Veteran Remembers Cuban Missile Crisis Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close

THEN & NOW 60 Years On Veteran Remembers the Crisis That Almost Ended the World

JFK was president the Cold War was raging and Soviet missiles in Cuba threatened the United States during 13-day standoff

CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images broke out on Oct. 14, 1962, I was a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, stationed on in the Pacific. You can to , a free e-newsletter published every two weeks. If you have feedback or a story idea then please . I was just 22 and in command of 125 men, as well as a battery with 36 nuclear missiles. And we were prepared to fly immediately to a missile base in the Florida Everglades — near Cuba — if war erupted. An American plane had spotted Russian ships bringing nuclear missiles into Cuba, only 90 miles from Florida. President Kennedy demanded they remove their missiles, or else face an attack on Cuba. My young soldiers — and I — really believed the world might be coming to an end. My father was two years out of high school when he charged onto the beach at Normandy. My parents had taught me strength and self-confidence. I think my whole life of competitive sports and ROTC and the work ethic my parents instilled in me meant I was about as well prepared as anybody could have been. But I was very young to be in charge of so many men … let alone a nuclear missile battery. We were terrified but somehow remained calm. Boy, we grew up fast. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. There were so many miscommunications going out: We were being invaded by the Russians, they were attacking here, attacking there. Nobody really knew what was going on. We knew that if even one person on either side miscalculated, that would be the spark. There were so many nuclear weapons at that time. Once you started, everybody was going to throw everything they had to survive. Kill them before they kill you — that was the mission. We were trying to save our country. We were trying to save the world. And there was a purpose in what we were doing. I worked hard to keep my guys focused, even though I was frightened myself. I knew the command to launch would come down from the battery commander to me. And it would be my job to give the green light. We knew we wouldn’t be able to call our families for final farewells. I did a lot of praying. Every one of us knew we could be obliterated. But, somehow, we stayed focused. I worked with outstanding commanders, the finest men I ever met. We had a job to do. And there was no way out. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > And when my unit finally did move to the Everglades base a few months later, we no longer feared the end of the world. What lessons did I learn? To appreciate our way of life and the wonderful things we have here in the United States that no one in the world has. Appreciation of my country is part of me. It’s what I am. I also learned how insignificant we all are. Tiny specks in this world of so many gigantic things. But collectively, you trust the people you’re working with, and they trust you. Sixty years later, the Cuban Missile Crisis is still with me. I think about it, at some point, every day. I’ve been lucky to have had a great life since then — a wonderful business career, a wonderful family. But it saddens me that they don’t teach about the Cuban Missile Crisis in schools today. My middle son would say he spent almost a month in history talking about Watergate and not one minute on the Cuban Missile Crisis. That’s how skewed things were. Generations are growing up without ever realizing how close to the edge we came. — As told to After his service as a U.S. Army officer, Jim Whitaker, now 81, spent 25 years as a banking executive and then 30 years as a safety consultant. He first retired when he was 40 and spent a decade traveling with his family, visiting 55 countries. Do you have a potential story that might make a THEN & NOW article in AARP Veteran Report? If so, please . You can to , a free e-newsletter published every two weeks. If you have feedback or a story idea then please . MORE FROM AARP Veteran Report AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS