n World War II ended, the shooting stopped, but the hostilities continued. Germany and Japan were defeated, but in the process of dividing the spoils of war, and defining the new European Order, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) emerged. It held all of Eastern Europe and much of Asia, firmly in the iron grasp of communist rule, and it wanted to rule the world.
Only the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stood in their way. Events like the construction of the Berlin wall; The Cuban Missile Crisis; The Bay of Pigs and the shooting down of the U2 Spy plane were all covered by the press, and dully engraved in history. But what went on behind the scenes? How did the day-to-day operations of our military and allies relate to the big picture?
This is the story of one man’s rise from poverty in the backwoods of Washington State, to the halls of NATO where he sat behind the name plate of “The United States of America” representing our country in working level negotiations that resolved many of the crises before they erupted into chaos.
