Beyond the Wall: Cold War Adventures In East Germany

John Stapleton, Sr., was born in 1938 and grew up in Decatur, Illinois, with his brother. His father worked jobs in personnel, managing the state unemployment system for a period before becoming head of personnel at a factory, and his mother was a homemaker. As a boy, he loved playing outdoors and he enjoyed all types of sports, but especially football and baseball. He earned good grades in high school while being a three-sport athlete, playing baseball, basketball, and football (earning All-State honors). At the University of Illinois, he earned a degree in commerce and business administration, participated in ROTC, and played football. He enjoyed ROTC, and he remembers drilling, doing land navigation, and learning about weapons. He played center and left inside linebacker for the Fighting Illini, where he remembers playing alongside Dick Butkus, Joe Rutgens, Bobby Mitchell, and Ray Nitschke. While attending the University of Illinois, he met his future wife. He commissioned after graduation and served as the Regimental Commander for ROTC Summer Camp at Ft. Riley, Kansas. Following that, he worked as an analyst at the AE Stanley Company before receiving orders for the Infantry Basic Course, starting in April 1962. He loved Benning and graduated second in his class. In June 1962, he was assigned to Ft. Riley, Kansas, where he served as a Platoon Leader in A Company, 13th Infantry. He found his Platoon Sergeant SFC Gamble to be reasonable and fair but tough, and he learned to listen to his Soldiers to learn about them. In the summer of 1962, his unit was transferred to Germany as a means of countering Soviet aggression and demonstrating the ability to rapidly project power from the United States. During this time, John served as the property book officer for the Colonel. In Germany, he started out in Wildflecken, but later served in Berlin in a special intelligence unit, where he patrolled with two cars in East Berlin conducting constant surveillance. He describes trying to figure out what the Soviets were doing as being like solving a puzzle. He was there when the Soviets built the Berlin Wall, and he saw East Berliners being killed trying to escape communism. He describes when Khruschev came to Berlin, and American attempts to tail him. He also recalls his interactions with Soviet and East German Soldiers, and the cat-and-mouse game of Cold War intelligence. At one point, he was stopped by a Soviet Officer who, in perfect English, asked him why he was beyond a sign prohibiting military personnel. He also shares a story of passing the gate between East Berlin and East Germany and seeing an entire Guards Regiment (Ministry for State Security Guards Regiment) standing in formation as he passed in an attempt at intimidation after John and his partner drove through their compound. Following his time in Germany, he returned to Ft. Riley, Kansas, where he processed new troops before taking command of C Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry. His First Sergeant had served in Merrill’s Marauders during World War II. John loved his time in company command. In April 1964, he transitioned to the Reserves in Des Plaines, Illinois. Reflecting on his service, John says, “The Army was not afraid to give significant responsibility to young officers,” something that helped him later when he entered the business world. At the end of the interview, Dr. John Stapleton, Jr., joins his father to share why he wanted his dad to record an interview.