On this date, 22 October, 1962, a sobering thought.

[RickHworth]

It was on this date that President Kennedy announced that he was ordering a naval “quarantine” of Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from transporting any more offensive weapons to the island and explained that the United States would not tolerate the existence of the missile sites currently in place. The president made it clear that America would not stop short of military action to end what he called a “clandestine, reckless, and provocative threat to world peace.
Not enough people can fully grasp how serious this moment in time was and how close to the brink we really were, and the true danger that the Soviet Union possessed.
That time in history, set aside to today. It gives me pause to remember what president Kennedy did for our country, safety and security, as to what we have now.
From my Dad, speaking of that time, while preparing to separate from the USAF, SAC, saying that no one took what the President said as anything but deadly serious.
Looking at what we have now, just imagine should an event of even half the magnitude that needed such leadership and directive should occur. What would that outcome look like, now.

[Ohiogal]

1. Thank you, Rick

A sobering reminder, indeed.

Even more reason this clown in the WH needs to be gone.

[abqtommy]

2. I was 13 years old in 1962 and I know that I understood how serious the moment was. As you

can tell, I haven't forgotten it, either.

[YOHABLO]

3. I was 7 years old and I can remember vividly. I also remember what happened in 1963.

[llmart]

5. I was 13 also...

and I remember people being very somber in school and in the community. The adults were scared and the children that were old enough could feel it. My parents tried to shield us from the severity of the situation, but I was old enough to know this was scary.

[karynnj]

6. I was about the same age (12) and I remember the fear I felt going to school that week

I lived in a suburban town, Highland, Indiana. Realistically, there was no way that we would be anywhere near the area an attack would hit, but it was whispered in the town that the Gary/East Chicago steel mills would be where RUSSIA would attack and we were very close to that. As a 12 year old, fascinated by JFK, politics, and history, I was scared that I could go to school and maybe never see family members again.

It was a huge relief when the missiles were removed. Given the fear in my area, I can imagine what the fear must have been in Miami or cities like DC.

[Zorro]

4. Yes it was a deadly serious event

I recall watching the public briefings on tv, seeing the photographic evidence of Cuban missile site preparations, and hearing about preparing for a nuclear exchange.

My father was stationed at Indiana's Bunker Hill AFB (home of SAC's 305th Bomb Wing -- mach 2 B-58 Hustlers), and tensions were really high around there. Scary times.

[MuseRider]

7. I was 9.

I remember bits of it but my parents rarely watched the news and never talked about anything outside of our little existence.

I do remember ramped up school exercises of getting down to the boiler room and kneeling with your arms around your head. Also fresh new permission slips telling the school what we should do should there be an alarm.

[2naSalit]

8. I started school in Key West, FL during that

event. My dad was in the VPs (NAVY), temporarily stationed at Boca Chica. We were from NAS Brunswick, ME but he decided to move the whole family down to Florida for the event, five kids and my pregnant mom. It sucked in more ways than I can talk about. I recall the people I encountered acting like zombies, they all seemed shocked, distracted and fearful. My mom tried to be strong but she sold all our furniture and appliances to pay for us to go back home to Maine, it was the first time I ever saw her cry.

I was glad when we were able to go back north a few months after it was over. My parents openly discussed politics and world events in our home, it wasn't pretty. My dad's family were familiars and neighbors to the Kennedy compound in Hyannis and we had political figures in our family. The first time I ever saw my dad cry was when JFK was assassinated.

I'll never forget that time, it plays into my aversion to Florida in major ways. It may also be part of the reason why when issues like this, these impeachment pending events, I am glued to the news, barely distracted by anything else around me... like now. I was politically aware during Nixon, working on an advanced degree in polisci during the Clinton impeachment and now this. I wonder why my hair isn't grey and people still think of me as sane.

[jpak]

9. The Cuban Missile Crisis scared the shit out of me

As kids, we all did Duck and Cover, filed down into the Fallout Shelter, saw atomic weapons tests on TV and were told "not to eat the snow" because of fallout.

We knew all about Hiroshima and Nagasaki and H-bombs

The nights during the height of the Crisis were filled with sonic booms and screaming supersonic jets - and grim parents.

It sucked.

[greatauntoftriplets]

10. I remember it well.

Between the nuns at school telling us to be prepared to die and my mother wanting to drink all the booze in the house so the Russians didn't get it, I was one damned scared 12-year-old.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

11. JFK speaks on Cuban Missile Crisis from Oval Office, tonight 1962: #JFKL

JFK speaks on Cuban Missile Crisis from Oval Office, tonight 1962: #JFKL

Link to tweet

[SharonAnn]

12. I was 16 and I got scared when I saw that my mother was frightened.

I really had no understanding of what the situation was but really started paying attention when I heard my parents talking that night about whether they should take precautions, using the basement as a protective area, asking each other about what supplies would be needed. And we lived in Iowa!

I guess it was my awakening to how world events, even outside the United States, could affect our safety and our lives.

Several good books have been written about this situation and how President Kennedy handled it.