> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Intersections: Living at Times of Great Change - URL: https://what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io/intersections-living-at-times-of-great-change/ - Published: 2026-07-26T09:45:37.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-22T10:21:04.000Z - Description: Can we ever know with whom, when, where, or under what circumstances our lives or experiences are going to intersect with history? The… - Author: Michael Sopronyi, Jr. - Tags: #Migrated-1792613315636, #Import 2026-10-21 20:08 #### *Can we ever know with whom, when, where, or under what circumstances our lives or experiences are going to intersect with history? The story of my initial intersection was damn scary!* [**Cuban Missile Crisis**](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io) October 16, 1962\. The Cuban Missile Crisis cast its black foreboding shadow over every human endeavor worldwide when the Soviet Union and the U.S. faced-off over nuclear weapons. The eye-to-eye showdown lasted less than two weeks, October 16–28, 1962.Although it did not go on for long, that abbreviated confrontation is the closest our planet has come to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war. U.S. surveillance from a U-2 spy plane revealed that the Soviet Union had secretly deployed 36 medium-range ballistic missiles and 24 intermediate-range ballistic missiles to Cuba, 90 miles from Florida. In addition to these 60 primary ballistic missiles, Soviet forces shipped in over 100 tactical nuclear weapons, including short-range rockets and cruise missiles. *My generation’s first intersection was the terrifying reality the world could end unannounced in a monstrous mushroom cloud at any minute.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/60/0360b55f-95be-42f2-bbe0-fa0f6f11d07f/content/images/2026/10/1-glt9zaydc1m4z3o5ap3t-a.png) First stage of atomic bomb mushroom cloud. National Archives. [https://nara.getarchive.net/media/first-stage-of-mushroom-cloud-from-the-baker-day-explosion-over-bikini-lagoon-1959fd](https://nara.getarchive.net/media/first-stage-of-mushroom-cloud-from-the-baker-day-explosion-over-bikini-lagoon-1959fd?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io) *Along with that possibility came a myriad of changes, both extraordinary and strange, about how we were to begin conducting our lives. All of them as I recall were aimed at saving ourselves from annihilation. While in school, for example, we were to immediately “duck and cover” under our desks at the first sign of a nuclear attack in order to protect ourselves from radiation fallout. We practiced that all the time.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/60/0360b55f-95be-42f2-bbe0-fa0f6f11d07f/content/images/2026/10/1-jeth9sabhosi7ncityej8a.png) [https://virginiahistory.org/learn/duck-and-cover](https://virginiahistory.org/learn/duck-and-cover?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io) *In addition to fallout protection, long-term survival was a major concern and the source of much heated discussion. Families were urged to construct or stock home fallout shelters to protect against deadly radioactive debris. Shelters would be stocked with a two-week supply of non-perishable food, bottled water, battery-powered radios, first-aid kits, and sanitation supplies. \[*[*1*](https://eisenhowerfoundation.net/sites/default/files/2025-04/Duck%20and%20Cover%20lesson.pdf?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io)*,* [*2*](https://www.newarkadvocate.com/story/news/local/newarks-history/2014/10/11/dykn-cuban-missile-crisis-remembered/17119433/?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io)*,* [*3*](https://www.quora.com/What-precautions-can-individuals-take-to-protect-themselves-during-a-missile-attack?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io)*,* [*4*](https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1987/10/18/too-many-dont-know-what-to-do-in-case-of-attack/?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io)*\]* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/60/0360b55f-95be-42f2-bbe0-fa0f6f11d07f/content/images/2026/10/0-z9jukd3vmjblfkn3.jpg) On the heels of the Cuban Missile Crisis came our second crucial intersection — The Vietnam War. **Vietnam War: U. S. Involvement** Vietnam was controlled by France from the late 19th century until 1954\. France’s withdrawal after its 1954 defeat at Dien Bien Phu lead to the partition between the North and South that set the stage for the Vietnam War. Since 1955, the United States had been providing financial aid, weapons, and military advisors to South Vietnam. There were approximately 16,000 U.S. military personnel in Vietnam by late 1963\. Covert operations against North Vietnam were active by then as well. The United States never declared a state of war in Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident marks the United States’ shift from advisory and covert roles to direct military engagement. **The Gulf of Tonkin Incident** The destroyer USS *Maddox* (DD-731) was attacked by North Vietnamese patrol boats on August 2, 1964, in the Gulf of Tonkin while on an intelligence-gathering mission. Following the initial attack on the *Maddox*, the destroyer USS *Turner Joy* (DD-951)joined it for patrols. The *Turner Joy* was reported to have been attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin two days later on the night of August 4, 1964. Both ships reported sonar contacts that night and engaged in a three-hour battle against potential enemy ships. Captain John Herrick of the *Maddox* began to doubt the authenticity of the attack, as no enemy vessels were visually confirmed and radar showed erratic, phantom contacts. The reported, but highly questionable attacks led directly to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on Aug. 7, 1964, significantly escalating U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. *I was attached to Commander, Task Force 77 (CTF-77), onboard the attack aircraft carrier USS* Constellation *(CVA-64), September 1969-April 1970\. Commander Barnhart, Commanding Officer of the* Turner Joy *during the Gulf of Tonkin incident, was also attached to CTF-77 during that period.