COLD WAR MEMORIES

COLD WAR MEMORIES

"SOMEBODY SET UP US THE BOMB!"

http://www.planettribes.com/allyourbase - THE SITE!!!

http://www.planettribes.com/allyourbase/AYB2.swf - THE VIDEO!!!

http://www.planettribes.com/allyourbase/story.shtml - THE HISTORY!!!

http://www.cafepress.com/basestuff - THE SHOPPING!!!

"Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose."

- Ronald Reagan

"DUCK AND COVER"

This classroom filmstrip starring Bert the Turtle, is probably more familiar to you guys
than me yet resonates in my mind. I even own a copy!

The term was born out of the Cold War as were many Federal Agencies
that precedes the US Department of Homeland Security.
In 1961, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and its familiar yellow and black fallout shelter signs arrived on the scene.
You know, the three yellow triangles pointing towards the center posted outside of public buildings directing to their basements.
They eventually disappeared once the Cold War threat lessened and people became complacent then totally disappeared
by 1979 when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was established to take over.
Of course, the thought of a basement saving one in a nuclear blast is laughable today but serious in the 50s and 60s.
I remember seeing these signs all around including at the Stonewall Jackson Elementary School (long demolished)
I attended for a couple of grades in the mid '60s.
The siren tests too from the Shipyard and seeing many military trucks driving
down the streets coming from the Armory near NNHS which later became the site of architect offices
for Newport News Shipbuilding, and the knowledge of missile silos off of Jefferson Avenue.
It really gave you a feeling that you were in the middle of a military town and something was going on!

What are your Cold War memories in Newport News?

- Eric Huffstutler (Bethel HS - '75) of VA - 10/02/04
Thanks, Eric!

	I personally remember the signs (see one pictured at left) better than I do any attending stories. In fact the only thing that's coming to mind now is I remember thinking at the time what a ludicrous thought it was that anything would be able to protect anyone under such circumstances. Given my scientific aptitude (or amazing lack thereof), it's rather amusing that I made that deduction at 14. Okay, Gang, bring out the stories for Eric! I'll keep searching the deep recesses of my mind. - Carol Buckley Harty ('65) of NC - 10/02/04
*1965 Anchor* - Henry Hoyle ('65) and Carol Firestone ('66) outside Nachman's**		"A fallout shelter sign is posted above a pay phone inside the U.S. District Courthouse & Post Office building in downtown Newport News."
10/02/04		(Kenneth Silver, Daily Press) Friday, July 14, 2006
10/02/04		07/28/06

While attending Walter Reed School in my youth, I can recall drills that required all the students to leave the classrooms and
proceed to the basement of the building. We were timed as to how long it took the student body to make it to the basement,
which was considered a safer location in event of a nuclear attack. The all clear signal would be given, and we would make
our way back to the classrooms for more instruction in the "Three R's" (reading, 'riting, 'rithmatic).

Of course, we had numerous drills that involved getting under the desk for cover in event early warning was not given
in time for evacuation into the basement.

These drills continued while I attended John W. Daniel School and Newport News High School.

The Korean War was going on at this time, and the Chinese had entered the war and the Soviets supported the North Koreans.
The threat was real for within a 30 mile radius there were 18 military installations, and the world's largest private shipyard
building naval warships.

Most of us had endured years of "Black Out Drills" during World War II. These were really frightening for I was much younger,
and the threat was very real with German Submarines entering U.S. waters on the east coast of our Nation. I remember running
to the different rooms of our house to pull down the dark green windows shades to comply with the black out sirens warning
of danger. We never knew if it was a drill or the real thing, until the "All Clear" signal was sounded. To me the best defense was
to join the military, and do my part, and I enlisted in the USMC on my 17th Birthday. I wanted to stand up to this threat, and
the Marines seemed to be getting the job done in my youthful eyes. Later, the Cuban Missile Crisis manifested all of our fears
of a nuclear holocaust with Russian-made missiles only 80 miles away from our shores.
It was "Lock and Load Time" for the Marine Corps back then.

