Places that took the threats most seriously were military airbases, like Fairchild Air Force Base just west of Spokane, Washington. That was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) bomber base with dozens of B-52's and a number of KC-135 tankers. It was considered to be a prime target of the Soviets for both bomber and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) attacks.

Military dependents living on the base, families at home and children in the on-base schools, were subjected to frequent messages and instructions about what to do in case of attack. Air raid alarms were conducted, and even practice evacuations held. The latter were the most troubling and difficult.

In the event of a wartime attack on Fairchild AFB, dependents were instructed to proceed to the small town of Davenport, some twenty miles to the west and generally upwind, if warning time was sufficient. There wives and children would be provided shelter in a number of buildings, some with basements and others of reinforced construction. People were instructed to bring with them a survival kit which included clothing, blankets, water, foodstuffs and first aid items. Additional provisions were already in place at the designated shelters.

Depending upon the nature of the nuclear attack, those who might survive were instructed on procedures for coping with radio-active fallout. Some were advised to stay in underground shelters for days. Others were told how to wash themselves, their garments, food and other possibly contaminated items. That applied to both the people who might make it to the Davenport shelters, as well as those who might be stuck in the basements of their on-base homes.

The men, especially the flight crews, would presumably have launched their airplanes on retaliatory or support missions. Ground personnel, like mechanics and other non-flyers, would not be expected to survive. In those days most of the buildings on the base were simple wooden structures left over from WWII days. There were few places likely to endure a nuclear blast or the accompanying wind and firestorms.

It wasn't really the threat of attack, or even the likelihood that Fairchild AFB would be a primary target, that worried the families. No, it was the thought of a panic-like evacuation and the separation of loved ones that frayed the nerves and even brought nightmares to some. Each scheduled test of the sirens brought a measure of terror, even though people knew of the exact hour and day the wailing practice warnings would come.