MORRIS COUNTY, N.J. — The Morris County Office of Planning and Preservation has launched the latest installment of its Veterans Compendium Project, honoring local service members who served during the Cold War on the anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union on Dec. 26, 1991.
The new installment, titled “Checkpoint Charlie: Morris County Cold War Veterans,” examines the global tensions and lasting effects of the Cold War, the prolonged political, military and ideological struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union that followed World War II. Although the two superpowers never formally went to war, the era was defined by nuclear brinkmanship, espionage and widespread instability that influenced everyday life in the United States, including schoolchildren practicing “duck and cover” drills in preparation for a possible nuclear attack.
“The Cold War was fought largely without battlefields, but its impact was deeply felt by the men and women who served and by families here at home,” said Commissioner Deputy Director Stephen H. Shaw, liaison to the Office of Planning and Preservation. “This Veterans compendium ensures that the experiences of Morris County veterans who stood watch during this uncertain and dangerous era are documented, preserved and honored.”
One of the defining symbols of the Cold War was the “Iron Curtain,” a term popularized by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in a 1946 speech describing the division of Europe between democratic and communist states. That division became physically entrenched in 1961 with the construction of the Berlin Wall, built by East Germany to stop mass defections to the West.
In the speech, Churchill said, “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”
The Berlin Wall remained in place until Nov. 9, 1989, when East German officials announced that citizens could cross freely between East and West Berlin. The wall was soon dismantled by citizens on both sides, marking the beginning of the end of Soviet control in Eastern Europe.
A lasting symbol of that era was Checkpoint Charlie, the American military crossing point between East and West Berlin that became an international emblem of Cold War confrontation.
The Veterans Compendium also highlights notable Cold War figures, including U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, who was shot down over Soviet airspace in 1960 and later exchanged for a captured Soviet spy during a high-profile prisoner swap on Berlin’s Glienicke Bridge. The project also explores cultural aspects of the era through figures such as Cuban-born cartoonist Antonio Prohias, creator of Spy vs. Spy, whose work satirized the age of espionage.
“The Cold War shaped global politics for nearly half a century, but it was the service of individual veterans that helped protect democracy during that time,” said Joe Barilla, director of the Office of Planning and Preservation. “This project gives voice to those veterans and reminds us that their service, though often unseen, was essential.”
The Morris County Veterans Compendium documents and preserves the stories of local veterans through research, oral histories and archival materials. Residents who were born in Morris County or who lived in the county for at least 10 years and served in the U.S. military during the Cold War era are encouraged to participate.
Those interested in contributing, or family members wishing to share a veteran’s story, may contact Cultural and Historic Resources Specialist Jan Williams at jwilliams@co.morris.nj.us.
