The True Book of Mostly Unrelated Stories

The Ukraine Situation

by John Mooy

I have been watching the news lately concerning the frightening situation involving the Ukraine and Russia, and all the countries who have now placed troops supporting troops in the area. I am hoping for the best outcome which to me would be the Russian troops returning home without invading the Ukraine and without any conflict and loss of lives.  

I am so reminded of a time when I was a sophomore in high school and heading into Mrs. Foncannon’s typing class, which was my first class in the afternoon. Being a high school student and together with all my classmates our daily concerns didn’t involve whatever was happening on the world stage. At that time we were about to enter an entirely different mindset:  assassinations, rioting, and protests would become a prominent and disheartening part of our national landscape. It would become a loss of innocence for all of us growing up in Marcellus.  

While Mrs. Foncannon was always a rather serious individual and as a teacher very committed to the notion that we would all learn to master the typing keyboard. She maintained it would be a skill we would use for our entire lives, and she was certainly was certainly right on that count.

But on this day in October, 1962, she revealed a side of herself that we as students had never seen before. She was more serious than we had ever seen he. As she walked to the front of the classroom, as she did prior to the start of each class, she would make an announcement that we would never forget.

The news put a hush over the entire class as Mrs. Foncannon returned to her desk and sat down. Our typing seemed meaningless as we sat and quietly talked to those sitting next to each of us in class what we thought would happen. This situation would become known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. What we didn’t know at the time involved a U2 pilot by the name of Rudolf Anderson Jr. who was in his plane high above the earth on October 27, 1962, when he appeared as a “blip” on Russian radar. He was tracked for over an hour when the order was given to shoot him down. It’s important to note that this order was not given by Nikita Kruschev, the Soviet leader, but a military underling whose name I don’t know. It is likely that Anderson was killed instantly as his plane fell to the ground in Cuba.

Our leader at the time, John Kennedy, was urged to launch a strike against the Soviets in retaliation to our losing Rudolf Anderson.  Kennedy was still hoping for diplomacy as the tensions and the event of war now happening seemed imminent. A phone call took place between Kruschev and Kennedy. They realized how close they were to nuclear war. Of all things in their conversation, they spoke of family and what the launching of military strikes would mean in terms of the loss of more life. War should be avoided.

As a result, Russian ships carrying missiles and U.S. military ships confronted each other in waters not far from Cuba and the Russian ships turned and began their journey back home.  In all likelihood, it was pilot Anderson who had given his life, played a crucial role in this decision to avoid war. He received the Medal of Honor and hopefully his name will never be forgotten.

I’m not sure we know exactly how close we came to war during that time.

Most likely by the time you read this article we will know what is happening in the Ukraine.  It is my hope that no lives will have been lost………………………not even one.

Have a good week, Marcellus.

You’re the best, and thank you

for your service.