In 1950, President Harry Truman signed the “Civil Defense Act” as tensions grew between the United States and the Soviet bloc. The threat of nuclear attack was treated as a real one and so state and local authorities were given the mandate to prepare plans for atomic war survival. Many people are old enough to remember “duck and cover” drills from their school days, air raid shelters stocked with steel drums of water and crackers, medical kits, blankets  and pamphlets explaining how to deal with an atomic bomb attack. Willimantic prepared as well.  On Sunday, June 27, 1953, Operation "Willimantic Plan" went into effect. It was a huge Civil defense exercise that involved 1,400 firefighters, police and communication workers who fought 6 "fires" set off by an "atomic bomb attack". A “bomb attack” occurred at the American Thread mills. Relay pumping demonstrations and rescue drills were performed by the fire departments. A large crowd viewed  a “fire” at the William Brand plant on the corner of North and Valley Streets during which firefighters demonstrated three different types of rescue equipment as they removed “victims” from the second and third floors. The  morning exercises were intensely serious. But by afternoon, the atmosphere was more relaxed. As an “air demonstration” occurred above, the participating units paraded along Main Street to Elks Park where  participants were treated to refreshments. Mayor Florimond Bergeron, Windham’s CD Director, Francis Barrett and Willimantic Fire Chief J. Leo Rivard all spoke and called the day, “a huge success”. Every now and then, one reads that another cache of CD water and cracker supplies has been found in a public building basement. One can only wonder if any of these are still hidden away in Willimantic.

Michael E Tirone has shared a group of photos taken during the CD exercises.
<<Click here to see them>>