Voices Under Berlin: USASA Links

Army Security Agency

Website Links | Art | Literature | Recruiting

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National Army Security Agency Association

"Dedicated to preserving the history, memories, and friendships" of ASA (1945 - 1976). It has a much better collection of ASA links than this one, and is a recommended first stop when looking for things ASA on the web. They also have a collection of ASA swag (caps, polo shirts and stickers). There is also a Reunion page.

ASA Lives

A website for ASA vets (1945-1976). Has a locator database, a selection of ASA swag (pins, patches, caps, etc.), and an ASA Veterans Bookclub where you can find books by and about ASA-ers, like Voices Under Berlin: The Tale of a Monterey Mary, Beller's Fellars by Vern Greunke (ASA in Vietnam), Soldier Boy: At Play in the ASA by Tim Bazzett (ASA in Turkey and in Germany) and #1 Code Break Boy by John Milmore (ASA in Korea).

Wikipedia

Read the Wikipedia article on The Army Security Agency. It is an interesting overview with a slant on why ASA-ers were such special people. There is a list of ASA memoirs and novels, which I'm pleased to say includes Voices Under Berlin: The Tale of a Monterey Mary.

MY MILITARY ADVENTURES

Life's Little Adventures is a blog written by Earl Steinbicker. One of his adventures is his tour with ASA in Japan in the 1950s. The page that this header links to is a table of contents for a number of stories about his ASA assignment in Japan. He also has a brief review of Voices Under Berlin. His "About the ASA" post is of particular interest, because it helps put ASA of the 1950s into the context of the times. He is putting together stories from other ASA vets who served during the 1950s in the Tokyo area, and asks those who have something to add to get in touch with him. (Contact info is on his webSite.)

VIVA USAFSS

While not exactly an ASA site, the VIVA USAFSS site is worth a look because ASA and the Air Force Security Service worked closely together under the direction of NSA, and our sites were often collocated in the field. The article that this link takes you to was written for Veterans' Day 2000. It is of particular interest, because it could have just as easily been written about ASA. The jargon may be a bit different, but the sentiment is the same.

Amazon.com's Army Security Agency Page

This is a page on Amazon.com where you can find all the books on Amazon.com that have been tagged with "Army Security Agency." If you discover that your favorite book is not there, tag it so that the rest of us can find it. And while you're there, vote for your favorite book. The author of the book with the most votes gets "bragging rights", and can buy a cup of coffee at their local McDonald's.

Veterans Memorial Museum ASA Collection

The Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis in Washington State half way between Seattle and Portland on Interstate 5 has a collection of ASA memorabilia and artifacts. We are proud to note that Voices Under Berlin is a part of the collection and cataloged in the museum's Military History Library of more than 3,000 volumes. The museum has hosted three ASA reunions (1999, 2001 and 2003), all of which were well attended, and plans more in the future.

Army Security Agency, Europe

A history of ASA in Europe 1945-1989. Worth a visit.

ASA-INSCOM-Only

A yahoo group for ASA and INSCOM vets, though vets of USAFSS, NSGA are likewise welcome.

Having trouble answering this question from your kids, grandkids, brothers, sisters and significant other?

Read what T.H.E. Hill had to say in an interview with Wes Britton of SpyWise.net.

Q: Did anyone ever encourage you to include more Bondian elements in your book?

When the manuscript for Voices Under Berlin was making its way around literary agents in search of someone to represent it, one agent said that the book was very Helleresque, but that it would sell better with more sex and violence. That wasn't, however, the book that I wanted to write. I wanted to write a book that was based on the reality of the mind numbing boredom of a Sunday mid while you're waiting for the target's loose lips to sink a ship.

I wanted to record what it was like to fight the Secret Cold war for posterity. When their children ask "What did you do in the Cold War?," most Secret Cold War veterans, have to say something trite, like "If I told you, I'd have to shoot you." I wanted to give voice to some of their stories so that they would not disappear when the generations of Kevins and Fast Eddies who are sworn to silence shuffle off this mortal coil. Voices Under Berlin may not be exactly the story that each and every one of them would like to tell, but it is close enough so that people who fought the Secret Cold War in places other than Berlin say that they felt right at home while reading it. I wanted Secret Cold War vets to be able to answer their children and grandchildren with: "I can't tell you exactly, but why don't you read Voices Under Berlin?

ASA lives in the hearts and minds of those who served in it. Help keep it alive.