Customer Reviews

C Trick: Sort of a Memoir

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Don Cooper has written a Cold War memoir for the common man - and the casual reader. He delivers fly-on-the-wall observations of what the enlisted men, or at least the ones he knew, felt about duties and military authority while stationed in West Berlin as so-called top secret translators with the U.S. Army Security Agency. Indeed, the statement most apt to be quoted in reviews of this book is Cooper's buddy, hairy Ranger, mentioning, "Every day spent in the Army is a day in my life that's wasted." It's a beaut. It says it all. The men of C Trick were a close-knit group. They may be a scruffy, unruly, profane bunch who painted figurative targets on authority figures, but they have their standards. Cooper has created a plethora of characters one can imagine Hollywood screenwriters embracing - Bessie "Ma" Raines, the offensive mess sergeant who scared the men into eating elsewhere. And, there's Dirty Joe, Chief, Fang, Hairy Ranger, Rock Weed, Rapid Roger, Doc, Duck and Grumpy John. "C Trick" is irreverent fun, an entertaining read, that makes us want to know what happened to Cooper's buddies after they all "died," or rather left the Army and headed back to civilian life.

Anyone who has ever read a book about life in the military knows the ingredients: young men, alcohol, sex, boredom, and a cynical distaste for the decidedly undemocratic lifestyle of the armed forces. All these are present in abundance in Don Cooper's C Trick: Sort of a Memoir, a collection of anecdotes and incidents involving the men of the Berlin Field Station of the Army Security Agency during the Vietnam era. Some stories are outrageous, some are touching, but anyone who has spent time in uniform will identify with many of the personages and the situations in which they find themselves. Read this book for a vivid glimpse into the experiences of the men who were on the front lines of the "cold" war.

Before the all-volunteer Army there was the draft. This ment that most young American men had to decide how they were going to meet their military obligation. As the cold war dragged on while the Viet Nam war heated up how a person met this obligation assumed critical importance. The choices were stark. If you were in college you were safe. If not you could wait to be drafted with the understanding that you could be sent to Viet Nam as a combat soldier, or you could volunteer for an assignment that offered the chance of avoiding infantry combat in a rice paddy. Volunteering, however, also had a price. You would serve for a longer time, often in a foreign country far away from friends and family. C Trick tells the story of some who volunteered. "C Trick, Sort of a Memior" is a delightful tale that described how a group of young citizen soldiers met their military obligation during the last half of the 1960's. Don Cooper describes what it was like to be a soldier in a special Army unit stationed in what may have been the most important cold war hot spot. Using prose from the era he captures all the humor and frustration experienced by young men coping with the rigors of military life. You will experience the frustration of these men when they were expected to perform difficult technical work in an important national security facility while also dealing with military absurdities. This book captures all the details of how these soldiers worked, played and tried to avoid military life while serving in the Army. It is a very refreshing account of how cold war soldiers spent their time while their lives were on hold. There is a lesson in this book on why the West prevailed in the cold war.

If I were to write about my 23 years in the military, it would read pretty much like Don's memoir. Unfortunately, my mother is still with us and I have to forego putting these things down on paper. While I was in the Air Force, I was stationed at one time on Crete, so I came into contact with the types that Don is describing in C Trick. I certainly understand them a lot better! The chapter called "Cigarette" should come with a warning. It was so funny, I thought I would bust a gut! I had to put it down several times, I was laughing so hard. It brought tears to my eyes! If you liked Mash, you will love C Trick. I wouldn't steer your wrong.

It is now July, 2004, and in reading this book, I was taken back some 36 and 37 years to my tour as an Army spook, stationed in Alaska.

Don Cooper has given life to so many of my memories of the men, the goofiness of the lifers, the dullness that was broken now and then by really strange things that the Soviets would do, and, most prominently, of the instinct to question authority.

While Mr. Cooper did not delve into the technical details of what he did nor how he did "it", he really didn't need to for those of us who were in the same boat. The entire experience was about the men we worked and lived with and the very strange things that we would do either for entertainment or to screw with the minds of the lifers.

The final chapter in the book was perhaps the most powerful one for me simply because it brought back memories of the dismantling of an institution that flourished despite the management. And, the very same mindset can be applied to my civilian life and retirement from a career of 35 years in the railroad business.

This is a book that I am going to treasure and place in a very safe and secure location for future re-readings.

Our secrets are out! The folks back home thought we were fighting communism and keeping the Red Horde from over-running "Freedom's Outpost." Well, we did, sort of. Read this book! It gives all the grisly details of the common soldier's fight against military stupidity and blind devotion to the rules.

I thought it was greatly amusing. For those of us that were in the Army and worked Field Station,it will bring back alot of memories. Even though this was before I served in Berlin,alot of the places mentioned I knew. The things that happened will make you look back on your time there and remember some of the crazy things that went on.
I definately thought it was a good read. Well worth the money.

"C Trick: Sort of a Memoir" is fun, irreverent, filled with colorful characters-a source for some real guffaws. It was hard for me to believe this is non-fiction. I'll pull if off the shelf again and again.

As luck would have it, I was in Berlin at Andrews Barracks at the same time as Don Cooper. Although I did not know him personally, I was familiar with his work and his unit. I was in what would be called a "black" unit, meaning a unit so deeply secure it had no real deisgnation except for Detachment a, Berlin Brigade. I worked out of the EOC )Emergency Operations Center) in the Intelligence Section of the US Consulate on Clay Allee, and was simultaneously attached to the 78th USASA SOU (which later became the 54th USASA SOC), and attached to the 287th MP CO SOU working border patrol, Check Point Charlie, etc. I was often at the Hill, often along the border, involved with the US Mission and the Soveit Potsdam Mission, we oversaw the work of the ASA and coordinated it with border security issues and other factors. I was a Captain at the time, but often in civilian attire posing as an American or Canadian university student with all the supporting documents, etc., when I needed to work while not in uniform. I found the Cooper book on C trick like a literal step back into the mileua of Berlin, it's descriptions of the 78th ASA workings, the people, their quirks, and their adventures like a trip home to Berlin after being gone many years. After I left the intel service for the US Army in Belrin I remained there to attend the Free University School of Medicine - I loved Berlin and wanted to spend much more time there as a real civilian and student. I have since returned to the US to practice as a doctor, but hold my time and my experiences with the ASA there among my dearest and fondest times of my life ever. I would love to read more from Don Cooper and would love to sit down and have a great chat with him about everything we did and had in common.
Respectfully yours,
James R. Bowman

Don Cooper gives a vivid view about the soldier's life in Westberlin during the late 60's.
Don't expect to gain secret information about the famous Field Station on the Teufelsberg but enjoy reading something about the life in the divided city.
It's a treat for anyone knowing the mentioned places be it native Berliners or Berlin Veterans - you will be taken back to the time when Westberlin was an isle in the middle of the communist ocean.
He really caught the Zeitgeist in this book.