HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED

HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED

Forty-five years ago this week, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech to the nation in which he urged every family to build or buy a bomb shelter to protect themselves from the fallout that would occur after a Soviet Union nuclear attack on our country. This fear was at the top of many people's list.

We had an arm of the Air Force called the Strategic Air Command. This group was made up of B-52 long range bombers and fighter jets which protected the bombers. Each B-52 bomber was loaded with atomic bombs and there were some of them in the air 24 hours a day. It required a code directly from the President for them to proceed with an attack. Later on, we replaced the bombers with long range missiles that were aimed at Soviet cities. Probably, the Soviet Union had a similar set-up.

Of course, the fears about a Soviet attack waned with the erosion of the Iron Curtain in the 80's and finally crumbled along with the Berlin Wall. This was not all that different than the current fears about attacks by radical Islamic terrorists. Be assured, this too will pass.