Jon Torgerson
Imagine what your reaction would be if you were told that you only had a short amount of time left on your clock of life. How would you try and spend this precious time? Thoughts like this were ever present on the minds of Americans during the fall of 1962, for this was the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Considered one of the most life changing events in U.S. history, it is compared only to that of the September 11th terrorist attacks. According to a 2002 study by Tony Smith, “both [the Cuban Missile Crisis and 9/11] were events of enormous importance that involved a clear and present danger to the country, galvanized the populace, and propelled the political leadership into decided and forceful action.” (1)
For students on Concordia College’s campus, the thought of the unknown during the Cold War was a frightening aspect of their daily lives. Jon Torgerson (1960-1964) gave a brief account of his experience on campus during the Cuban Missile Crisis during a 2014 interview. Torgerson recalled that after an evening with then Minnesota Senator Gene McCarthy, “we [the students] stayed on campus wondering what was going to happen . . . whether we should study for our test the next day or whether it was going to be the end of the world and there were better things to do.” (2)
Most of the nation had the same feelings as those Concordia students, even Smith stated that “standard accounts of the public's reaction to the missile crisis portray high nuclear anxiety bordering on panic.” (3) Many first-hand accounts were like the one given by Torgerson, the fear of what might happen to them and if they would survive the day topped the list. One such student experience in the journal by Smith stated that “my parents moved the entire family into one room because, ‘this might be the last night we ever spend alive together.’” (4)
Torgerson recalled in his interview that they [the US] were on the brink on nuclear war and, “I had testing on ancient philosophy the next day and couldn’t decide if I should study for it and we [students] went over and listened to the speech on the TV by the Secretary General of the UN, and it seemed that the world was going to survive another day so we all had to go and study.” (5) This sense of fear was not just for the public, but also for those working close on the Cuban conflict as well. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara had thought during that week that he “might never see another Saturday night.” (6)
However, through the leadership of President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev, both countries, “took steps towards improved relations. . . [and] signed a treaty banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, the oceans, and outer space.” (7) Through the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the idea of nuclear warfare has become more predominant in the world weaponry system. If one country decides to launch a nuclear attack against another nation, world war three will have just begun and we will revert back to the fears of those during the Cold War. Will there be another tomorrow?
Essay by: Christie Kullman
(1) Tony W. Smith, “The Polls-Trends: The Cuban Missile Crisis and U.S. Public Opinion,” Public Opinion Quarterly 67, no. 2 (Summer, 2003): 275.
(2) Jon Torgerson, video interview by Christie Kullman, Carl B Ylvisaker Library Lounge, October 10, 2014.
(3) Smith, “The Polls-Trends,” 271.
(4) Smith, “The Polls-Trends,” 272.
(5) Torgerson, interview.
(6) Smith, “The Polls-Trends” 265.
(7) Mary Beth Norton, A People & A Nation (Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2014). 765.