The Cuban Missile Crisis from an AF base in West Germany.

STORY BY: Vic Dubois
YEAR: 1962
LOCATION: West Germany

During the Cuban Missile Crisis in October of 1962, Vic’s dad was in the Air Force, and his family lived in a base in West Germany. For three days, they were out of school, playing cards in an air raid shelter, while Russian ships sailed towards the American blockade near Cuba. His father worked around the clock managing the crisis, while a squadron of CF-104 Starfighters scrambled overhead, armed with nuclear weapons. The pilots all had sealed orders, and in the event of a declaration of war, they would have opened their orders, and raced towards their targets in East Germany. “We came THAT close to World War 3”. Thanks for sharing, Vic.