By Scott Nix

Prior to the Moscow trip we spent almost 3 months commuting to DC to brief all of the politicians (and there were many) who thought they should be involved in this endeavor. I thought I should start by giving my West Point classmate, Bob Kimmitt, a head’s up as he was an Under Secretary of State at that time. I obtained an appointment and after passing a platoon of administrative assistants, was directed to Bob’s 7^th floor office. The office was so big I had to have a ground guide to help me find his desk at the other end of the room. The desk was so big it looked like a small aircraft carrier. Confirmation that I was now firmly in the world of politicians (forgive me, Bob).

     In addition to the many Senators and House members we also had to visit the White House and brief Brent Scowcroft, Bush 1 National Security advisor. Most of you may know that Scowcroft was a ‘47 USMA grad (the year most of us were born). Unlike most of the folks we encountered in DC he was a complete gentleman. 

Red Square

     Our hotel (The Metropol) was an old Czarist era hotel now managed by a Swiss company. It was located at one end of Red Square. As the sun set very late in July, we would take a walk each night after the long incarceration in cigarette smoke and vodka-filled rooms to try and clear our heads. Each night the square was now filled with average Russians (denied access under the communist regime) who, upon hearing our English language conversations, approached us to happily practice their English and see real “Americans”. Each night there was construction activity at the end of Red Square by St. Basil’s Cathedral. It looked like they were setting up a temporary stage for some sort of live entertainment. Every night was further progress. We asked the Russian people that stopped to talk to us what the stage was for.  They exclaimed that this was really an exciting event-the first ever non-military event ever in Red Square. It was a stage for a week-long show including the Russian Ballet, the symphony and several Russian Rock bands. We continued to ask the purpose of the show and they finally revealed that it was to celebrate the birth of the United States!

     So, we had to get our heads around the fact that the first non-military event in Red Square was a July Forth celebration for the United States. Did I mention surreal?

Moscow River

     The President of the Russian Academy of Science (E.P. Velikhov) decided to take us all to his summer dacha on the Moscow River.  The area was a secure area where the former Soviet Union apparatchik had large multiple summer houses in an enclosed compound area. The entire compound was surrounded by a 12-foot-high green fence with camouflaged guard houses and machine gun nests strategically sited. All of the houses had now been taken over by the Yeltsin government. Yeltsin’s summer house was about ½ mile from the house we visited. The house we visited was over 100 years old (think Dr. Zhivago) and had never been painted. I guessed around 10 thousand square feet. The communists had added a separate brick private theater, seating about 80-100. They also added a full-size indoor Olympic pool. All of these areas were in an incredibly poor state of repair.

Pound the Table

     We spent the entire week in conference rooms negotiating the most trivial points. It was an exercise in stamina and patience.  We met in multiple conference rooms which were all very large with enormous conference tables. Our team was 7 people, and they always had a group of 20-30. We were stuck on some point late one afternoon waiting to meet with Yeltsin to give him a progress report (or lack thereof) when one of their people started pounding on the table with his shoe! He must have been a protégé of Khrushchev! We were so shocked that we completely lost the point under discussion!

Private Jet Flight

     As part of our welcome, we were flown from a small airport outside Moscow to the city of Ekaterinburg, which contained a facility for manufacturing nuclear weapons.

The Flight from Moscow (airportia.com)

     Being a former pilot, I was skeptical of our aircraft. It was a YAK executive jet (I use the term loosely). About the size of a large Gulfstream. By our standards it would normally hold about 10 passengers. This one was rigged with about 30 tubular aluminum seats (think lawn chairs) and looked like it was 30 years old. To my surprise, it actually took off. I received permission from our FSB (former KGB) handlers to go up and talk to the pilots. Two burly guys seating in a cockpit that looked like something from the Wright Brothers era. They only had one headset that they swapped back and forth depending on who was manning the radios. No evidence of any checklists or emergency manuals. There was one strip of toilet paper stuck on a radio knob. The toilet paper had the enroute radio frequencies written on it. This was significant as this was the only toilet paper we saw on this overnight trip. We stayed in another communist big wig compound but there was no hot water or toilet paper. We used the Russian equivalent of a Sears catalogue.