* *Could I have ever anticipated that intersection watching Walter Cronkite solemnly report the attacks on the CBS Evening News while loafing on the couch in my family’s living room?* **The Vietnam Era Encompassed Far More Than Just the Vietnam War** The Vietnam Era was unquestionably a historic, unforgettable time in the lives of my generation. The war could easily have stood alone in history. Memories of the war are made more vivid and everlasting, however, when viewed as but one of the many unimaginable events occurring parallel to it in America’s history: U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963*;* U.S. Senator Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968; and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated on April 4, 1968*.* The Rolling Stones played in Harrisburg, PA, onlyonce, performing at the Farm Show Arena on June 19, 1964, during their first US tour. The show was poorly attended (400 to 900 people) as the band was not yet widely known in the U. S. Ticket prices averaged $2.50. Only 150 posters were reportedly printed for this concert. They were cardboard, similar to other 1960s concert posters. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/60/0360b55f-95be-42f2-bbe0-fa0f6f11d07f/content/images/2026/10/1-wgxyy9vad1sbxfkq-9ew0a.png) Classic Posters. [https://www.classicposters.com/boxing-style/rolling-stones/](https://www.classicposters.com/boxing-style/rolling-stones/?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io) *Neither my brother Bob nor I attended. We sure knew how to pick ’em back then, didn’t we?* *Led Zeppelinappeared at my alma mater, Ohio University (OU), Athens, Ohio, as a special guest, opening for José Feliciano, on May 17, 1969.On November 7, 1969, The Who also performedat OU. I admit I did not go to either concert.* *The Byrd’s’ “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 4, 1965*. *I did attend the December 1965 concert of various rock and roll artists which included The Byrds.* May 4, 1970, was the day National Guardsmen fired 67 shots at a group of unarmed students at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. Four students were killed and another 30 were wounded, one of whom was paralyzed for life. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/60/0360b55f-95be-42f2-bbe0-fa0f6f11d07f/content/images/2026/10/0-epmiy33k6kkllxnd.png) John Paul Filo. [Kent State, May 4, 1970](https://www.loc.gov/resource/ppmsca.19376?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io). Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (38.00.00) © John Paul Filo/Nalley Daily Eleven days later, on May 15, 1970, police killed another two students and wounded 12 more at Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, during a riotous protest. The “Massacre at Kent State”eventually became a prominent rallying cry for the anti-Vietnam War protest movement. *I was onboard the attack aircraft carrier USS* America *(CVA-66). We were positioned on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of North Vietnam, when these incidents occurred. I learned of the shootings from* Stars and Stripes *newspaper. The first thought to come to my mind — “What is going on back there?”* The My Lai Massacre was a U.S. war crime committed on March 16, 1968, involving the mass murder of unarmed civilians in Son My village, South Vietnam. In 1968, U.S. forces considered the My Lai area to be a stronghold of Communist Vietnamese fighters (the Vietcong) and their sympathizers. Up to 504 civilians, almost all women, children and elderly men, were murdered by U.S. Army soldiers led by Lt. William Calley. The incident is the largest confirmed massacre of civilians by U.S. forces in the 20th century. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/60/0360b55f-95be-42f2-bbe0-fa0f6f11d07f/content/images/2026/10/0-c4zc5dy_ykdqj6ru.jpg) Time. [https://time.com/5200422/my-lai-massacre-ron-haeberle-photographs/](https://time.com/5200422/my-lai-massacre-ron-haeberle-photographs/?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io) Ron Haeberle was drafted in 1966 after also attending Ohio University. The images he shot on March 16, 1968, exposed the heinous crimes committed at My Lai. *I was in Boot Camp, U. S. Naval Training Center, San Diego, CA, approximately 10 months after the massacre.* **S*eptember 5, 1966,my Grandfather Sopronyi and I saw President Lyndon B. Johnson speak at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, Dayton, Ohio, for a Labor Day celebration.* During a nationally televised address from the Oval Office on March 31, 1968,President Johnson announced he would not seek re-election. The announcement came shortly after the first Tet Offensive which severely damaged public support for his Vietnam policy. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/60/0360b55f-95be-42f2-bbe0-fa0f6f11d07f/content/images/2026/10/1-mecwt9bdgmncot15jliruq.png) In addition to withdrawing from the race, LBJ announced a partial halt to bombing in North Vietnam. Johnson’s announcements stunned the nation and turned the 1968 presidential race o*ver under sideways down backwards, forwards, square and round* (lyrics from The Yardbirds, 1966 album ‘Over Under Sideways Down’). The first moon landing carrying a crew took place on July 20, 1969. *It was my first time at sea and only my 4th day onboard the attack aircraft carrier USS* Kitty Hawk *(CVA-63). I did not see the live coverage; only learning of it the following day.