I grew up less than 2 miles from March AFB which at the time was a B-47 SAC base. I remember going to bed at the height of the crisis wondering if we would all be a pile of ashes by morning. Except I couldn't sleep as B-47's
with JATO assist were taking off all night long and heading to their fail safe points. The next morning me and my dad drove down highway 395 and parked our car by the chain link fence directly parallel to the runway to watch all the activity. We weren't there two minutes when a dozen security soldiers in full combat array and armed to the teeth drove up and told us in no uncertain terms TO GET LOST NOW!!!! I will always remember the one vehicle there that pointed a 50 cal machine gun at us--------------these guys meant business.
Just as an afterthought the russian commander in cuba had tatical nuclear weapons at his disposal and later it was known that if attacked he would have used them immediately without any consultation from higher ups in Moscow.
