Photos: The Cuban Missile Crisis

[frankxbe]

HAVANA (AP) — The world stood at the brink of Armageddon for 13 days in October 1962 when President John F. Kennedy drew a symbolic line in the Atlantic and warned of dire consequences if Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev dared to cross it. An American U-2 spy plane flying high over Cuba had snapped aerial photographs of Soviet ballistic missile sites that could launch nuclear warheads with little warning at the United States, just 90 miles away. It was the height of the Cold War, and many people feared nuclear war would annihilate human civilization.
http://photos.mercurynews.com/2012/10/13/photos-the-cuban-missle-crisis/#name here

I remember that well I was a youngster then but you could feel the tension.

 

[spaceman]

Geeze, that stirs up memories. ara: I was born in '61, & started kindergarden when I was 2, & I clearly remember the drills, Stop, Drop, & Roll, meaning get under your desk, NOW. We thought a nuclear disaster was definitely going to happen, not that it "might" happen. I know the grown-ups must have had good intentions, but they sure terrorized us kids. :nono: But the 60s was pure crazy, as far as I could tell, so that was just another bump in the road, I guess.

 

[mech986]

Hard to imagine we lived through that. Hope we get through the next 50-100 years too.

 

[jhoak]

My Dad was in the Air Force at that time. Stationed at Wright Patterson. We lived about 15 minutes from the base.

I was about to turn 5 at that time but I remember Dad's duffel bag was packed and sitting beside the front door. Every time the phone rang he jumped.

 

[Ohighway]

My Dad was in the Air Force at that time. Stationed at Wright Patterson. We lived about 15 minutes from the base.

I was about to turn 5 at that time but I remember Dad's duffel bag was packed and sitting beside the front door. Every time the phone rang he jumped.

Did you live in Fairborn? I lived there within a mile or two of Wright Patterson during the years 1963 > 1970. Every 15 minutes a B52 would take off....... they kept them in constant rotation in the air..... just in case....

 

[bogle111]

Goose Bay, Labrador - DEW Line, in 1961 (I was 12) when this was going on.

We had the USAF, RAF and RCAF. Stacks of B-52's, some old B-47s, loads of KC135s, occassional B58 Hustler, Victors, Valiants, Vulcans and F104s plus some early Phantoms (? memory going).

Interesting times, with base exercises going on almost continually. We had school drills of a "just in case" nature of under desks. Though in hindsight, no good at all.

To remember standing in the control tower (where my father worked) seeing long rows of B52s taxiing down the runway in close succession was amazing. I believe that in a real panic, if the pilots had a problem in a "real life situation" with take off, they had to just get off the runway "anyhow" as there was another one coming along right behind them CLOSELY. Was like scramble situation.

Interesting, but can't say we were frightened at that age, but there sure was tension.

One of the B52 pilots gave me a beautiful large metal cap badge, though lost it years ago. I treasured that.