* The auxiliary general environmental research ship USS *Pueblo* (AGER-2) was captured by North Korea on January 23, 1968\. These ships were often used for covert intelligence-gathering missions during the Cold War. August 1969 witnessed two *antithetical* events: the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in upstate New York and Vietcong forces attacking over 150 targets across South Vietnam as part of its Mid-Year Tet Offensive. *I transferred to the attack aircraft carrier USS* Constellation *(CVA-64) when it began its 5th combat deployment in Vietnam on August 11, 1969\. We sailed from a position on Yankee Station to Defender Station in the Sea of Japan, following increased tensions with North Korea after their April 1969 shoot down of a U.S. EC-121 aircraft, killing all 31 personnel on board.* *On October 2, 1969, one and a half months after I joined the USS* Constellation *crew, a C-2A Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) plane crashed into the South China Sea about 10 miles from the* Constellation’s *position (70 miles NE off Dong Hoi \[Gulf of Tonkin, Central Vietnam\]). All six members of the plane’s crew, 21 U.S. Navy personnel and one civilian were declared missing in action (MIA), their bodies never recovered. The airplane was on a personnel transfer flight from Cubi Point, the Philippines, to the* Constellation*. An engine failure was suspected to be the cause of the crash.* *I would have my own intersection with a COD flight about ten months later.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/60/0360b55f-95be-42f2-bbe0-fa0f6f11d07f/content/images/2026/10/1-ayr1z1dslaolydxcmeycja.png) Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) arrives on flight deck [https://picryl.com/media/a-us-navy-usn-c-2a-greyhound-carrier-onboard-delivery-cod-aircraft-lands-onboard-3ffb2b](https://picryl.com/media/a-us-navy-usn-c-2a-greyhound-carrier-onboard-delivery-cod-aircraft-lands-onboard-3ffb2b?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/60/0360b55f-95be-42f2-bbe0-fa0f6f11d07f/content/images/2026/10/1-btec62adfr_hv4h5jlibyw.png) Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) launches from flight deck [https://theaviationist.com/2026/06/30/c-2-greyhound-flies-off-aircraft-carrier-last-time/](https://theaviationist.com/2026/06/30/c-2-greyhound-flies-off-aircraft-carrier-last-time/?ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io) *I departed USS* America *(CVA-66) via COD en route to Da Nang, South Vietnam, then Oakland, CA, before heading home to San Antonio, Texas, July 3, 1970* *Personal Note: We flew from Da Nang to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa*, *where we changed planes. The planeload of soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and Coast Guardsmen were greeted by a small group of dependents with the epithet “baby killers” as we entered the terminal. That was the prevailing opinion held not only on that base, but throughout the U.S. as well. There weren’t throngs at airports cheering servicemen and women returning from Vietnam. Despite the well-intentioned efforts to rehabilitate the image of us returnees, I am convinced that is how we will always be remembered.* **The Watergate Scandal** I’ve cited but a small fraction of the monumental events taking place seemingly daily during the extended Vietnam Era. I don’t know what event and my intersection with it would be a high-water mark of those historic occurrences. If I were pressed hard to designate one it would be: the break-in of the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. The Watergate burglars were captured and arrested early in the morning of June 17, 1972, while in the process of wiretapping and photographing documents. This event led to a major scandal and eventually the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon, effective August 9, 1974. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/60/0360b55f-95be-42f2-bbe0-fa0f6f11d07f/content/images/2026/10/1-snpaxjxj0vp8vg1-lzslmq.png) [https://www.rarenewspapers.com/newspaper/692661-nixon-resigns-the-presidency-reported-in-the-washington-post?srsltid=AfmBOorURm1Wrdt1LWyjtkvc1vp0Q1KsupNMt92SO0XwdqPf8IwFA8Ub](https://www.rarenewspapers.com/newspaper/692661-nixon-resigns-the-presidency-reported-in-the-washington-post?srsltid=AfmBOorURm1Wrdt1LWyjtkvc1vp0Q1KsupNMt92SO0XwdqPf8IwFA8Ub&ref=what-comes-to-mind-1.ghost.io) The break-in and the President’s resignation were the framework for a myriad of events tagged as the Watergate affair. For two years, public revelations of wrongdoing inside the White House convulsed the nation in a series of confrontations that pitted the President against the media, executive agencies, the Congress, and the Supreme Court. I consider the Watergate imbroglio to be the unfortunate pinnacle of the Vietnam Era because: its corrosion and dismemberment of what had been until then, the strength of America’s governmental structure: *separation of powers* among and *checks and balances* between the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of government. The unique events surrounding Watergate and their far-reaching impacts on the country did eventually foster significant change and improvement in the way our government functions. *On June 17th, the day of the burglary, I was assigned to the staff of Ambassador Franklin Haydn Williams, the President’s Personal Representative for Micronesian Status Negotiations, Washington, D.C.*