Anyone here old enough to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis.

[texanwitch]

I sort of remember it, I was almost 8 years old.

Glad I was to young to really know what was going on.

Must have felt like what is going on now.

Lets hope for the best.

[name not needed]

1. I think you're exaggerating a bit.

[kickysnana]

2. I think you are exagerating a bit. n/t

[texanwitch]

4. Hope so.

It the not knowing what will happen.

[Ignis]

22. Exaggerating what, exactly...her feelings?

:shrug:

[teach1st]

3. I'm about the same age as you

I lived in Miami. I remember troops and equipment going down the street by my house. My older friend told me there would be a world war. It was the first time in my life I considered my mortality.

[EFerrari]

10. I was a few years younger. And I remember

because all the adults were frightened.

[nevergiveup]

5. I was a teenager

and remember watching Kennedy's address to the nation. I thought we were all going to die.

[SharonAnn]

13. I was a teenager and frightened because I saw that my mother was frightened.

My mother wasn't afraid of anything, I thought.

She tried not to show it, but I could see it. I got really quiet and stopped being a teen-aged brat for an hour or so.

[RamboLiberal]

30. I was 10 and was watching the speech alone - I was crying

Because I thought was going to die. I was aware that the Pittsburgh area was a big steel town & a likely target.

[rug]

6. The nuns dragged us to Confession in the middle of that week.

The dice were surely tumbling.

[cayanne]

7. It was for me

I was a senior in high school in Bradenton, Fl south side of Tampa Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. Every morning when I left for school I didn't know if I would ever see my parents again. It was frightening.

[texanwitch]

11. All I can remember is watching the sky for Russian planes.

I lived in the country back then, didn't watch the tv.

My Grandparents and Aunt didn't think it was a good idea.

[Slit Skirt]

8. we had lots of nuclear bomb drills.....

hiding underneath the desk...yeah that would've saved us

[Cleita]

9. Raises hand.

I wasn't too worried. I was confident Kennedy handled it right.

[KT2000]

12. Yes - and this event

is dredging up feelings that took hold in my youth. It was feeling the futility of surviving the nuclear war then and throughout the Cold War. Parents and teachers did not tell us what would really happen but as kids we shared what info we had.
This event is really not the same but the suffering will be great if it goes bad. The end of the world will and has already, happened for some people.

[texanwitch]

17. Will anyone be able to live in Japan after this.

The world will not come to a end but it will not be the same.

[KT2000]

25. That is what I keep thinking about

Maybe these days are the break we need to get everyone out of there. They should come to the US until this situation stabilizes. If Japan becomes uninhabitable, we have tons of empty homes that are just going to waste. I would especially hope they would come to Washington state.
No one wants to leave their home but they need to survive this.

[texanwitch]

26. Nothing has been said about this that I have heard.

Japan isn't that big a country.

[KT2000]

35. Someone on tv just said

he was not concerned in Tokyo - levels would be low.
Maybe they know better but it sure looks like everyone is just waiting for the worst to happen.

[texanwitch]

38. I would be finding me a way to get out.

A lot of countries could take them in.

[KT2000]

40. Glad I'm not the only one

thinking that way.

[AngryOldDem]

52. What happened to the area around Chernobyl?

That would give you a pretty good clue as to what might happen. Me, I foresee a great deal of northern Japan being virtually uninhabitable if the worst does happen.

The Japanese authorities need to come clean now about what is happening here. Not only do they owe the rest of the world that, but it would be a decent sign of respect for the Japanese people who are bearing up remarkably well under this crisis. There's no guarantee that their resolve will hold out forever.

[Sabriel]

62. Same here

I've started to have all those nuclear war dreams I used to have as a kid, which I haven't had for years and years.

[Greybnk48]

14. I was 14 and I remember it. I was more frightened

by how upset my dad was, and it was hard to understand the gravity of the situation. Remember, we still thought you could get under your desk and cover your skin and be o.k.!

[texanwitch]

19. At my school we would go out into the hall way by the lockers.

The hallways had windows, back then I didn't see the point.

[Greybnk48]

32. We started doing that in about 5th grade.

Our hallways did not have windows except at each end in the doors. How ridiculous.

[texanwitch]

36. We would face the lockers on our knees and cover the back of our necks with our hands.

We all thought it was stupid.

[Greybnk48]

47. Yep! Lots of giggling and hoping the drill would last a

long time (less class time)!

[Bluerthanblue]

15. I 'd just turned 7

and remember my father watching the news. everyone was so somber. being really scared.

joining in your hope that things get better

:hug:

[Carolina]

16. I was also 8

but I didn't sense the gravity. I do remember my father stockpiling food, water and supplies in our basement but we lived in Washington DC and would have been toast regardless.

