That sounds like the scene from The Day After where people are watching the Minuteman missiles being launched and one idiot says "maybe they're just testing them."
I remember as a kid the times when the priest had to pause mass for a couple minutes because of B-52s flying just overhead from the SAC base a half mile away. That will kind of draw your attention to the Book of Revelation.
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night hearing that creepy tripod sound from War of the worlds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmO0WWtVt-M