congress in 1947. american history tv is looking back 50 years to the issues and concerns of 1968. up next, nuclear attack preparedness procedures. survive to fight. this u.s. air force training film was released in april of that year dramaticizing activities at a military base following a nuclear attack. the cold car artifact outlines procedures for assessing damage, stabilizing and securing the base and communications, and offering medical treatment for radiation exposure. this is about 22 minutes. ♪ [ siren ]

[ alarm blaring ]

[ alarm blaring ] >> go.

>> command post. time, 20 :34 hours. status of base, unknown. eta fallout, we're working on it. shelter comchecks out as command post brings in control centers. orders, break cover, and look at base. deployed damage assessment teams. deploy casualty assessment teams. >> go.

>> casualty and damage assessment teams deployed to provide command post with evaluation. report. you call us. if you don't, we'll call you. tape up tight. assessing report. and no umbrellas. when it starts to rain, we'll let you know. command post. 20 :36 hours. do reports aircraft successfully dispersed at 20 :18 hours. two deployed on bomb damage assessment conditions. vicinity reports three fires in

weapons storage. one major. ruptured gaslines in hanger two. fires in boq block one. blast damage at base comand heavy vehicle repair shop. medical control center reports casualties, vicinity control centers. one team dispatched. team heading north. team reports heavy damage among forward equipment. equipment at west dismisal point needed urgently. transportation dispatches vehicles with drivers. one more thing we know, eta fallout, 20 :50 to 20 :55 hours. anyone leaving shelter advised. 20 minutes to go. >> once between weeks, 20 weeks, and just as urgent. expedient shelter needed to be found out of vast resources. survey, secured a jet engine

test cell with a projection factor of 50 and three unused ammo bunkers with an average protection factor of 500. they were good, but only a start. more shelter was needed. and more dispersal. not only dispersal but better proximity to emergency war operations work area. four trips of five minutes in radiation is 20 minutes work lost. not delayed. lost. in 20 minutes, you can arm an airplane. more shelters were needed. and the only expedient materials at hands were quantities of disused containers and federal reserve rated steel plank. they met the basic requirement. they would house men and support a covering of sand. at the shelter sites, grounds was levelled and the containers were ranged up into a shelter nucle nucleus. simple wooden arches were prepared to support the pxp.

the enclosures were then sandbagged. this is expedient shelter. a few feet of sand to put a lot of radiation, to keep a unit on the board when it's turn comes to move. eight shelters of this kind were completed from base resources. by then, we were in def con four. 20 :45 hours. status of base, battle hit and burning. fire chief reports boq fire spreading out of control into adjacent quarters. new fires reported in tire storage and in grass near medical bunker jen righter. several reports control tower unstable and hazardous. live electric power lines grounding near locks tanks.

command post reportis reports o progress of runway clearing. clearing overturned vehicle on taxi lane. could the debris be cleared by hand? yes. work force dispatched to assist. communications control specialists are dispatched to assess and recover blast damage at base com. with two more to be dropped off to neutralize power line at locks storage.

civil engineer reports all survived equipment in from dispersal and manned. all priority demands being met. equipment status picture complete. fire picture, still developing. all units concentrated in weapons storage area except two units detached to medical bunker on records from command post. work force removing tires from storage with orders to abandon the building. work force standing by with extinguishers at storage two. detachment at medical bunker reports grass fire extinguished with no damage to generator. request orders. two pieces of equipment, tire storage, or weapons. >> d, f con 3, base personnel had been recalled and the base disaster preparedness plan put into effect. as the disaster response team was being formed the base was being hardened for battle.

>> 20:47 hours. medical personnel report to hospital center to treat cat ults. medical control advises command post 23 recoverable cases received. more information coming in from field sorting teams. in the field, non-medical personnel organizing dispatch of casualties to hospital report 20 more recoverable wounded on the way. six non-recoverable casualties were terminal care and second priority transportation. four dead, and about 30 men for first aid and return to duty. medical control relays the information. command post acknowledges.

initial recovery, almost complete. all casualties accounted for. priority fires out or in final control. abandoned fire stable and offering no new threat. loss of tower anticipated in emergency plans in effect. blast damage at base comnot immediately recoverable but emergency cominzpauld priorities established. 20:59 hours. fire chief reports new casualties in collapse of tire storage building. d.o. reports one aircraft coming back with fire warning lights. shelter monitor reports radiation. it's here. upon detection of radiation, fallout procedures described in afm 355-1 will immediately be observed. no personnel will leave shelter

without orders of the controlling agency. so went the briefing as shelter teams were formed and familiarized with checklists. at the same time, supplies and equipment were being installed and checked into shelters. medical supplies. food. water. sanitation equipment. forms and displays were set up. as communications were installed and tested, exposure control stations were equipped. dosage forms accumulated dosage charts, and radiac sets also tested. generators and blowers had been checked out regularly, on a weekly basis. this was their final test.

the fuel was topped off. we were through def con 2. time, 21:10 hours. radiation, 40 rent kins per hour. fire chief reports missions accomplished. fire crash crews on stands by for returning aircraft on emergency landing. medical control center confirms fire casualties referred to hospital. kmont post requests dosage report on personnel -- command post requests dosage report on personnel involved.

