How Many Men Have Saved The World From Nuclear Annihilation?

Good evening! It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining and the shrill squealing voices of children, distract from the sound of crashing waves pummeling the warm, khaki-colored Pacific shore. Families happily line the shore with colorful beach umbrellas, picnic baskets and ice coolers.

Max, Millie and me have taken our afternoon walk along the beaten sandy paths overlooking the festive play along the edge of the ocean. Returning home, we slip back inside the screened backdoor. Max and Millie run to the corner of the little kitchen, by the window. The place where they share a deep doggy bowl, generously filled with cool, clean water. They waste no time quickly lapping into the stone crock, like they were camels returning from the dunes of the Sahara Desert, running a hump low on water.

I retired to Grandpoppy's cozy home office and began reading about a humble Russian soldier's contribution to the world. The story was emotionally moving because of this widely unknown and uncelebrated man's wisdom in the face of crushing pressure, requiring him to make a fateful and  potentially deadly decision that could have encompassed the world.

I look at a common photograph of an aged gentleman sitting on a couch, bearing no visually detectable or exceptional charisma of "greatness", by the world's superficial methods of calculation. In the calm demeanor of his facial appearance, I see a wise old man with a thin, intelligent and kind face. He died May 19th., 2017, after spending a lifetime serving in the Soviet Air Defense Force and retiring in 1984. He was generally described as a calm, practical man.

When Col. Stanislav Petrov faced the greatest decision of his life, in the early morning hours of September 26th., 1983, his actions would determine the fate of the world. His critical, analytical thinking skills restrained him from making a rash decision. His risky, but thoughtful 5 minute hesitation, to mentally analyse the given information, as well as the missing radar evidence of a real missile attack from the United States, were key to preventing Russia from launching retaliatory nuclear ICBM's and ultimately, saved the world from WWIII. Later, upon investigation, it was found that the near catastrophic mistake had been caused by a computer programming error in the embedded software coding and was promptly corrected in the re-written program code.

When retired Lt. Col. Petrov was interviewed by Germany's magazine, "Der Spiegel", they questioned his quick analysis of the situation and Petrov's correct response to the crisis. He answered... "We are wiser than the computers. We created them."

Sadly, this man never received a hero's "Thank You", from his countrymen or the world. He neither received the well-deserved Noble Peace Prize, nor was his name ever mentioned for nomination, by anyone.  Lt.Col. Stanislav Petrov deserved a Russian medal, but his story remained silent and ignored by Russia and the world, until his friend, a German filmmaker and political activist named Karl Schumacher, told his story to an international audience.

Will there be another man to come along, in our life time, who will have the "presence of mind" to think carefully and rationally, under crushing pressure... to stop and accurately analyse the next man-made computer glitch or human miscalculation that could trigger WWIII?

Posthumously To: Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov, "Thank You" and "May you rest in peace!"

                                        "Good Night, Shalom and Sweet Dreams!"

                                                        "Boner Appertite!"