After World War II, Boettiger served in the reserves until he was activated for the Korean War and describes his job as a post training officer at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, and then his gung-ho service as a combat field artilleryman in Korea. He then tells about his command of a 120mm AAA gun battery in the Cold War air defense of the Hanford Atomic Reservation and his selection to be a pioneer Nike Missile battery commander.
He then describes his assignments to the American Embassy in Germany air defense missile sales advisor to the new German Army and Air Force during their missile build up in NATO joint air defenses from 1956 to 1959; his command of a nuclear-armed, improved Nike missile battalion in the joint Army-Air Force air defense of Loring Air Force Base; and his advise to the Japanese Army and Air Force on their joint air defense missile build up including the procurement of US nuclear-capable Nike air defense missiles. He describes his advisory service preparing the Virginia National Guard for active duty during the Vietnam war and finally, his experience as Chief of the powerful Army air defense missile forces in the joint air defense of Okinawa when Russian bombers were probing the islands air defenses. About the Author Wilfred Boettiger was born in Chicago in 1920. He spent thirty challenging years in the United States Army as surface-to-air missile commander and diplomat, retiring as a colonel. A bronze sculptor, he operated a workshop and created bronzes, including the life-size rhino for the San Diego Wild Animal Park. He was also a sailboat owner, amateur archaeologist, and, most of all, a lover and connoisseur of life. He has two grown children, two grandchildren, and had four marriages. Ret. Col. Boettiger is a member of several military and civilian organizations, including the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. See also: Formerly Classified, Boettiger´s autobiography.
