawa
Bert Kameaaloha “Bert” Mizusawa is a major general in the United States Army Reserve. His awards include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and 30 other awards as well as the Combat Infantryman, Master Parachutist, Ranger, Air Assault, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Badges...
rescue, under fire, of a Soviet defector in the Korean DMZ; a North Korean Pilot's defection in a MiG fighter; the USS Forrestal fire; and the Soviet Union putting the first man in space. Through these incidents the authors present a history that brings the intensity of the so-called Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
to life.
Contents
The book features an inside look at events throughout the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
including:
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- Elizabeth BentleyElizabeth BentleyElizabeth Terrill Bentley was an American spy for the Soviet Union from 1938 until 1945. In 1945 she defected from the Communist Party and Soviet intelligence and became an informer for the U.S. She exposed two networks of spies, ultimately naming over 80 Americans who had engaged in espionage for...
:Red Spy Queen (1945) - Lt. Gail HalvorsenGail HalvorsenColonel Gail Halvorsen is a retired career officer and command pilot in the United States Air Force known as the original Candy Bomber or the "Rosinenbomber" in Germany. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah...
and the (1948-49) - James GarnerJames GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
in the Korean WarKorean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
(1950) - No Kum-SokNo Kum-SokNo Kum-Sok is a former lieutenant of the North Korean Air Force during the Korean War who defected to South Korea...
: Operation MoolahOperation MoolahOperation Moolah was a United States Air Force effort during the Korean War to obtain through defection a fully capable Soviet MiG-15 jet fighter. The MiG-15 was introduced by Communist forces on November 1, 1950 over the skies of Korea...
(1953) - Mysterious Disappearance of Cdr. Lionel CrabbLionel CrabbLionel "Buster" Crabb OBE, GM was a British Royal Navy frogman and MI6 diver who vanished during a reconnaissance mission around a Soviet cruiser in 1956.-Early life:...
, RNVR (1961) - Hans Conrad SchumannConrad SchumannHans Conrad Schumann was an East German soldier who famously defected to West Germany during the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.-Early life:...
: Leap to Freedom into West BerlinWest BerlinWest Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
(1961) - Yuri GagarinYuri GagarinYuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....
: First Man in Space (1961) - Maj. Rudolph Anderson Jr.Rudolph AndersonRudolf Anderson, Jr. was a pilot and officer in the United States Air Force, and the first recipient of the Air Force Cross...
: Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) - Carl BrashearCarl BrashearCarl Maxie Brashear was the first African American to become a U.S. Navy Master Diver in 1970.-Early life:...
: An Extraordinary Sailor (1966) - Commander BucherLloyd M. BucherCommander Lloyd Mark "Pete" Bucher was an officer in the United States Navy, who is best remembered as the Captain of the USS Pueblo , which was captured on January 23, 1968 by North Korea....
and the Second Korean Conflict (1966-69) - The USS Forrestal Fire1967 USS Forrestal fireThe 1967 USS Forrestal fire was a devastating fire and series of chain-reaction explosions on 29 July 1967 that killed 134 sailors and injured 161 on the aircraft carrier , after an unusual electrical anomaly discharged a Zuni rocket on the flight deck...
(1967) - The Panmunjon Ax Murders and Operation Paul BunyanAxe Murder IncidentThe axe murder incident was the killing of two United States Army officers by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976, in the Joint Security Area located in the Korean Demilitarized Zone which forms the de facto border between North and South Korea...
(1976) - Capt. Bert K. MizusawaBert MizusawaBert Kameaaloha “Bert” Mizusawa is a major general in the United States Army Reserve. His awards include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and 30 other awards as well as the Combat Infantryman, Master Parachutist, Ranger, Air Assault, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Badges...
, USA: The Firefight at Panmunjon (1984)
- Elizabeth Bentley