Back then it was the threat; in Japan it is currently the real deal, unfortunately

[pipi_k]

18. I was 11, and I thought how very unfair it was

that I would not get to grow up because of some stupid shit a bunch of adults were doing.

Seriously...I thought we were all going to die. I was terrified.

I'm sure that whole Cold War period had a negative effect on my already developing panic and anxiety disorder. I had my first panic attack at the age of 10.

[KT2000]

29. You might have something there

concerning anxiety and panic attacks. I wonder how much those events played into the development of anxiety and panic attacks. As kids we had to keep our fears in check because everyone was afraid. Those were the days of Americans having the stiff upper lip - no wailing, crying kids.

[pipi_k]

44. I've come to the conclusion, based on family history...

that it's partly biological and partly environmental.

My dad had anxiety disorders.

His mom, who left when he was 5 years old and whom he did not see for nearly 50 years until just before she died, had anxiety disorders. So it's not like he somehow assimilated it from her by living with her.

My children have panic disorders...although it's not so bad for them because at least it's never progressed to Agoraphobia (which I have). And now my grandkids are showing signs of having anxiety disorders as well.

All that stuff can stay hidden for years and years until some terrible stress triggers it. In lots of ways, the 50s and 60s were awfully stressful, especially to a kid who didn't fully understand what was going on.

I sometimes wonder, though, if things aren't even worse for kids now...

[KT2000]

54. Sorry to hear

about the agoraphobia.
Yes - there is that saying: Genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger.

Have thought about this as I have had anxiety issues over the years. On one hand it is a completely rational response to a pretty crazy world that does not always make sense. A person of reasonable intelligence and awareness seems to be more vulnerable too. Unfortunately, the body's chemical response can really be debilitating. I eventually had adrenal burnout so I have a different set of issues now but not anxiety. Don't think that is the answer though.
Best to you.

[emilyg]

20. Yes. We were at Ft. Dix at the time.

[indepat]

21. Got a call from the Pentagon asking if I would like to go back on active duty (Navy). With two

small children and a wife with significant paralysis from polio, I respectfully declined this offer to voluntarily be returned to active duty. :patriot:

[rurallib]

23. I was 11. My parents spent most of their time in a bar

and I was with them.
Speech nite was at the bar. Some WWII and Korean War vets, plus a goodly number of kind of red necks who were ready to go.
I was scared. Seems like every body backed Kennedy.

[DURHAM D]

24. Yes, I remember.

It was during my first semester in college. We all stopped going to class and just hung out in the lounge watching tv. I don't remember if classes were canceled or we just stopped going.

Many of us slept on the floor in the common room instead of going to our dorm rooms because we didn't want to miss anything. We organized trips to the cafeteria for our meals because we wanted someone in our group watching closely who could fully fill us in when we returned.

BTW - we had one tv per floor which meant about 150 women per tv.

Frankly the media was calm and did not try to hype it like they would today. But still, we thought the end might be near and when the U-2 pilot was killed we were really, really scared that it would come to an all out confrontation.

My parents called every night. They considered coming to pick me up (and my brother and sister as we were all at the same university) but finally decided it would not make any difference.

[Historic NY]

27. The clock was ticking down until the button was pushed.....

Kennedy came on TV to give the Defcon 2 speech on Oct 22, 1962.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

28. I was in fifth or sixth grade

and I knew that there was a showdown over missiles. but I didn't consciously get any vibes about potential nuclear war.

Still, I had nightmares about bombs falling.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

31. I was about your age too when it happened

The biggest thing I remember about it was that the adults were scared. Of course the next year when the Kennedy assassination happened I was older and that was seared into my brain.

[bermudat]

33. My father was stationed at Mtn Home Air Force Base, which was a SAC base.

All servicemen were called in. I remember watching the TV and thinking World War III was
about to start.

[defendandprotect]

34. Think for many it almost felt worse than this -- many thought we'd all be nuked --

I didn't feel that way -- I had confidence in common sense --

it didn't worry me --

and, boy, was I naive!! If you hear the tapes or read the transcripts of

how insane the Joint Chiefs were -- well, thank the Fates that JFK was president!!

And that he and RFK were not only intelligent but atuned to what needed to be

done to forge ties with Russia and found a way to do it!

We had three men working for peace and democracy at the time -- and almost together.

JFK, Kruschev -- and Pope John XXIII at the Vatican who wanted to make the RCC a

democracy -- he acknowledged the right of all members to freedom of thought and

conscience and to their own personal conscience in making any decisions, including

those having to do with birth control. Bascially, Pope John XXIII kicked "infallibility"

in the ass -- and the Vatican as a dictatorship.

