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'We were scared': Man recalls the night he nearly launched a nuclear missile

NPR | By Esther Honig
Published February 20, 2026 at 4:03 AM CST

In 1974, Lt. Colonel Randall Lanning manned the launch controls that could deploy nuclear weapons in the event of a Soviet attack. He looks back at one night that's still etched in his memory.

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Esther Honig