Robert Saudek Associates
1965
A Fact of Life
Is a public fallout shelter system
worth all the trouble and money? This is the question asked of random
citizens on the street in the opening segment of A Primer for Survival.
Bus drivers, housewives, lawyers, and college students are among those
surveyed, all of whom express a skepticism about the efficacy of fallout
protection and whether post-attack life would be worth living. Dave Garroway
explains these attitudes as a mix of confusion, worry, and ignorance, all of which surround the atomic threat. To remedy this lack of information, Garroway
introduces a special guest, former Office of Civil Defense director Steuart L.
Pittman. Pittman, who never appears comfortable in front of the camera,
describes how the military forces of the United States cannot be fully effective
until they are augmented by a solid civil defense program. Offering a
similar opinion is Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, who quietly
predicts that even in the event of extreme radioactive contamination, the
country will have enough food to last several years. Each man reflects on
the Cuban Missile Crisis, then just three years prior, citing the numerous
calls for more shelter as evidence that most of the population would fight for
survival. This resolve, the series suggests, shows that Americans are taking the possibility of nuclear attack as "just another fact of life!"
The Sword and the Shield
Since the days of ancient warfare, shields have been used by humans for safety and protection. Modern shields take many forms, from the welder's mask to the roofing tar and shingles keeping out the rain. Even the warning siren systems erected across the nation act as a type of shield. What about the fallout shelter sign? "For man at his worst, should the worst come to pass, this shield is the shield against the worst of all possible disasters!" Dave Garroway introduces himself onscreen, offering quotes from Defense Secretary Robert McNamara about the need for a strong civil defense. The sword, Garroway explains, is any nation with a nuclear arsenal, capable of blanketing all of America with fallout radiation. Whereas the previous segment dealt with moral and practical debates surrounding the National Fallout Shelter System, this episode focuses on the science behind fallout shelters. Garroway demonstrates fallout shielding through a series of small experiments, using a light bulb which grows dimmer with each shade of material he places in front of it. If the bulb is radiation, its effect weakens as more mass is placed between the source and surrounding humans. The same principle can be applied to buildings with solid materials, shown by scaled down models.
Fallout
Despite opening with clips of Operation Ivy, which successfully detonated the first hydrogen bomb, this third installment of the Primer For Survival series does not focus on the initial burst of flame and heat. Instead, as Dave Garroway explains, the worst danger for the majority of the population would come much later in the form of fallout radiation. Utilizing clips from the 1963 Office of Civil Defense film About Fallout, Garroway highlights the National Fallout Shelter System as the best means of survival for anyone caught downwind of a nuclear explosion.
The Post Attack World
Dave Garroway opens this final segment in the halls of Congress, where he describes a recent committee hearing on civil defense expenditures. Although elected officials pledged full support for support for the National Fallout Shelter System, tough questions lingered. Chief among them: what type of world would await the survivors of a nuclear attack? Garroway admits that no easy answer is forthcoming, but offers a panel of experts to provide some guidance on what may be expected.