American Embassy

     The American Embassy and the Ambassador (Robert Strauss) had been informed of our visit, so we were invited to the embassy open house on July 4^th. We were excited to go but could not get in as there was a line of Russians about 3 blocks long to get in, such was the euphoria over the new relationship.

Arbat Pedestrian Street

     One night after the interminable meetings, we went with our American interpreter to a restaurant on the Arbat pedestrian mall (in Moscow). We did not know that this restaurant was now owned by a newly emerging Oligarch/Russian Mafia type.  Our American (Russian-born) interrupter had a bit to drink and started to criticize some of the wall art. When we left and were walking to our cars, the restaurant owner sent 3 guys to intercept us and to demand that our interrupter go back and apologize for his rude comments. They had handguns in their belts. We had to insist that our interrupter go back and apologize, which he did. Once he came back and we got to our cars, he yelled at our drivers to get their weapons (Uzis in the car trunks) and follow him back to the restaurant. We were able to get him under control and calm the situation down. Not a fun time.

Allied Corporate Jet to DC

     At that time Russia had no hard currency so they relied on their new “western partners” to cover expenses outside Russia. We had invited The Minister of Atomic Energy (V. N. Michaylow) and his entourage for a reciprocal visit to Allied and then on to DC to make the political rounds with their embassy. After their visit with us in NJ, I arranged for them to travel via one of our corporate jets to DC. Such was their addiction that they ignored the “No Smoking” rules on the plane and chained smoked all the way to DC. Fortunately, I could not travel with them and remained at Allied. However, my pilots called me from DC to let me know that the Russians incessant smoking clogged up the on-board air filter and it had to be cleaned before returning to Allied. My pilots also warned me that they would resign before flying any more Russians anywhere! The Russians flew back to Moscow from DC on Aeroflot.

The Metropol Hotel

     We were quartered in the historic Metropol Hotel at the end of Red Square. This was a Czarist era hotel and had been completely reconditioned by a Swiss company.

As distinguished guests, the hotel General Manager spent a great deal of time with us. He was a Swiss national and worked for the Swiss company that had the management contract for the hotel. The Russians had absolutely no idea how to manage a world class hotel. The Swiss manager regaled us with tales of some of his trials and tribulations. Every day the Swiss management company had to fly in a completely loaded 747 with produce (plenty of produce in Russia but no roads or trains to transport fresh produce to Moscow), supplies of lamps, telephones, bed linen, towels, soap, shampoo etc. The Russian employees had never been exposed to such high-quality items so there was an almost daily shortage due to employee theft. They had to bring in trained Swiss/European workers to even get the restoration of the hotel completed as there were no skilled Russian trade craftsmen.  

     I have enjoyed many different experiences in my life, but I have to admit this was one of the most unusual and challenging in so many ways. I do not think I am alone in saying that the Russians are in fact different-for whatever reason. I am not sure that they will ever make it to the world peace table.

     As most of you know my post-West Point service was in the US Air Force as a B-52 pilot. At that time, the B-52 was one of the primary components of the nuclear deterrence arsenal. B-52s around the country would sit on alert ready to be airborne at a moment’s notice. Crews stood alert in shelters within running distance of the aircraft themselves. The aircraft were loaded with nuclear weapons and the targets were pre-determined. The crew had detailed maps of targets and routes penetrating Soviet airspace which they studied diligently.

     After I resigned my commission in the USAF, I relocated to Silicone Valley and began my career in the infant laser industry (surprising as WP physics was not my best subject). I remained in the laser industry essentially for the rest of my working career with one major exception. While in the laser industry I was recruited by Allied-Signal (large multi-national conglomerate now known as Honeywell) to manage a division growing synthetic crystals that certain solid-state lasers required as the lasing medium. I spent the next 4 years in this position, and I must have done a creditable job as the company asked me to take over their nuclear division which made a critical component (uranium hexafluoride-UF6) of the commercial nuclear fuel cycle (commercial fuel only-no weapons).

