by Mark Stuart Ellison

Created on: June 11, 2009

When Winston Churchill warned of an "Iron Curtain" during a speech in Fulton, Missouri in 1946, his admonition was greeted with skepticism. But an obscure incident involving the 327th Fighter Control Squadron suggests that the Cold War actually began during World War II.

The 327th Fighter Control Squadron was a unit of 300 men in the American Ninth Air Force. Composed of radio truck operators and ground controllers, the outfit guided fighter pilots to their targets and directed them to base when they were lost or hit.

Usually several miles behind combat troops, the 327th Fighter Control Squadron landed on Omaha Beach a few days after the start of the Normandy invasion but was on the front lines in eastern Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. The 327th Fighter Control Squadron also participated in the Rhineland Campaign and was part of the American Occupation Army in postwar Germany.

All members of the 327th Fighter Control Squadron received the Fourragere of the Belgian Government for heroic service during the Battle of the Bulge, and the Meritorious Unit Service Plaque for performance of duty in the face of exceptionally difficult tasks.

In the summer of 1945, my father was a sergeant radio truck supervisor in the 327th Fighter Control Squadron. He was stationed in Weimar, a city in eastern Germany that was about to become Russian occupational territory. The Americans had to leave. Germany was being divided into British, American, and Russian Zones.

Fenmore Seton was a first lieutenant in the 327th Fighter Control Squadron. Several weeks after the outfit left Weimar, Lt. Seton's commanding officer asked him to return there to pick up 300 copies of the Squadron's history, "Record of the 327th Fighter Control Squadron," from the Knabe Printing Company in Weimar.

The 47-page "Record" had been written by Squadron officers and included numerous rare photographs.

Because the Russians were America's allies in the war against Nazi Germany, Lt. Seton thought his assignment would be a simple, pleasant task. He had no idea that he was embarking upon a hazardous journey. Seton described his troubles in an article in the June 2002 edition of The Ninth Flyer, a newsletter of the Ninth Air Force Association.

According to the article, Lt. Seton made the 100-mile trip east to Weimar in a small truck with a driver. The driver, a Cpl. Javornicky, spoke decent Russian and would act as translator.

The Americans were greeted at the border by Russian guards who pointed

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