WEBVTT

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Do you have a plan for when a nuclear

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bomb strikes ? Do you know the correct

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immediate actions to take for your

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safety ? Welcome to History shorts ,

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I'm Courtney Short and in the early

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Cold War , Americans actually did have

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emergency preparation plans . Should a

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nuclear bomb strike their hometown ?

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Frighteningly in October of 1962

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America came danger close to having to

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use those plans when the Soviet Union

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built missile sites in Cuba in this

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time of crisis , the 3/10 Strategic

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Aerospace Wing was called into action .

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The Cuban missile crisis began in

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October of 1962 when U two surveillance

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aircraft identified several missile

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sites under construction in San

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Cristobal Cuba to include several

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medium range ballistic missiles as well

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as bombers . In response , President

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John F Kennedy and his advisers began

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holding tense closed door meetings .

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The American people learned of the

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threat through a presidential address

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to the nation delivered on the evening

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of October 22nd . But earlier that same

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day , the joint chiefs of staff had

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raised the defense readiness condition

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to three . What this meant was that an

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increased regional threat required

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increased preparation . President

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Kennedy spoke directly to the role of

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the 3/10 strategic airspace wing with

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their B 47 S and Atlas missiles charged

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with the mission of delivering a

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secondary retaliatory strike .

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It shall be the policy of this nation

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to regard any nuclear missile launched

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from Cuba against any nation in the

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western hemisphere as an attack by the

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Soviet Union on the United States

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requiring a full territory response

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upon the Soviet Union that evening . A

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recall was issued for all personnel to

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return to base . And the airmen of the

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three tent strategic airspace wing

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returned to Schilling Air Base but they

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would not stay in Kansas for long . In

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a flurry of urgency and practiced

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precision . They would prepare the B 47

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to include arming it with nuclear

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weapons and fly it to Port Columbus

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Airport , a civilian airport in Ohio

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which was an unlikely target and one

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located farther north . It is from

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there that men like Jim Griggs A B 47

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navigator with the 3/10 would spend the

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duration of the crisis on ground alert .

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3/10 airmen that were serving on

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overseas rotational tours were not left

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out . Lieutenant Bobby mccall Jones

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tells his story . My crew was told to

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get our flight gear together and report

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to the control room for immediate alert

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duty . We were assigned our target

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briefcase , studied the information and

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briefed our commander then went on

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alert duty ready for war . Our eyes and

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ears were glued to the radio and TV ,

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during this time with no practice

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alerts at a crucial time in the

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nation's history , our 3/10 airmen

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valiantly answered the call and in

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today's ever changing world , the 3/10

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Space Wing expertly provides combat

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ready airmen that respond in record

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time to critical events around the

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globe .