Cardboard and War

If you are too young to remember the trading card boom of the late 80’s, it’s hard to fully grasp just how many cards were being produced.  Everybody wanted in and they pretty much got their wish.  I’ve talked about Rite Aid, K-Mart and even Drake’s Bakery getting into the hobby with small sets of baseball cards.  Most of us already know that there are warehouses full of unopened 1988 Donruss still today.  And every 40 year old in America likely owned at least one 1989 Topps baseball card at some point in their life.  It was a wonderful time to be a teenager but also a time that ultimately crushed the hobby for a while.   But for me, as I think about Eckerd Drug Superstars and those funky sets that Jimmy Dean put out, there are a few data points in the hobby that drives home the thirst for cards that we all had at that time.One such data point that takes me back to my youth and reminds me of how many odd sets were actually floating around back then was the 1991 Pro Set Desert Storm set.   I’m going to stay away from the political angles and talk only about the nostalgic factor of this set because that is what I do here.   It’s why I still collect cards at the age of 40.   I’ve mentioned my continued love for Pro Set and still have the unopened Series I and II boxes of football that I am going to continue to tease you with.  So Pro Set is a very nostalgic card company for me and I enjoy ripping their products.   Topps also got in on the Desert Storm production and I’m not just talking about the Desert Shield cards of ‘91.  Maybe I’ll do a separate post on that set altogether but this was not a sports set at all.At the age of 14, I collected these and liked pulling the “Leader” cards most.  They also were in fact very educational with insight into artillery, geography and war tactics.   My fondest memory of this set was having my best friend’s dad autograph the M2/M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle card because that’s what he drove and worked on during the war.  I thought it was the coolest thing ever and I think he was honored by it as well.   My friend and I used to play around the house with small artillery that he had and we would eat MRE’s like we were actually in the war.   I remember he gave me four artillery shells from the Bradley and I was speechless.  Again, at 14, war was something that most boys played with their friends. And we were much too young to appreciate the gravity of it all.The set was 250 cards and was broken up into 7 main categories; Leaders, Military Asset, Personnel, Government, Military Skill, Geography and Intelligence file.  The box was 36 packs with 10 cards each so you have a good shot at the full set with a box.  I haven’t sorted completely yet but I know I didn’t put the entire set together.  The cards used the normal Pro Set stock of 90-91 and the top and bottom border of the card was the desert camouflage that became popular during that time.  Each card was labeled at the top with the category it fell under and had the Pro Set Desert Storm Logo.  The bottom of the card had the name of the item or person pictured and then a small flag of the Nation represented.  The backs of the cards featured another small photo like the one on the front and a description of the topic or personnel.  As you can see above, while these weren’t sports cards, Jerry Jones still found a way to get the Cowboys included.Leaders

I pulled some star power with my leader cards.  The one I did not pull that I wanted was General H. Norman Schwarzkoph.  I did pull the George Herbert Walker Bush card to go along with the ultimate villain Saddam Hussein.  I’m guessing no one got him TTM.  One of the funnier leader cards is that of Dick Cheney as he had his “Mr. Burns” from the Simpson’s look in full effect.  Of course, Colin Powell was a well decorated General and would be the future Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George W. Bush.  Finally, included in this photo is the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.  He was more well known for his previous involvement with Ronald Reagan and the Cold War.Military Asset

The next category was another favorite as it displayed some of the assets used by the various militaries.  My favorite, aside from the Bradley, was the F-117A Stealth Fighter.   That warbird was so far ahead of its time in technology and was totally badass!  The image of that plane makes one wonder if the things seen in Roswell weren’t in fact military planes.  But that is a totally different discussion for another time.  Of course, anyone who remembers Desert Storm will remember the SCUD and the Patriot missiles.  The SCUD was Iraq’s ballistic missile that was shot from the ground.  The Patriot was the US SCUD deterrent and was constantly taking them out of the sky.  The Patriot was a tremendous asset for the US Military in Desert Storm.Personnel

The personnel cards highlighted various branches of the military and foreign armed forces.  My two favorites were the Navy Seals and the U.S. Marine Warrior, pictured above.  These cards showed some of those groups in action and the foggy green Marine card is exactly how I pictured war being at 14.Government

These cards were pretty boring as they depicted some government building and outlined their involvement in the operational aspect of the war.  Nothing to see here.Military Skill

I enjoyed these cards as they made me feel like a man of international intrigue.  I learned all of the lingo on the cards and even tried some of the hand signals from the aircraft carrier card.  I’m A Dork, remember?Geography

Geography has never been a real interesting subject to me but I did learn a lot about where the countries were that were involved in Desert Storm.  That information has paid off because we are still in conflict in several areas from that time and I have a good understanding of where it is in the world.  Pictured are the U.S. and Baghdad.  Baghdad was bombed daily and was a focal point of attacks as it was the capital of Iraq.  I still remember coming home from church on a Wednesday night to see George HW Bush tell America that we had begun air strikes on Baghdad.   It was a surreal moment for a young teenager that had never seen a real war going on.  Of course, that was followed but Wolf Blitzer and Bernard Shaw reporting from under desks in a facility that was near the bombing.  They should have made a card commemorating that TV Gold.Intelligence File

These cards depicted some of the finer details of the war operations but of course, not real military intelligence.  The one pictured above is interesting.  It is about chemical/biological warfare and on the back, Pro Set calls it a scary but “overrated” concern for US troops.  First, I don’t know that I would call any military concern overrated but secondly, the threat of this type of attack has grown by leaps and bounds since 1991 and is at the forefront today.

Some additional cards of note…..Women in Combat

Speaking of growing by leaps and bounds, this is one that has changed as well.  In 1991, women were banned from direct combat roles.  While they were in the military, they were not allowed to be on the front lines of combat.  However, in 2013, the ban was removed and women have begun integrating into roles of combat.Peace

The final card in the set was a white dove and was only labeled “Peace”.  The back of the card held a quote from Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, “….let us strive on to finish the work we are in: to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.”  This was a very symbolic quote in 1865 and remains so today.  We should care for all of those that have put their lives on the line for our freedom.  We should look after the families left behind.  We should always remember that men and women who grew up just like you and me are fighting everyday to keep our country safe.   Do what you can, when you can, to thank these men and women.  If you want to know what you can do as a collector, follow @Sigs4Soldiers.These cards really take me back to a particular time in my life when life was good for me but was not well across the nation.  There were many American’s fighting for us back home and these cards commemorate those efforts in some small way.  Would they be frowned upon by many in today’s society?  We all know that it is very likely.  But I look back on these cards 26 years later and remember a time when America stood as one in a battle against a tyrant.  The divide in this nation grows everyday but it sure feels like that wasn’t a problem in 1991.  Maybe it was and I was too naïve to see it.  But these cards are something I will hold on to and show my daughter and explain what Desert Storm was.  My thought is that the cards are great as a historical reference but I think they are best served as such.  I don’t want any “Enduring Freedom” cards right now but I would probably collect those in the future when the events aren’t so fresh in everyone’s minds.  What say you about this set and military cards in general?

J-Dub