- Joe Madagan ('57) of FL - 10/02/04

Thanks so much, Joe. Your unique perspective and near total recall of practically everything always delights and amazes me.
You're giving me quite an education, and I really appreciate it.

Thorpe Junior High in Hampton had a fallout shelter .... and those loud-ass air raid sirens on the roof.
In 8th grade my homeroom was on the third floor right beneath those sirens.
What a treat to hear them go off once a month!
I lived three blocks away ... and they were loud at my house. Ear-splitting at close range!

Now .... working at Surry Nuclear Power Station .... we have the 21st century versions scattered throughout a 10 mile radius
of the plant (same at North Anna in Louisa County) to alert residents in case of the 'big one'.
Denbigh and Lee Hall fall within the radius ... one siren is in the schoolyard of R. O. Nelson Elementary in Denbigh.
During my married years I lived one block over .... and let me tell ya it's just as loud as those old CD sirens.

- Tom Norris (HHS - '73) of VA - 10/02/04

Thanks, Tom. It's equally nice to hear the impressions of one of the "babies" of our group - and always fun to hear from "Da Babe"!

I remember being in 7th grade at Woodrow Wilson School and when we had bomb drills we had to go out
in the hallway and kneel down on the floor facing the wall and put our heads down and our hands over our necks.
The girls were always worried that the boys would see their underwear....more worries about that than the bomb!

- Jean Poole Burton ('64) of RI - 10/03/04

WILD GIGGLES!!! That's hysterical, Jean!
(I still don't remember any of this......)

Regarding Cold War phenomena, here are two recollections:

q During the Cuban Missile Crisis, in October, 1963 (I think), I can remember coming to school the day after the JFK ultimatum
to Khrushchev, “turn back, or else…” When we showed up for school, many of us greeted each other with a nervous look and
said, “well, we’re still here!” The follow up shallow laugh was curiously “shaky”.

q A lot of our friends were not at school that day. Their parents had packed and left the target area that we lived in.

q A friend who had contacts with Defense Intelligence told me the Newport News/Norfolk area was the no. 3 target area for the
Soviet Union. No. 1 was NORAD, no. 2 was the Pentagon and no. 3 was us!

Perhaps someone can confirm or deny this, because it always seemed plausible to me in view of the following partial list of strategic
military targets:

1. HQ of the Atlantic Fleet – Norfolk

2. Deep Creek Naval Air Station

3. Langley AFB – HQ Tactical Air Command

4. Fort Eustis – HQ Army Transportation Command

5. Yorktown Naval Weapons Supply Depot

6. Newport News Shipyard

7. Norfolk Naval Shipyard

8. Fort Monroe – HQ Continental Army Command

I was told that there were so many nuclear missiles targeted for us,
that the combined fireballs would consume all of the oxygen and unless your shelter
had independent oxygen supplies, no one in the area would survive under any scenario.
Obviously “duck and cover” would not have been an effective countermeasure, to say the least!

- Craig Miller ('63) of FL - 10/05/04

Thanks, Craig!

Well, Craig, you managed to awaken three half-memories in me with your note. I remember coming to school that next day.
I just checked these dates against my "historical perspective" high school albums and verified them.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was fourteen days in October of 1962. That was your senior year, and my sophomore year.
I clearly remember walking into Mr. Burke's Geography class, and encountering a large number of seriously disturbed students.
I haven't quite remembered yet what Major Burke, so recently retired from the Army, said to us to calm us down.
I also remember my best friend, Rose Woodard ('65), being highly agitated and tearful,
and she couldn't understand why I wasn't upset as well.
Then I remember going home and telling my mama about the near-panic conditions whirling around school.

