Friday, September 13, 2013

An Interesting "Stranger Than Fiction" Read: The man who stopped World War III and sacrificed his career

09/13/13

Attention Readers: Please feel free to shed some light on this incident. As I have no recollection of this event which allegedly occured in my early "who gives a damn" years. Nor am I familiar at all with the "Indian news site" source who posted it.  True or not, it is a well written story that could easily become a box office hit lol. 


Exactly 30 years ago, when early warning systems indicated the Soviet Union was under nuclear attack by the United States, air defence officer Stanislav Petrov went by gut instinct and decided the alarm was false. It was a decision that saved the human race – and ended his career.

Stanislav Petrov became a celebrity in the West. In February 2013 he got the Dresden Peace Prize. Source: Sergey Pirogov / Ria Novosti

Place: Serpukhov-15, a ballistic missile early warning command and control post south of Moscow.
Time: Just after midnight, September 26, 1983.
Officers of the elite Soviet Air Defence Force are about to begin their night shift at the top secret installation. Their commander, Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov, 44, pushes back in his chair and is prepared for what he thinks is yet another routine watch, when suddenly the silence of the bunker is shattered by wailing sirens.

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