Reflections on the 5th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis

-The 5th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Recently, I saw the 5th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but I couldn't calm down for a long time. Everything that happened in the Cuban missile crisis haunts my mind and is unforgettable. At that moment, I finally understood what a hero is.

On October 27th, 1962, Soviet submarine B-59 was snorkeling in Cuban waters. Suddenly, the American destroyer Bille dropped a series of deep-water bombs on the submarine. The American intention is obvious: the submarine will either surface or be buried at the bottom of the sea. But the Americans obviously didn't realize that the Soviet submarine they attacked, like the other three Soviet submarines cruising in Cuban waters, was loaded with torpedoes with nuclear warheads.

the depth charge exploded near submarine B- 59. The shock wave produced by the explosion violently impacted the submarine, and the submarine was in a mess. The submarine crew was shocked by the huge explosion, and the oxygen in the submarine was almost exhausted. Some people were already unconscious. The panicked Soviet sailors thought that the war had begun and immediately demanded to launch a torpedo on the submarine to fight back. According to the authorization at that time, the launch of nuclear torpedoes required the consent of three officers on board. At that time, two of them had agreed that it would be a devastating disaster for the Soviet Union, the United States and even the whole world to wait for the third person to nod or raise his hand.

But the Soviet officer named arkhipov was very clear-headed at the critical moment and correctly exercised his own little power. He said loudly to the proposal to launch a nuclear torpedo: "No!" Today, 4 years later, the director of the National Archives of the United States, who attended the commemorative meeting of the Cuban Missile Crisis, said that the intensity of the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union had exceeded anyone's imagination at that time, and nuclear war could be triggered at any time because of a little military conflict ... arkhipov may not know that his simple word "no" inadvertently saved his country and the whole world.

Heroes, heroes who say "no" to war in their own way, have been unknown for 4 years!

You might think that it is the first duty of soldiers to obey orders. Since the enemy openly provoked and "the war has begun", arkhipov should have no choice but to approve the launch of nuclear torpedoes. But he chose to say "no". What he did was not only detrimental to the image of soldiers, but also tantamount to surrendering to the enemy. How can such a person be regarded as a hero? Romain rolland once defined a hero as follows: A hero is someone who has done what he can. Arkhipov is such a hero: as a Soviet submarine officer, his status is humble and his power is limited. Under normal circumstances, he has no possibility, no ability and no opportunity to stop the outbreak of a nuclear war. What belongs to him is only-in a very urgent moment, he has one-third of the power to veto or agree that his submarine will fire torpedoes at opponents. According to the authorization at that time, he can only do so much. In fact, that's all he really did, but he successfully avoided the explosive nuclear war. I admit that he is not a prominent figure, but he is a worthy hero!

In fact, a hero is such a person who did what he could at a critical moment and was in line with the interests of human society. At any time, we need such heroes! If you do, that hero may be you!