...though I'm a few years younger than you and haven't quite reached geezer status yet.

My mom used to stockpile nonperishibles and bottled water in our basement in the late 50's/early 60's. There were backyard bomb shelters being built in numbers that I'd estimate to be well into the millions during the same time frame. Civil defense sirens were common in small towns across the country, test drills a regular occurrance.

Patriotism seemed to almost disappear for more than a generation. Realization that freedom isn't free almost disappeared with it. Too bad it took such a tragic wake-up call to open so many eyes.

Bob