     Fast forward to a different world right after the Soviet Union collapsed and the world was left with a pro-America, pro-democracy, pro-capitalism Russia (’91-’92).

And now the Surreal Story starts.

     The wall is down, and Russia under Yeltsin is embracing capitalism, democracy and the United States.  The welcome mat was open for American companies to come to Russia and form joint-ventures (JV) to teach the Russians capitalism.

     The Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) decided to work together to form a commercial joint-venture to take the highly enriched uranium out of the former Soviet Union warheads and dilute (using fluorine gas) the highly enriched uranium down to a much lower level capable of being used in commercial energy producing nuclear reactors. Truly Swords into Plowshares. At that point politics entered the scene as the Russians were growing weary of having the US government appear to dictate their capitalism efforts. Therefore, the Russians informed the DOE that they wanted to form this JV with an American commercial company and sell the now diluted uranium commercial reactor fuel to the world market.

     At that time my division of Allied was the largest producer of fluorine and UF6 gas in the world.  The DOE quietly asked us if we could take the lead in working with Minatom to form the JV on a commercial basis with DOE in the background.  The DOE insisted they be involved but not appear to be the lead in any JV.

     We put a plan together and presented it to the Allied CEO.  He reluctantly went along with the concept and supported me by putting the Allied government relations staff in DC at my disposal.

     I had minimal marching orders, the most significant one being the CEO pointing a finger in my face and telling me I could do pretty much what I wanted but under NO circumstances was I to get Allied in trouble with the DOE/US government. My continued employment with Allied depended entirely upon my obeying this edict. Beast Barracks all over again! Needless to say, I had absolutely NO interest in this endeavor, but orders had been issued.

     With the help of Allied’s government relations office in DC we formed the team. Max Kampleman, a former Ambassador-at-Large for the Strategic Arms limitations talks was our first selection. We then selected 2 members of a company with extensive experience in working with DOE/AEC nuclear fuel licensed plants. We also hired a Russian-born US citizen whose parents had immigrated to the US. He was fluent in Russian and English, and his father had connections with the Russian Academy of Science.

     After coordinating with the US (read politicians) and Russian government (Academy of Science and Ministry of Atomic Energy), we flew to Moscow first week of July, ’92.

To say that this trip for me personally was surreal was an understatement. My mission in the USAF was to destroy the country I was now visiting to form a joint business venture.  

     In any case, we approached our mission with dedication (if not enthusiasm). We spent the whole first week of July in negotiations and traveling to previously “secret” towns where nuclear weapons were manufactured. We were hosted and feted by the Yeltsin government and treated like distinguished guests.

     We obtained agreement of a draft joint venture document between ourselves and the Russian Academy of Science and The Ministry of Atomic Energy. This draft was finally executed by all parties. We returned in triumph (see attached period newspaper articles) **.  However, as is the case the majority of the time, the government forces involved (read politicians and bureaucrats) decided they did not really want commercial enterprise running the show. Consequently, DOE and Minatom took over the effort and formed another agreement to recover the war head uranium. To my knowledge everything stalled at this point and in spite of multiple announcements there was no significant highly enriched uranium recovery.

     I have intentionally downplayed the difficulty, serious and often contentious negotiations that occurred. I have also not referred to individuals by name unless they were public figures at that time. 

     At the time, this was a water-shed event and it would take volumes to relate all of the unique things that occurred. A major opportunity lost considering where we are today in our relationship with Russia. I have included several trip vignettes in Part 2 to provide some insights into the uniqueness of this endeavor.

**

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     I, like my WP ’69 classmates, have had the good fortune during my military and civilian careers to have met some really remarkable individuals along the way. For me, one of the most memorable was Edward M. Feldman, Lt. Commander, USNR, DO, USN Medical Corps.

