“The president called upon the Marine emergency evacuation helicopter that the White House Military Office had stationed nearby in the event of… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“Truman’s farewell address on January 15, 1953, delivered five days before he left the renovated White House, is to this day one… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“Then, one night, while daughter Margaret played the piano upstairs, the floor indeed gave way and the piano crashed through, sending plaster… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“Kennedy paused, fork between plate and mouth, and told Sidey, “You know, they have an atom bomb on the third floor of… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“After initial annoyance about the surprise drills, the Pentagon quickly saw value in the president’s interest. “It is the first time in… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“OUTPOST MISSION, the presidential helicopter search-and-rescue team in Pennsylvania, was also disbanded in 1970, as atomic weaponry progressed to the point where… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“crews, added to the unfolding chaos around Washington. It’s possible—perhaps even likely, given a study of the morning’s timeline—that reports of the… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“The nation would have been puzzled by some of the cultural treasures meant to be preserved during a nuclear attack: When the… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“During his first week on the job, McNamara sat down with the Pentagon’s Weapons Systems Evaluation Group (WSEG), which had just completed… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“Humphrey had even visited the CASPER facility on multiple occasions under the cover of darkness during vacations at the Greenbrier. In 1970, after his… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“In many ways, after many decades, many billions of dollars, and countless advances in technology, the federal government’s basic plan to escape a catastrophe… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“Kennedy, who had campaigned strongly on the “Missile Gap” issue, soon discovered as president that the Soviet Union didn’t have the 500 missiles feared—it… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“Hundreds more staff could join the ship in an emergency. (One young Navy ROTC officer, Bob Woodward, who went on to be a prizewinning… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“waned. Efforts to protect civilian life fell by the wayside and a fourth and final grim phase of nuclear reality settled over the United… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“updates to the nation’s nuclear weapons policies represented just the third major shift in the Cold War; following Eisenhower’s “massive retaliation” and the “assured… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“The president called upon the Marine emergency evacuation helicopter that the White House Military Office had stationed nearby in the event of a surprise… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“things went quickly awry. Thermonuclear bombs were still not well understood and the weapon, code-named CASTLE BRAVO, turned out to be three times more… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“inside forget they were hiding in an underground bunker. Under normal circumstances, personnel approaching the PEOC would arrive at its locked vault door, located… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“literally rocketing into the sky at a seemingly impossible steep pitch as it activated for the first and only time in its history a… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“The commission also confronted one of the strangest and most nettlesome phrases in COG operations—a seemingly unnecessary aside in the language guiding presidential succession… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
“Court Clerk Harold Willey was dispatched by Warren to spend a fall weekend scouting Asheville for a possible relocation facility. “Because all large cities… — Garrett M. Graff Copy Share Image
