July 20, 1961 - President Kennedy today put the Pentagon in charge of a greatly increased program to protect American civilians against the effects of nuclear attack. By executive order, Mr. Kennedy shifted operating responsibility for "a greatly accelerated civil defense effort, including a nationwide fall-out shelter program," from the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization to the Department of Defense. The President is expected to urge public support for civil defense in his televised address to the nation Tuesday on the Berlin crisis.
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