     I met Ed through my wife who was one of his patients when we lived in Westlake Village, CA. During her initial visit with Ed, when he was taking her medical history, she mentioned that I was former military and West Point grad. Ed stated that he was also former military and that we should get together some time. My wife and I both thought that he was just being polite.  Some months later I had occasion to accompany my wife on a routine visit to Ed. While I was sitting in the waiting room, a side door opened and out walked a slight gnome-like man in surgical greens. He glanced around the waiting room and when his eyes settled on me, he walked over and introduced himself. He then invited me back into his private office where we proceeded to tell Vietnam war stories. Finally, as the patient load began to back up, his head nurse came in and ran me out so Ed could get back to his medical practice!

     We both enjoyed the bittersweet memories and discussion as former military are wont to do. Some of the stories we told may have even been true!  At that time, I had no idea of Ed’s Vietnam history and valor.

     I mentioned Ed to another of my former local military friends and he was surprised that I was not aware of Ed’s Vietnam experiences. I started to so do some research on Ed and was surprised to learn of his heroism, initiative and decorations. A truly remarkable individual. His humble demeaner had kept all of this hidden during our first meetings.

     To me Ed seemed like an unlikely hero. He was a feisty small statue individual from Brooklyn, NY. Raised in the Jewish faith, he was the caricature model of brash cockiness. His stories of early life in Brooklyn were classic tough life stories.  Ed decided that he would pursue medicine as a career. He earned a BS from Columbia University and obtained his DO degree from Kansas City University of Medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine.

     Like most in the late ‘50s – early ‘60s, Ed was very patriotic.  His love of country led him to volunteer for the US Navy Medical Corps and to eventually volunteer for VN. 

     In country for only a short while, Ed volunteered to serve with the Marines at Khe Sanh.  He served as one of the surgeons at Charlie Med (Khe Sanh, Marine medical facility) for the entire siege.

                            

 During one of the frequent assaults a young Marine casualty was brought to Charlie Med with an 81mm mortar round imbedded in his abdomen. As the protocol at that time was to minimize the potential for more casualties, the standard practice would have been to isolate the young Marine as far as possible from other troops in case the 81mm mortar round detonated. Ed decided that this was not the way to proceed. Ed and a volunteer corpsman set up a waist high sandbag bunker around the Marine, put on flak jackets and helmets and lay over the edge of the bunker with flashlights to operate and remove the unexploded mortar round. The round was successfully removed and given to ordinance techs who took the round to the defense perimeter for detonation. No casualties.

     Ed was awarded the Silver Star for this action. The young Marine recovered and lived a normal life. To my knowledge he is still alive. He remained in contact with Ed for his entire life. This selfless act by Ed caused him to become somewhat of a legend to Marine grunts, particularly Khe Sanh survivors. I had occasion to see just how much Ed was revered by Marines when I was his guest at several Marine Corps functions.

     Ed’s pugnacious medical support (usually disregarding medical SOPs) of troops on the ground continued.

     In Sept. ’68 (as we were enjoying football in the Fall of our First Class year) Company A, 1/61^st. Mechanized Infantry, US Army was engaged in a desperate action in VN. The company was deployed on a ridge line and about to be overrun by North Vietnamese regulars.  There was a steady stream of casualty evacuations by helicopter. The casualties were taken to a Marine aid station where Ed was on duty as surgeon. As the battle continued into the evening with bad weather approaching, the Medivac missions would have to cease due to lack of visibility. One of the pilots asked for a corpsman to volunteer to return to the battle site and remain overnight as the besieged company no longer had any functional medics.  Ed decided that his presence at the battle site would be more effective than a corpsman so he volunteered to fly out to the site and remain as long as he was needed.  A very rare occurrence for a doctor to undertake such a mission.

     Upon disembarking at the battle site, Ed learned that all of the company officers and senior NCOs were hors de combat. Entrenched in an M113 APC Ed decided that his own and the company’s survival depended upon obtaining effective leadership. In desperation he took tactical command of the company. He backed the remaining M113s up the ridge line, and formed a defensive perimeter. In addition to tactical command of the company he also provided medical assistance where he could. The company was relieved 2 days later.