>> command post, this is oxnard tower. >> this is the command post. go ahead, tower. >> we have an emergency eight miles out. has fire warning light. making single engine approach. >> roger. >> time, 21:27 hours. radiation, 370 represent kins per hour. inside a closed vehicle, cut by half. inside the hospital, less than one rent kin per hour. at maintenance control, less

than one rent kin per hour. at security and com, less than one rent kin per hour. the returning crash crew are rotated to bottom priority for future duty. duty comes at 2200 hours when base commander orders ramp washdown. radiation peaked at 21:50 hours. current level is 630. in center of watched air, 160. 22-20 hours. base reported operational, and able to recover aircraft. division says, get with it. recover and report estimated time to launch. assess and report your capability to reach the aircraft from air battle damage. also advise estimation of air battle capability. >> this morning, base capability under fallout was only an

estimate. but it was based on study and effort. and the test was faced with confidence. it was def con 1. aircraft were readied accordingly. by afternoon shelters were manned and functioning as a coordinated group. >> attack warning came at 20:15 hours. [ alarm blaring ]

>> no more planning. no more preparation. this was it. time, 22:30 hours. the birds drop in through 400 resident kins per hour. first rotation maintenance personnel given 30 minutes stay time for as an dose of predicted

58 rad for the mission. time, 23:05 hours. maintenance control reports specked rotation person personnel dispatched. first dispatched personnel coming in. predicted dosages for first rotation personnel are converted to actual. reported to command post. d.m. requests six specialists for an estimated hour's work on engines of recovered airplane. four specialists with minimal

doses. could they accomplish the work? they could. four dispatched to hanger 2 to assess aircraft engine. maintenance control reports turnaround proceeding on schedule. command post prepares to advise division. communications control reports loss of emergency com. two specialists now investigating. trouble is reported recoverable. assistance of two more specialists requested. could one do the job? yes, but one specialist dispatched. estimated time to complete work, 15 minutes. maximum stay time, 30. division advised by comrelay of group readiness. reply, stand by to launch. fire fighters control report shelter intensity high. five men showing signs of

radiation sickness. three of them segregated with nausea. all dosage levels rising faster than anticipated. request permission to go outside and wash down the roof. permission denied. firefighters ordered evacuated to maintenance bunker. manpower pool personnel giving 20 minutes stay time to assist.

time, 23:40 hours. fourth hour of operation from shelter. the man post reports launch accomplished. no replacements for radiation casualties anticipated immediately. the base is ready for further

orders. these programs are from our c-span series, 1968, america in turmoil. you can listen to the programs as a podcast on spotify. or watch any time at c-span.org on our 1968 page. and if you missed any of today's program, we will show it again tonight at 8:00 eastern. wednesday, american history tv continues. with a development of the automotive industry in the u.s. and how cars changed american life. thursday, martin luther king jr. we'll show a 50th anniversary commemoration from march. and friday, the world war i centennial ceremony and a look at various as effects of the war from discussion at u.s. army heritage days.

this weekend, during our regular american history tv programming, we will take a look at the murder of one of boston's richest men while he was visiting harvard university in 1849. english professor wall collins specialized in 19th century crimes and talks about his book, blood and i have, the 1849 murder that scandalized harvard. saturday night at 8:00 eastern during lectures in history a class by rut gersz university professor jefferson decker on the history of the environment movement and laws and litigation regarding natural resources. and sunday night at 8:00, during our weekly look at the presidency, harry truman's russia policy, which became known as the cold war. after he outlined his plan to contain communism during an address to congress in 1947. 70 years ago the soviet union blocked off eastern berlin. in response, the western powers

organized the berlin air lift. cargo planes dropped supplies into the isolated part of the city until may of 1949. next on reel america a 1962 film documenting the city of berlin from the ends of world war ii to the construction of the berlin wall in 1961. produced by the nato information service, this half hour film details the berlin air lift, and the creation of the north atlantic freetdy organization, now called nato, to defend against soviet aggression. the building of walls, the erection of barbed wire and barriers, these can never for long divide peoples. never create a permanent prison for the human spirit. for the strength of a wall is measured only by the fear of those who built it.