General Discussion

electric_blue68

(26,386 posts)

50. How many of you had Air raid sirens go off in your city, or town?!

Wed Jan 7, 2026, 01:13 AM

Jan 7

In NYC we had them ? once a month for 2+ decades ! Although maaaybe they lessened the amount per year bc I don't remember hearing them at work, or previously even at College early mid '70s.
OK, gotta look that up.

These things would be howling away!!! Jesus Effin' .....
In a big city sooo loud, so pervasive! Terrifying!

Somewhere in the 1980's they stopped! Reagan's time.
I didn't even realize it at first. Then it was like wait a minute.... 🤔

AI sez they ended in ? 62 in NYC bc people said they spooked people more. (i admit I could be wrong) I'd almost swear they went on way longer. Well may be not! What could I have been remembering. There's nothing to compare them to, and I'm a pretty cognizant person.

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Anyone here remember the Cuban Missile Crisis? [View all] DURHAM D Jan 6 OP

Yup... 2naSalit Jan 6 #1

Oh dear .... DURHAM D Jan 6 #3

It was... 2naSalit Jan 6 #7

Very clearly. It was really frightening. Ocelot II Jan 6 #2

Yup Mossfern Jan 6 #4

Yes..I was in jr high school and scared to death because we were having drills in school and heard all kinds of stories Deuxcents Jan 6 #5

And a smart Attorney General in RFK. John1956PA Jan 6 #6

The movie ''Thirteen Days'' highlighted that decision ... aggiesal Jan 6 #20

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Greenwood played the President in this movie (Thirteen Days) ... aggiesal Jan 7 #53

I saw that in the theater. electric_blue68 Jan 7 #41

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I was a freshman in high school. I wasn't afraid because I was still naive enough to believe ... Jim__ Jan 6 #8

Clearly remember. sinkingfeeling Jan 6 #9

The bay of pigs UpInArms Jan 6 #10

The one ship turned around and left. It was a CIA operation. Blue Full Moon Jan 6 #11

We watched the whole damm thing on TV. ananda Jan 6 #12

Ohhh, yeah. The TV footage ... electric_blue68 Jan 6 #13

I was10 years old. Delmette2.0 Jan 7 #83

Ohhh, boy. "Thanks", bro. electric_blue68 Jan 8 #84

I was 'in utero' at the time of the 'missile crisis', that happened two months before my birth in December 1962.... Jack Valentino Jan 6 #14

I was in the 8th grade, in a heavily military town. Most of my classmates, and I, niyad Jan 6 #15

Oh, yeah. Like NYC, too. electric_blue68 Jan 6 #31

I was in Kindergarten Omaha Steve Jan 6 #16

Duck and cover BeneteauBum Jan 6 #17

Like it was yesterday. moniss Jan 6 #18

I was in Kindergarten. My mom told me and my sister that we might not be around much longer. Fil1957 Jan 6 #19

Goodness.... DURHAM D Jan 6 #21

Nope, California... Fil1957 Jan 7 #64

Remember it vividly. Only later did we learn the brave submariner who stopped at the blockade... FailureToCommunicate Jan 6 #22

Oh, I remember hearing about that later! electric_blue68 Jan 7 #43

Thankfully for me, I was four and totally oblivious. chicoescuela Jan 6 #23

I was in elementary school and lived in Port Lyautey, Morocco on a Naval base the US shared with the French. mommymarine2003 Jan 6 #24

Thank you for sharing. DURHAM D Jan 6 #27

I remember the tv docudrama in 1974 BootinUp Jan 6 #25

I remember Pototan Jan 6 #26

3rd grade Lulu KC Jan 6 #28

I was only 11 but I remember it very well. CanonRay Jan 6 #29

I lived in Miami at the time and I remember anti-aircraft missle batteries set up around the edge of the city. flashman13 Jan 6 #30

My first historic moment was Apollo 11 and the first moonwalk. nt Gore1FL Jan 6 #32

I was 13, and we had just moved to Northern Virgina within a few miles of D.C. William Seger Jan 6 #33

That's why I said NYC was probably target #2. electric_blue68 Jan 7 #44

I was in the 8th grade and have a clear memory of it. My whole family was watching KitFox Jan 6 #34

Did you have the Fallout Shelter signs anywhere? Yellow and Black? electric_blue68 Jan 7 #46

Yes, there was one on the door of the courthouse and one in the lobby KitFox Jan 7 #54

Hadn't thought of them in years! Maybe decades! electric_blue68 Jan 7 #55

I Was Wrapping Up Basic Training At Fort Leonard Wood, MO DallasNE Jan 7 #36

Yes bluestateboomer Jan 7 #37

I will never forget that. ShazzieB Jan 7 #38

We faced off for WWIII on 3 continents. ChicagoTeamster Jan 7 #39

Yes, it was quite scary.. whathehell Jan 7 #40

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Yes, I remember! pazzyanne Jan 7 #45

I was fourteen. murielm99 Jan 7 #47

Have wondered moondust Jan 7 #48

Oh my goodness I Just Remembered an Incident 34 years Later that tied in! electric_blue68 Jan 7 #49

How many of you had Air raid sirens go off in your city, or town?! electric_blue68 Jan 7 #50

My town still uses the Air Raid Sirens. DURHAM D Jan 7 #62

Oh! Ok. Do you get a lot of (yikes) tornados? Even a few is scary enough!! electric_blue68 Jan 7 #71

Yes - in grade school KT2000 Jan 7 #51

Yes. We had regular bombing drills in school. Bread and Circuses Jan 7 #52

Goofing around at the dinner table during Kennedy's speech, my mom said, "You should pay attention, because this is NBachers Jan 7 #56

I was in first grade at Tachikawa AFB in Japan. I didn't know anything about it until years later. LeftInTX Jan 7 #58

Great memories of Tachikawa shanti Jan 7 #75

No personally, I was only 1. But have learned a fair amount about it. LymphocyteLover Jan 7 #59

I remember the neighbors putting in a bomb shelter right after it was resolved. Vinca Jan 7 #60

Vividly. I was in the marines and we were locked in our barracks in case anybody Ping Tung Jan 7 #61

I Was In The Army DallasNE Jan 7 #72

I was 10 and remember it very well. Talitha Jan 7 #63

Yep. Every day for weeks squadrons of aircraft flew over our Fla. high school football field allegorical oracle Jan 7 #65

yes mike_c Jan 7 #66

Same here ... I was maybe 10 or 11 FakeNoose Jan 7 #68

I remember it well but I see it differently than many here. NNadir Jan 7 #67

In retrospect I think Kennedy was given bad intel from the CIA FakeNoose Jan 7 #69

I don't believe they were bluffing. They had a substantial nuclear arsenal, not as large... NNadir Jan 7 #70

JFK was a great President who worked to prevent World War III. Kid Berwyn Jan 7 #78

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I was 16 at the time PCB66 Jan 7 #74

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I was in 2nd grade mgardener Jan 7 #77

Drove me to practice bomb shelter drills at age 9 PikaBlue Jan 7 #81

Woah! electric_blue68 Jan 8 #86

I was in high school mountain grammy Jan 7 #82

Yes. I was in 8th grade and scared shitless! n/t Greybnk48 Jan 8 #85