Let's face it

let's face it the threat of hydrogen bomb warfare is the greatest danger our nation has ever known enemy jet bombers carrying nuclear weapons can sweep over a variety of routes and drop bombs on any important target in the United States the threat of this destruction has affected our way of life in every city town and village from coast to coast these are the signs of the time only in practice now a rehearsal a training exercise but tomorrow this siren may mean the real thing and if you hear it as you drive in your auto as you sit in your office or work at your bench wherever you are what will you do what will happen to you let's face it your life the fate of your community and the fate of your nation depends on what you do when enemy bombers head for our cities and that is why civil defense was organized to teach you how to survive in the thermonuclear age by taking shelter or by evacuating your area as directed civil defence will teach you how to take care of yourself your family and neighbors how to get official instructions and act according to plan in time of atomic attack the usual professional services police fire a welfare hospital and ambulance could be bombed out too busy or unable to get to you and your family civil defence control points would function as the nerve centers for dispatch of organized assistance to disaster areas from outside the target districts every preparation is being made to deal with emergency conditions which would be created by enemy attack to provide for communication with the public during an actual attack our broadcasting industry and the federal government developed conelrad this system permits the broadcasting of official news and Civil Defence instructions without helping enemy navigators find our cities by following radio beams the conelrad frequencies are 640 and 1240 on your standard radio dial a hazard unique to nuclear warfare is radioactive fallout unseen unheard and odorless this substance can only be detected with sensitive instruments special training is necessary for radiological safety experts their duties will be to check radiation levels in both damaged areas and probable fallout areas when sufficient warning time can be obtained by early detection of approaching enemy aircraft withdrawal from key target cities or fallout areas may be ordered by local Civil Defence Authority the instinct of survival is inherent in all of us and national survival requires that each one of us assume his share of the responsibility there is work to be done and each must cooperate opportunities for training with the Red Cross and other groups are everywhere the combined efforts of many trained individuals are needed to make Civil Defence a forceful reality this training is invaluable in preparation for enemy attack or the savage fury of nature experience and past disasters has proved the value of advanced training and the need for more stockpiling of emergency food supplies medicines and other critical items to care for the injured and homeless however it was the awesome power of atomic energy as demonstrated in wartime use that brought to sharp focus the new problems concerning human survival and the urgent need for a civil defense program based on facts about the atomic bomb opportunities to gain this information came with the study of structures in controlled atomic tests conducted at any we talk at all in the Central Pacific the main objective of testing is weapons development to strengthen national security but also included our scientific experiments for the Atomic Energy Commission military projects for the Air Force Army and Navy and defense tests for the federal civil defense administration primarily concerned with the effects of nuclear weapons on cities industries and people they tremendous effects of heat and blast on modern structures raise important questions concerning their durability and safety likewise the amount of damage done to our industrial potential will have a serious effect upon our ability to recover from an atomic attack transportation facilities are vital to a modern city the nation's lifeblood could be cut if it's traffic arteries were severed these questions are of great interest not only to citizens in metropolitan centers but also to those in rural areas who may be in a danger zone because of radioactive fallout from today's larger weapons we could get many of the answers to these questions by constructing a complete city at our Nevada proving ground and then exploding a nuclear bomb over it we could study the effects of damage over a wide area under all conditions and planned civil defense measures accordingly but such a gigantic undertaking is not feasible instead we build representative units of a test city with steel and stone and brick and mortar with precision and skill as though it were to last a thousand years but it's a weird fantastic city a creation right out of science fiction a city like no other on the face of the earth homes neat and clean and completely furnished that will never be occupied fridges massive girders of steel spanning the empty desert railway tracks that lead to nowhere for this is the end of the line but every element in these tests is carefully planned as to its design and location in the area a variety of materials and building techniques are often represented in a single structure every break beam and board will have its story to tell when pieced together these will give some of the answers and some of the information we need to survive in a nuclear age at varying distances from ground zero the point of detonation numerous experimental elements are assembled underground structures and facilities of various types play their part in duplicating the complexity of the modern city the vast research program includes testing such items as covering materials paints varnishes plastics also various fabrics and samples of clothing on the outskirts of our test city a synthetic forest has been erected to determine the protective value of foliage and tree to give us a ringside view of the events high-speed camera stand like lonely sentinels ready to photograph the hurricane of fury before leaving the test area a final check is made on the multitude of instruments and technical devices which will record a variety of blasts phenomena for future study now with all the elements in place our test City is complete from the air its center will appear as a bull's-eye to the Bombardier at HR on the morning of shot day official observers technicians and scientists gather at news nob to await the momentous event this is the payoff for months of planning and preparation on the part of the Atomic Energy Commission the military services civil defense and other test agencies as part of an experiment to observe the phenomenon of atomic detonation at close hand military personnel and defense officials dig in within a few miles of ground zero after a final briefing from the officer in charge just before h-hour the men disappear into their foxholes every precaution has been taken for their safety they're told to crouch low shield their eyes and remain down until the signal to rise is given now the moment of greatest anxiety waiting those last few seconds seconds later the blast wave reaches the trenches [Music] as the tower of smoke and flame looms overhead one thought is uppermost in all minds now it's over the fury of it had stunned some but not one was injured high above the smoke ring puffed by atomic breath rises skyward watch by the men who had faced it a scouting party takes the first look at the scattered wreckage of the test city the imprint left by the hurricane of fire and blasts remains here for us to read and analyze from studies of ruins and damage such as this we get the hard to come by knowledge that helps us form rules for survival in modern warfare while only atomic bombs are tested in Nevada the results can be scaled for the larger far more powerful thermonuclear weapons a hydrogen bomb will destroy a greater area than the atomic bomb and will release more dangerous radioactive materials but the problems of rescue caused by blast and fire along the periphery of damage remain the same in these fringe areas civil defense training can save many lives lessen damage from secondary fires and help establish emergency facilities now in a helicopter the radiological safety man measure the amount of radiation when readings indicate safety for human beings the troops are led in for a tour of the area by double checking with Geiger counters every inch of the route men can now enter safely and confidently areas spotted with radiological contamination an indication of the progress made in understanding atomic hazards and thus each test adds to our growing fund of knowledge for it is only by investigating and experimenting that we get the facts to keep our military and civil defense program up to date and effective every bit of twisted steel makes its contribution blackened ruins and ashes of a structure at another chapter the shattered wreckage of a dwelling offers an eloquent testimonial piece by piece like the parts of a jigsaw puzzle our story is assembled analyzed and evaluated then the survival facts are made available to you through your local civil defense program in the thermonuclear age civil defense like military defense must be flexible it must develop and grow even as the forces that threaten our existence and so until men of goodwill have turned this awesome power to peaceful uses let us recognize the threat to our way of life the threat to our survival [Music] let's face it [Music]