Now, my parents had me when they were both 39. My parents were the same age as many of your grandparents.
She had lived through two World Wars, and she was one calm cookie. She told me there was no reason to feel alarmed.
She assured me that the matter was out of our hands, and Heavenly Father was in charge of His world,
and it was unlikely that he would allow evil men to blow it up.
She said there was no cause to worry, because if we WERE all blown up, we wouldn't have to worry about it anyway,
and that either way, worry would avail us nothing, so we might just as well go on about our lives.
She calmed me right down, and I never worried about it again. She was quite a woman.

Thanks for the memory, Craig!

- Carol Buckley Harty ('65) of NC - 10/05/04

I don't ever remember being scared of a nuclear attack. We all new that our area would be one of the first to be bombed and we would
all go at the same time. Sounds weird but it was a comfort.

- Jo Ann Stewart ('64) of TX - 10/05/04

Giggles! There ya go! Thanks, Jo Ann!

Craig Miller ('63 of FL) has quite a memory regarding the military locations in Hampton Roads. I recall being
a guest on Craig's boat and looking at some of the military ships in Hampton Roads. I believe what he refers to as
Deep Creek Naval Air Station was actually the Oceana Naval Air Station. There was also Little Creek Amphibious
Base, home to medium range ships and support vessels. In addition to Yorktown Naval Weapons Station a major
site in York County is Cheatham Annex, and the CIA training facility at Camp Peary. Norfolk Naval Base also
contained Norfolk Naval Air Station. There were two other shipyards heavily involved in government work, one
being Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and the other Horne Brothers located in Newport News next to the "big" shipyard
we all grew up with. Then the Coast Guard have one of their major training facilities at Yorktown.
No wonder we felt like sitting ducks.

- Dave Arnold ('65) of VA - 10/05/04

Uh, yeah, that would do it! Thanks, Dave!

I delivered newspapers on Madison Avenue, Marshall Avenue, Clinton Drive, and parts of Jefferson Avenue during the time
of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I remember one customer on Marshall Avenue who told me he had built a fallout shelter in his back
yard (I did not get to inspect it). He asked that I deliver his paper to the fallout shelter instead of his front porch in the event of war.
I assured him that in the event of war, delivering newspapers would go down considerably on my priority list.
Pretty scary time.

- Tom Oxner ('65) of AR - 10/05/04

Yes, it was - but that's a great story! Thanks so much, Tom!

I remember hearing about the drills in school and the nuclear fallout from a distance.
While you were in the halls practicing safety, my family was living in Idaho Falls, Idaho only 60 minutes from the "site".
The shipyard sent 250 Virginia families out there to build a nuclear reactor in the desert.
The Atomic Energy Commission provided the daily bus transportation out to the desert for our fathers to work.
During those three years, we never once practiced anything that you described.
No one even talked about it.
Finally, weeks before the job was completed and turned over to Westinghouse and the Navy,
visits were conducted for those over 12 years of age.
Again, being a child, I didn't get to see the site or it's replica until 35 years later.
Other Class of '64 members were there: Lee Sutton, Porter Blakemore ...
I am sure some of our former Navy classmates were there also.
It was a wonderful time and a beautiful part of the US.
When we returned to VA in 1959, it didn't take long before the fall-out signs
were posted at our church - Noland Memorial Methodist.

- Linda Lane Lane ('64) of VA - 10/05/04

And that's another great story! Thanks, Linda!

As one of your "Conduit Correspondents" tucked away in Florida, that is, unless it moved to the Canadian Border without my knowing it, I am enjoying reading the exchange by Dave Arnold ('65) of VA and Craig Miller ('63) of FL regarding the threat of a nuclear attack upon the military complex on the Virginia lower peninsula. Craig got it right when he listed Norfolk Naval Shipyard, which is located on the eastern branch of the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth, VA. Dave later refers to the complex as Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (which is how most locals referred to this complex frequently because of the location) but the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is located in Portsmouth, NH.
	This complex was almost destroyed while under attack, but not by the Soviets. It was ransacked during the Civil War, and was known as Gosport Naval Shipyard. When the name was later changed to Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, NH already carried that name, hence Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
To add to the Soviet target list that put us at risk: BOMARC Missile Site, designed to defend the area, located off Jefferson Avenue and Harpersville Road. Reserve Fleet, James River. Some of these old vessels were used in the Gulf War during 1990. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Langley Research Center (NASA, formerly known as NACA). US Naval Station, Dam Neck, VA and Fort Story, VA adjacent to Virginia Beach, and Camp Elmore in Norfolk. I hope that brings us to the total of 18 military installations mentioned at the beginning of this discussion. Being in a major target area during the nuclear standoff with the Soviets made everyone a bit paranoid, because of the reality posed by those destructive weapons. While these memories are certainly among the less fond memories, they nevertheless were a part of our lives in good old Newport News. - Joe Madagan ('57) of FL - 10/07/04 As usual, Joe, the breadth of your knowledge and phenomenal memory astounds me! Thanks, Adonis!

To Craig Miller ('63) of FL:

Your list looks pretty complete as plausible targets within the Peninsula area.
Don't forget the missile silos that ran (or could still be there) along Jefferson Avenue
behind the chain fence marked with Government Property signs.

Also don't forget that when dealing with "nuclear" disasters that the radius of a blast and its fallout can reach many miles out.
Here in Richmond we have Fort Lee nearby, and in that area is another nuclear armament depot
and who knows what else in-between here and there or here and Washington?
We too are in a precarious geographic position when you think about it.

Just in recent years concerning terrorist has brought several tense moments.
I work in a high-rise building (actually twin towers)
in which one of our conference rooms overlooks the Federal Reserve Building, another 24-floor high-rise.
It houses money for banks covering from New Jersey to South Carolina and includes DC.
That building was on the "strike list" at one point and you should see the perimeter security now.
Layer upon layers of both high tech and low tech barriers and alterations.
What is weird was coming back to work after 9-11 and seeing that building next door.
The same architect that designed the World Trade Center also designed
that building and both have some similarities in looks... it was an unsettling feeling!

The missile crisis did happen in 1962 and there was a 13 day stretch in October
in which several incidents nearly prompted a strike
within 24 hours but was turned off the last minute on October 28th.
An excellent movie to watch concerning this is "Thirteen Days" (2000) which stars
Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp, Dylan Baker, and many others and is available on DVD.

- Eric Huffstutler (BHS - '75) of VA - 10/07/04

Thanks, Eric! You've raised some unsettling thoughts, but it's better to know than not to know.

Eric Huffstutler (BHS - '75) asked about cold war memories, and mentioned missile silos off Jefferson Avenue.
I'm not aware of any silos, which normally are thought of as holding ICBM's.
However, there were several Nike Anti-Missile batteries installed in Oyster Point, off Jefferson in the '50's.
I lived about a half mile from there when I left NNHS in '58.
At that time, Oyster Point "officially" was a military ammunition storage area.
Truth be known now, the Nikes had VERY low effectiveness.
At that time, though, not knowing any better, they at least they made us feel fairly secure.

- Ron Miller ('59) of NC - 10/11/04

Thanks, Ron!

This page reflects the memories of the fears we experienced in our youth, and the danger was certainly there.
Because we used the Atomic Bomb on Japan twice, and General Douglas MacArthur
allegedly considered the possibility of using the Atomic Bomb on North Korea,
a Navy Admiral making an unauthorized promise to use the Atomic Bomb to assist the French in breaking the siege of Dien Ben Phu,
a senator debating the Vietnam war publicly suggesting the Atomic Bomb be used on North Vietnam,
did give the impression to the rest of the world that we were hawks that would readily use the bomb.
Certainly the Soviets did not trust the US during the arms race.
Perhaps that is why the closing lines of the movie "The Hunt for Red October" (1990) were especially comforting
when Sean Connery playing the part of the Skipper of the Soviet nuclear submarine
responded to a question as to what he wanted to do, as the boat entered the harbor,
he replied: "Take my grandson and go fishing (paraphrased)".
It seemed to express the sentiment of most Americans as well, and probably the majority of the Russians.

- Joe Madagan ('57) of FL - 10/14/04

That's an interesting insight. Thanks again, Joe!

In response to Joe's comment on "The Hunt for Red October" movie,
in the book the last scene took place on the James River, and Newport News Shipbuilding
and the 688 (Los Angeles Class) submarines were mentioned throughout the book.
It really freaked out the Submariners with all the factual information Tom Clancy provided.

- Jo Ann Stewart ('64) of TX - 10/14/04

WOWZERS! I did not know that! Thanks, Jo Ann!

There were also several Nike missile sites in the area.
One was located in Isle of Wight County just across the James River, and has now been converted to Nike Park for recreation.
There was a Nike site in Hampton on what is now Marcella Road.
When the new Sentara Careplex was constructed some of the old silos were uncovered.

- Dave Arnold ('65) of VA - 10/14/04

Thanks, Dave!

Sheesh! I must be getting old. The "All your base..." stuff is totally foreign to me -- never even heard of it!!
With 6 kids and 14 grandkids, how did this ever get by me? Maybe I was great at tuning such stuff out??
Or maybe they were terrified of playing them around me?

In the 50's we played pinball machines -- there was no such thing as video games, which I gather is what this stuff is based on!
(Of course, if the parents found out you were playing pinball in some seedy place,
you got the required lecture that had something to do with "...the road to hell..."!!)

- Ron Miller ('59) of NC - 10/14/04

GIGGLES! Thanks, Ron!

I wondered if anyone would pick up on this weird video theme, Ron!
When I realized that we would be making a page for these memories, it was the first thing that popped into my goofy mind.

I'm more familiar with the internet spoofs which I've attached than of the original 1989 very lame Japanese video game itself.
The translation was, of course, frighteningly horrendous, which is what made it so hysterically funny.
My #6 son, Dale, introduced me to the computer satire about three years ago.
(I suppose living with several techno-geeks as I did would improve one's chances of encountering such nonsense.)
Y'all already knew I have the emotional development of a three-year old, but my sense of humor is more that of a two-year old.
I literally laughed myself off the chair (no, sadly and ridiculously, that's not hyperbole, that's the actual truth of the matter).

Yesterday as I was searching for the files to attach, we were simultaneously working on the computers,
and the sound card had been temporarily disabled when I located the video.
It didn't matter. I landed on the floor again - with a serious ache in my side from laughing too hard.

It's as I've always said, growing up is vastly overrated.........

- Carol Buckley Harty ('65) of NC - 10/14/04

My cold war memories of Newport News start with memories of the headlines of the Times Herald and Daily Press
warning of the potential for catastrophe during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
One need only to look up in the Peninsula skies to notice something was amiss with constant aircraft activity.
Everyone seemed to know of someone who was suddenly called away
as a result of American military forces being put on worldwide alert.
I also remember after President Kennedy was shot getting off of the school bus and one kid's mother waiting for her son.
She was crying as she grabbed him and proclaimed hysterically, "Khrushchev has killed Kennedy and we are all going to die!"
In 1967 when the aircraft carrier Kennedy was christened at Newport News Shipbuilding, the upper floors of buildings
downtown were commandeered by the secret service to protect President Johnson's presence at the ceremony.
We watched from our boat in the James River as the Blue Angels flew over and a Southampton County doctor
illegally flew his private airplane under the James River Bridge.
I remember the space race victory as America landed on the moon.
I was working in the press box at War Memorial Stadium in 1969 for the Peninsula Astros.
My job was as the scoreboard operator and my older brother was the stadium announcer.
We had brought in a portable television from home.
The newsman proclaimed that America had won the space race against the Russians.
It seems to me watching with us was Bob Moscowitz, Tony Anthony and the late Charlie Karmosky and Herbie Morewitz.
In the early '70's as a young Marine stationed in Norfolk, the activity of the military
brought back memories of the military presence on the Peninsula.
Everything Soviet or Russian was viewed as the enemy.
In 1980 a band I was working with at the time was playing in Blacksburg
when the Americans defeated the Russians in hockey during the Olympics.
The town celebrated as if they had won the lottery.
In 1989 my girlfriend and I were in Virginia Beach one evening and noticed a large gathering at a stage on the boardwalk.
There were Russian sailors everywhere. The Russian Navy had come to Hampton Roads.
There was a Russian dance troupe on the stage performing and people on the street exchanging gifts with the Russian sailors.
I was convinced the cold war was over when the Russian Navy Band performed
The Star Spangled Banner with stars and stripes in the background.
It gives me chills to this day to think about that historical moment.

- Tim Parsons ('73) of VA - 10/14/04

WOWZERONI, Tim! What a fantastic and succinct history lesson! Thanks so much!

The Smithsonian Affiliate, Florida International Museum in St. Petersburg, FL had an exhibit on display this week regarding
the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. There was an official poster of Bert the Turtle to greet you at the beginning,
and an old juke box playing the top 20 songs on the Hit Parade of those 18 Days of confrontation, and the magazines of that
month. Sports Illustrated had a photo of Fran Tarkenton lined up behind the Minnesota Viking Offensive Line, while "Big
Girls Don't Cry" was blaring from the juke box. The exhibit then got really serious, as it displayed equipment used by the
military to take the aerial photographs that confirmed the presence of the Russian missile sites in Cuba, U2 flight suits, photos
of USS Wasp (CVS-18) on station during the naval blockade, and photos of LT(jg) Peterson who was seriously injured while
landing his plane in darkened ship conditions to demonstrate this practice for senior officials of the CIA who were on board
the Wasp. Peterson was given clearance to land when a command "Green Deck" was given instead of the complete command
to describe the actual condition, "Green Deck for Helicopters." The helicopters were to fly a mission in darkened conditions
and were brought up on the flight deck to take off to demonstrate for the CIA personnel.

That abbreviated version of the condition, lead the way for clearance to land for Lt. Peterson who landed in the midst of the
helicopters waiting to be launched from the deck of the carrier.

Several rooms of the exhibit featured furniture and appliances from the 1960s, including transistor radios with special
markings to identify Conelrad stations where disaster instructions were given to listeners in event of an emergency. The old
TV sets were a hoot! If this exhibit comes to your area, please be sure to visit it. The other attraction was the 45th
Anniversary of the Barbie Doll, which I skipped but was enjoyed by Eva (Ellis Madagan) ('61) of FL and two of our
granddaughters.

- Joe Madagan ('57) of FL - 12/31/04
Thanks, Joe!

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US

In A.D. 2101
War was beginning.
Captain: What happen ?
Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
Operator: We get signal.
Captain: What !
Operator: Main screen turn on.
Captain: It's You !!
Cats: How are you gentlemen !!
Cats: All your base are belong to us.
Cats: You are on the way to destruction.
Captain: What you say !!
Cats: You have no chance to survive make your time.
Cats: HA HA HA HA ....
Captain: Take off every 'zig' !!
Captain: You know what you doing.
Captain: Move 'zig'.
Captain: For great justice.

"All Your Base Are Belong to Us" theme song midi courtesy of - http://gothmog.homeip.net:8000/allyourbase/ - 10/13/04
with the kind assistance of my son, Nathaniel Harty of IL - 10/13/04
Thanks, Nathaniel!

"All Your Base Are Belong to Us" Dialogue courtesy of http://www.netstumbler.org/archive/index.php/t-1797 - 10/13/04

Image courtesy of - http://ryangenno.tripod.com/sub_pages/VGCS-ZeroGrammer.htm - 10/13/04

Divider Image courtesy of - http://www.planettribes.com/allyourbase/b/catsh.jpg - 10/13/04

Ronald Reagan Quotation courtesy of Janice McCain Rose ('65) of VA - 11/11/04
Thanks, Jancie!

Page Created 10/13/04, following initial question posed by Eric Huffstutler (Bethel HS - '75) of VA - 10/02/04
Thanks, Eric!

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