Bob Kern

On the verge of World War 3 and nuclear war, We Were Soldiers Too is about the difficult job of serving in the infantry during a very critical time of the Cold War. It is a personal account of military service and the historical events that were happening during President Reagan's time in office as the world faced the possibility of nuclear war.
My service in the army was from November 1980 until March 1988 which coincided with President Reagan's time in office. Go through basic training with me as I was transformed from a naive seventeen year old boy into a dedicated, diehard soldier. Follow my journey to maturity while serving as the first line of defense for a Soviet invasion in Germany . Assigned the responsibility of defending an area in the Fulda Gap with only one objective, to hold the advancing Soviets until reinforcements arrived. An assignment that likely would have been at ground zero of a nuclear war.
By the time I arrived at Fort Knox, I was a complete soldier, submerging myself into every aspect of military life. This period saw the infantry transition from the slower, heavy armor vehicles to more technologically advanced armor like the Abrams tank and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. My final three years were spent at Schofield Barracks, the most physical assignment of my career, and the most rewarding. The army started converting units to light infantry to allow for rapid mobilization to multiple hotspots. My unit would be one of the first to go through the rigorous training and redesignation to light infantry.
I hope my story raises awareness for the important roles Cold War veterans played in our history. I also hope this helps other veterans like myself as they wrestle with the dilemma of being a peacetime veteran in a wartime era.