For his actions Ed was nominated for the Medal of Honor. An excerpt of his MOH submission follows:

     This is a very unusual case in which a Navy Doctor performed with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, by voluntarily responding to a call for help from an Army Mechanized Infantry Company that was under the command of a Marine General.

     On 4 September 1968, Army Company A, 1/61^st Mechanized Infantry was about to be overrun by a larger North Vietnamese Army force. Navy Lieutenant (0-3) Edward M. Feldman, Medical Corps was under no obligation by orders or command relationships to do so, risked his life by volunteering to fly through a typhoon that had grounded most aircraft to jump into a “hot” Landing Zone that was receiving heavy artillery, mortar, RPG and direct weapons fire to selflessly and repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire as he moved throughout our dispersed company to save the lives of our wounded, at times having to return fire in self-defense. Feldman eventually took operational control of A Company, when he realized most of our officers were casualties, and guided us to a better defensive position, all while under enemy fire. He then arranged and executed, while still under fire, a daring nighttime medical evacuation of the severely wounded and some of the dead. Feldman refused to be evacuated; he chose to remain with us for two more days to provide both leadership and medical support to the wounded that could not be evacuated.

     By the end of this battle, when our unit and Dr. Feldman returned to our respective home bases, we learned that about 60% of our company had been killed or wounded and about 25% of our unit received decorations for valor. Unfortunately, we did not learn until some 30 years later that Dr. Feldman – whose Medical Battalion had no command relationship with our unit – was never recognized for his extraordinary heroism. That is when we started our efforts to recommend him for a Medal of Honor.

       For reasons unconscionable to me, Ed was denied the MOH even after 3 resubmissions. He received the Bronze Star with Combat V.

     My own conclusion was that his MOH submission was an orphan among the services. Ed was a Navy doctor, assigned to the Marines who rescued an Army unit. Neither the Navy nor Marines had any skin in the game and the Army was somewhat embarrassed. None of the politics seemed to matter to the troops whom Ed saved. They continued to resubmit the application for Ed’s MOH, the most recent resubmission being in 2017.

     I became a good friend of Ed’s and was privileged to remain so until his death. I even had occasion to introduce Ed to John Feagin ’55 (whom we all knew as the head orthopedic surgeon when we were cadets) https://thedaysforward.com/tribute-to-army-docs/. They got along famously sharing a surgical scalpel project.

     Poor health caused Ed to retire from his medical practice in 2016. Ed and his lovely wife, Patti, moved to a very nice retirement community near San Diego. As it was bit far for me to drive, I knew that Ed still needed the constant interservice “insults and rivalry” common to our generation. Therefore, I recruited my WP classmate, Dutch Harmeling (a San Diego resident), to fill in for me. Needless to say, Dutch and Ed immediately became friends and sharers of the military heritage (and subsequent insults).

     ED’s education was a reflection of the times and he was not immersed in military lore with McAuthur’s “Duty, Honor, Country” speech thundering in his ears and thoughts-as we were. Ed’s intense love of country was born of personal, religious and family pride based on the opportunities offered in America. His love of country and its soldiers, sailors and marines was always on display. When I think of the definition of patriot – I think of Ed Feldman.

     Ed passed away from complications of Agent Orange and was buried at Miramar National Cemetery on 17 Oct. 2017. Dutch and I were able to attend his military funeral. While Ed was not a grad, I have not met anyone along the way who lived and practiced the West Point motto of Duty, Honor, Country more than Ed. Of all the remarkable individuals who walk the halls of my memory, Ed is one of the best and deserving of a toast when next you reminisce about Viet Nam.

Beale AFB, northern California

There I was going into the squadron for a night training flight in a B52 G Model. I had completed 12 months of pilot training, 3 ½ months of B52 school and sundry other USAF required schools/training. I was in month 1 of my required 4 months of local check out before full certification as a co-pilot of the B52G model. Upon arrival at the squadron for mission preflight, I was immediately approached by the squadron operations officer who said “Lt., pack your bags you are leaving for TDY Guam in 72 hours as a co-pilot for Crew R-12”.  Of course, I saluted and replied, “Yes, sir”.

