Army·Killed by treaty·In Memoriam
Pershing Missile Crewmember
15E
Served: c.1962–1991
Crewed the MGM-31 Pershing I and Pershing II nuclear ballistic missiles forward-deployed in West Germany — Moscow-from-Stuttgart in under 15 minutes.
The Story
Pershing crews were the only US Army soldiers in history whose *entire MOS* was eliminated by a Cold War arms-control treaty. Some 15Es had three-minute alert posture under their Stuttgart bunkers and never told their families what they actually did until 1992.
Epitaph
“Killed by a signature, not an enemy. The only MOS ever buried by a treaty.”
Sources
- Army Historical Foundation — MGM-31armyhistory.org
- Redstone — Pershing Historyhistory.redstone.army.mil