Needless to say, there has since been a right wing coup within the church vs Vatican II.

Happened immediately upon the death of Pope John XXII.

The three were quickly removed from the scene --

[Warpy]

37. No, the only comparison to the Cuban Missile Crisis

was what was happening on 9/11 and the next few days.

This is nothing like it.

[Bigmack]

39. I was a young Marine.. just out of infantry training...

We got helo-ed to Long Beach and put aboard an APA ... the Henrico, if I remember right. We were combat loaded on top of ammo in the hold.

We hauled ass to the Panama Canal, went thru, and stood by. Much talk of invasion. Maps and such being passed around. Long wait aboard those pig-styes. I remember the ships very publicly loaded coffins aboard in Panama.

Good thing the invasion never happened. The Soviets had tactical nukes on Cuba. And, of course, the ICBMs.

It all taught Kennedy a valuable lesson, but it was damned close.

The US learned that just a few miscalculations with another World Power could bring nuclear war.... so then the US decided to pick on somebody smaller and less well-allied. In SE Asia.

That didn't go so well, either.

And today? Well.....

Man... we are sloooooowwww fucking learners.

[Hardrada]

41. I was a freshman in college in NE Iowa.

I was considerably spooked but carried on with all activities as normal. I don't recall any of my profs mentioning anything about the crisis! That era was not one of open fears or consoling hugs.

[MineralMan]

42. I was in high school in California. I helped my father build a

fallout shelter under our house. That's how seriously my father took it.

[L. Coyote]

43. What is going on now that even approaches the Cuban Missle Crisis? What am I missing?

WTF are you talking about? Maybe you really don't understand how serious a moment in history that was??

[CanonRay]

45. It was much, much scarier that this

although if I was in Japan, it might be right up there.

[KillCapitalism]

46. Question from someone who wasn't around wayyyyy back then.

What would have likely happened if the Soviets would have went ahead and dropped those missiles off in Cuba?

Do you think Kennedy would have initiated nuclear war, or was it just a game of chicken and the Soviets blinked first?

[Bandit]

51. There were bombers on highest alert

Any actions from Cuba would have resulted in immediate attack, and any Russian ship trying to run the blockade would have been immediately sunk on the spot.. It was VERY serious business.

[KT2000]

55. Try to watch the movie

Thirteen Days
The military wanted to attack and Kennedy had to stand up to them and work around them. Things could have gone bad in a very short time.

[Bandit]

48. I remember it fairly well

My mother actually dug out my fathers military uniform fully anticipating there was going to be a recall and that war was imminent. I was about sixteen at the time..

[raccoon]

49. I was in elementary school. I remember hearing about it but I wasn't really worried

about nuclear war then.

I remember when I was in about 5th grade, talk at school about getting us dog tags. I didn't realize then what the dog tags were for.

[niyad]

50. I was older, living in one of the top three target areas in the country, and watching the

preparations on base. nearly everyone was worried--but I had already figured out that worrying was not going to fix anything.

[SteveG]

53. I remember it very well

I was 12 and participating in a community theater play with adult actors. I remember watching the speech with those adults and no-one knew what was going to happen. They were all scared, but we had a performance to do, so on with the show.

[Saphire]

56. duck and cover...that's about all I remember about it.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

57. Remember it well. We were, literally, locked in our barracks so we wouldn't take off.

I was in a fighter squadron at MCAS El Toro. Our planes had been scrapped and we were deploying to Japan. All of the other squadrons were deployed to less dangerous "targets". They chained the doors to our barracks shut and we were marched to the mess hall. Just in case any of us might decide that sitting around waiting to be fried wasn't such a hot idea.

[Octafish]

58. Yeh. Dad got called up for active duty.

I remember he was reading a letter, my mom peering over his shoulder. He served two years in the United States Navy and, I believe, seven years after that in the reserve.

Regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis:

At every turn, JFK was opposed by War Party.

[county worker]

59. I remember it. People were going to confession at our church night and day.

Back in those days you knew your shit had hit the fan when we went to def con 2.

[Buns_of_Fire]

60. 11 years old. Lived in Ft. Lauderdale. I know my parents were scared shirtless.

Me? I was eleven! I was invincible! I was indestructable!

But mostly, I was just too young and oblivious to know what was going on, other than the "Duck and Cover" drills hurt my knees.

[bikebloke]

61. Playground discussions

On the playground, we discussed how a single bomb a couple feet long could blow up the entire city. Of course, we had drills hiding under nuke proof school desks or sitting against the wall out in the hallway.