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Article: The Cuban missile crisis: for 13 terrifying days in 1962, the U.S. seemed to be on the brink of war.(American History)
- Article from:
- Junior Scholastic
- Article date:
- April 30, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In 1962, 19-year-old Robert O'Hanneson had a daunting assignment. At the time, he was a member of the U.S. Air Force, based in Okinawa, Japan. If commanded to do so, O'Hanneson would have had to fire nuclear missiles at the Soviet Union. "At any moment, I could be asked to open [an order to fire] ... and place our missiles into launch mode," he later wrote.
For 13 terrifying days in October 1962, it looked as if O'Hanneson might get that order. The U.S. had just learned that the Soviet Union was placing nuclear missiles in Cuba. The missiles lay about 90 miles off the coast of Florida, posing a direct threat to many U.S. cities. President John F. Kennedy ...