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Tales from the Cold War: The U.S. Army in West Germany, 1960–1975

cover of Tales from the Cold War book

Author

Michael D. Mahler

ISBN

978-1-940771-92-2

Print Version

$21.99

Tales from the Cold War is one man’s memoir about his service time in Germany during the Cold War. Colonel Michael D. Mahler (Ret.) first went to Germany in 1960. At the end of his service, he spent over a decade in Germany, raised his family there, and commanded the 3rd Armored Division’s cavalry squadron at Büdingen. In his memoir, Mahler reflects on the lessons from the senior leaders of World War II, the building of the Berlin Wall, and the unique challenges that come with command.

At the beginning, Mahler is still a young service man, newly married. By the end, he was the Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff and the Director of the Personnel Plans and Policy Division. His story is told first from the point of view of a new lieutenant, then as an experienced platoon leader, and finally, as a skilled company commander.

Michael D. Mahler graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1958. He spent the next several years commanding small armored cavalry and tank units in the United States and Germany before assignment to the English Department at the U.S. Military Academy. Mahler served in Vietnam, commanded an armored cavalry squadron on the interzonal border between East and West Germany, and was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel and Administration for the 21-state First Army area in the Eastern United States. He retired from the Army in 1982 as a colonel. Mahler now lives in Montana and is the author of Ringed in Steel: Armored Cavalry, Vietnam 1967–68.

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