Realities of the Cold War remain a hot topic for Boardman author

By DENISE DICK

denise_dick@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

A township resident combined his lifelong interest in history and his military background into a series of books chronicling the Cold War.

“My dad was a career Navy officer, and I grew up around the military,” said Patrick Pacalo of his father, Nicholas.

His third book, “Eastern Europe: Cold Warfare III,” published by PublishAmerica, will be released March 29 but can be ordered through the publisher before that date.

His previous works, “Cold Warfare: A Compact History” and “Cold Warfare II: Political Terror,” are available through online book sellers.

One or both of Pacalo’s volumes also have been purchased by several libraries and military-studies offices across the country.

The Cold War, 1945 to 1991, was a time of tension and conflict between the former Soviet Union and the West, primarily the United States.

Pacalo was born in Pensacola, Fla., and lived in New Jersey and Virginia as his family moved around.

“I remember talking about Vietnam on the playground because everyone’s dad was involved in the military in some way,” Pacalo said.

The conversations included debates about what should happen to 2nd Lt. William Calley for the My Lai massacre in which the U.S. Army unit he led was accused of mass murder of Vietnamese civilians.

“This was when I was 6, 7 and 8 years old,” Pacalo said. “It was the time, and it was the place.”

He served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve, and while attending Indiana University of Pennsylvania, he completed an internship at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.

“I studied European defense policy and Central America and attended war-college classes, most of which were classified,” Pacalo said.

After earning his bachelor’s from IUP, Pacalo worked as a safety and health specialist at Georgetown University and then began writing.

The first two articles for which he was paid ran in the Army Times.

He moved to Boardman — his parents are Mahoning County natives — after being injured while on active duty in a truck accident in Germany. He earned his master’s degree in history from Youngstown State University in 1995. In 2003, he earned a doctoral degree in history online from Lacrosse University.

Pacalo spent hundreds of hours writing and researching his latest book. He visited the National Archives and obtained declassified documents from the Central Intelligence Agency through Freedom of Information Act requests.

He’s working on a fourth volume about China, Korea and containment and plans subsequent books.