Journey to Guam

72 hours later, I met Crew R-12 for the first time (pilot, radar navigator, navigator, Electronic Warfare Officer, tail gunner).

We constituted a 3-aircraft cell assigned to ferry 3 B52Gs to Guam and remain there to conduct combat missions as directed by 8^th Air Force. Our B52 had a maintenance malfunction and was 4 hours late departing. The other 2 aircraft left on schedule and we would fly as a lone aircraft. Immediately after departure, we conducted aerial refueling from a KC135 just outside San Francisco over the Pacific. It was my first solo, co-pilot aerial refueling. Aerial refueling is generally regarded as one of the most difficult/dangerous tasks in military flying. There are two large aircraft about 75 ft from each other (B52 and KC135 – Boeing 707)) connected by a long metal tube (boom) which pumps jet fuel from the KC135 to the B52 under high-speed pressure. The danger of a midair collision is omnipresent. The pilots of both aircraft must fly by hand as autopilot flying was not an option. 17 ½ hours non-stop later, we could see Guam (about 30 miles long and 12 miles wide) on the distant horizon. Now, I understood what Naval aviators must feel like when they spot their aircraft carriers! The runway at Anderson AFB, (our destination) was a little over 2 miles of the island’s 30 miles.

Guam

After arrival in Guam, we had about 7 days before our first mission. For the first mission only were we accompanied by an experienced combat pilot. The rest of the missions only included our crew. The average mission was about 10-11 hours, non-stop, depending on what part of Viet Nam was our target. We normally flew in 3 aircraft cells. KC-135s were strategically placed along the 5000-mile round trip route in case we needed any additional fuel. Creature comforts on the aircraft were pretty much non-existent. Our seats were thin foam on top of a survival kit mounted on an ejection seat.  Therefore, we had to wear helmets, oxygen masks, parachute harness, etc. Ejection seats were triggered by an explosive charge which literally blew the seat out of a hatch in the top of the aircraft (the top hatch was triggered to blow a few milliseconds before the seat ejected through it). The seat traveled at close to 30Gs (30 times gravity) therefore almost assuring some form of spine injury. When on the ground the explosive charge was protected by a safety pin. The seat safety pin was removed prior to takeoff and replaced after landing. Heaters, air conditioners and coffee pots were low maintenance priorities so almost never worked. These were the Arc Light designated missions in support of ground troops. (Operation Arc Light was the code name for the B52 participation in the Vietnam war. Operation Arc Light ran from 1965 to 1973). The missions were mostly in South Vietnam, but I think we occasionally drifted into Cambodia and North Vietnam. Not sure if we had any missions in Laos. I completed 28 Arc Light Missions.

Most South Vietnam missions were uneventful but occasionally we would pick up a MIG searching for a target or very rarely a radar ping by a SAM (surface to air missile). The EW (Electronic Warfare Officer-managed all electronic defensive systems for the aircraft) would commence radar jamming defensive measures which were effective. The SAMs and the MIGs were all Russian.

The most difficult B52 missions came right before war end during the Paris peace talks. Kissinger used the B52s based in Guam and U-Tapao, Thailand as serious negotiation tools/threats. I was in Guam on my 2nd TDY as an Air Staff Officer for 8^th Air Force, so was able to see the big picture from an operations view.  As the Paris negotiations ebbed and flowed, we were required to launch a maximum surge (all available aircraft) to target Hanoi.  These were the Linebacker II missions.  (Operation Linebacker II was the code name for the massive 11 day bombing campaign conducted primarily by B52s over Hanoi in support of the Paris peace talks). A number of B52s were shot down over Hanoi by SAMs (using effective Russian radar and MIG positioning). We launched about 4 maximum surges. After peace was concluded in Paris, it took about 6 months to wind down the B52 operation in Guam and in Thailand.