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They were told to lie on the floor or hide underneath tables and stay quiet.
Hey...that's what I was told and made to practice during the cold war 40-45 years ago. Of course, even when I was small I had an alternative plan in mind. I was going to fight my way out of the school and head for home and die with my Mom if the air raid siren went off and Commies were going to drop the atomic bombs. Even then I knew the schools would just become mass incinerators. Anyway, never happened, we both survived and I still love my Mom. Happy Mother's Day, Mom

You're a good son, no question. However there is nothing to suggest that all schools would have been 'incinerators' if nuclear attack had taken place. Schools in downtown areas? Granted, not a lot of chance anywhere near ground zero. But in the suburban areas, the 'duck and cover' routine would have saved lives, and I remember those days well.

Unfortunately for our collective societal memory, we have more than a few revisionists and smart asses who always like to pipe up 'yeah, ducking under a desk is REALLY going to save us from an atomic blast', but that is just stupidity on display - we all KNEW that nothing could prevent a direct atomic hit from wiping us out, BUT: we DID know that if we were under a desk at the time the blast wave blew any windows out that it might keep us from being slashed to ribbons by flying glass shards and other debris. THAT was the idea behind 'duck and cover' in the classroom, and closing our eyes was of course to prevent accidental blindness if we were to be close enough to see the actual atomic 'flash' at the detonation point.

I can remember notices sent home with us during the Cuban Missile Crisis asking parents to donate canned goods, fruit juices, crackers, blankets, etc. in the event that Khrushchev and Castro made good on their threats, and the support was phenomenal, nearly 100 percent.

The Federal Civil Defense Administration was one of those rare examples of a government program that did exactly what it was supposed to do, and did it well.