General Discussion

FakeNoose

(41,139 posts)

68. Same here ... I was maybe 10 or 11

Wed Jan 7, 2026, 12:15 PM

Jan 7

My Mom had to explain it to me because I didn't get why all the adults were so scared.

After it was over, I guess several years later, we realized that it was all a bluff. Khrushchev and the Russians were bluffing I mean. They never had the firepower to bomb us with nukes. Maybe they had one or 2 bombs, that was it. We had way more firepower to bomb the USSR if it came down to it, but they had almost nothing. The only thing they could have accomplished was to get Cuba smashed to smithereens.

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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

We need someone to play a president BaronChocula Jan 6 #35

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

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

This message was self-deleted by its author raccoon Jan 7 #57

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

I disagree. He was his father's son. His father assured anyone who would listen... NNadir Jan 7 #79

You might enjoy David Talbot's ''The Devil's Chessboard'' Kid Berwyn Jan 7 #80

On the other hand, not being into conspiracy theories about JFK, I might be... NNadir Jan 8 #87

CIA SUCCESSFULLY CONCEALS BAY OF PIGS HISTORY Kid Berwyn Jan 7 #73

I was 16 at the time PCB66 Jan 7 #74

I had just snowybirdie Jan 7 #76

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