At the height of the Cold War the nuclear missiles in South Dakota and five other states presented a paradox; while Soviet satellites had pinpointed their locations, American citizens were scarcely aware of the arsenal in their midst. Thirty years ago, concerned peace groups undertook the task of mapping the missile fields with the intention of sparking debate about the weapons stored there.
When first published by the Wisconsin-based organization Nukewatch in 1988, the book Nuclear Heartland provided the first publicly accessible maps and driving directions to each of the 1,000 Minuteman Missile silos located in six fields across the United States. This year, the group published a revised edition of the book, which includes information on the 1990s "Drawdown" of the missile fields in rural Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota, as well as detailed accounts of peace actions in the missile fields from 1958 to the present.
At 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 23, John LaForge—activist and co-editor of the revised edition of Nuclear Heartland—will speak at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site's visitor center about the work that he and others continue to do in fostering a dialogue about nuclear weapons.
"The original edition of Nuclear Heartlandwas released during a critical time at the end of the Cold War. This new edition serves as a reminder that nuclear weapons are still keeping a constant watch on the high plains," said Superintendent Eric Leonard.
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site's headquarters and visitor center is located off of exit 131, Interstate 90. The park consists of three sites along a fifteen mile stretch of Interstate 90 in Western South Dakota. Established by Congress in 1999, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site preserves components of the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile system, interpreting the deterrent value of the land-based portion of America's nuclear defense during the Cold War era and commemorating the people and events associated with this recent period of American history.
Comments
Ec, you are more slippery than a snakeoil salesman. The NPS pointed it out in the first sentence of this story. NPT didn't bring it up. It's been there since the story was first posted. This is why some folks consider you a troll. When the challenge is placed back on you, you disregard it and move in some other direction.
Yes, if military personnel gave out the locations, that likely would be considered treason. But the information was out there just the same. Hell, defense secretaries in the 60s even talked about how many nukes the military had -- on land, sea, and air -- in their budget docs. You can read all about it here:
http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB197/
As for Snowden, he actually spoke recently in Park City...via satellite.
Kurt, maybe I am missing something. The story by-line is "NPT Staff" not NPS. NPS is not quoted in the first line, or anywhere else in the article. Perhaps you copied an NPS story/release without attribution but there is no way of telling that from this post. And there is no documentation that the Soviets accurately and confidently knew.
Treason doesn't require you to be in a military position. Treason is treason military or civilian. Take a look at those that have been convicted in the past. Many weren't in military positions.
And no Snowden didn't speak "in Park City". He spoke somewhere else and it was transmitted to Park City. Why? Because what he did was treasonous and if he were in Park City he would have been arrested and tried.
And what would have happened to you if you had gone public with the locations? And the issue isn't him talking about it now, its about him revealing the locations in 1988. Are you claiming that information wasn't classified in 1988?
Secret? I'd like to see some documentation that these sites were ever top secret. They were not.
I recall going west on a college geology field trip in 1961. We stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota so our professors could ask directions to a fossiliferous site they wanted us to see. I remember that the man they asked (he was some sort of geologist himself) gave instructions that included, "Drive umptee miles north on route whatever until you come to the missile silo, then turn left or right or whichever it was." We passed several more missile sites, all with prominent fences, big doors lying flat on the ground and menacing signs all around them. They probably were not storage places for corn silage.
What was inside the silos might have been secret, but where they were located certainly was not. In fact, somewhere out there we spotted a sign with a big bullseye on it that said something like "In case of mushroom cloud, kiss a certain portion of your anatomy goodbye." We passed many Air Force blue jeeps and trucks and even saw a huge white tractor trailer with the Air Force star emblem on it. There is one just like it on display at Hill Air Force Base Museum with a sign explaining that its purpose was to transport Minuteman Missiles to silos, stand them up, and lower them down into place below ground.
In fact, somewhere in my piles of slide files I have some photos taken on that trip. Here's a photo I pulled from online of a site very similar to the ones we saw in South Dakota. Don't know where this one was, but it's certainly a safe bet that all the neighbors for miles around knew exactly what it was and where it was. (Drat, the photo shows up in the draft comment, but disappears when I try to post it. Here's a link that might work https://www.google.com/search?q=were+missile+silos+secret&source=lnms&tb...
Top Secret? I really don't think so.
Awfully brave of you to defend our nation like this, Eric.
Sorry, but I missed it when you first mentioned it - when it was time to sign on the line to defend the nation with your body, which branch of service were you in?
I have full appreciation for all that have served in the military including my father "The Colonel" who was buried in Arlington Cemetery, along with my mother, with full honors. But one does not have to have served to "defend the nation" and one doesn't need to be in military to not commit treason. To suggest anyone that has not served is less than a patriot is absurd as it would put the vast majority of our population in that catagory. Whether I served or not has no bearing on what I believe to be treasonous acts by LaForge.
"Twenty-five years ago, a missile silo south of Tucson was one of the most top-secret places in America."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7284003
Ah, Comrade, you're missing the missile again. What happened INSIDE the silos was supposed to be secret, but the LOCATIONS of the sites was not -- and could not -- be secret. As usual, you're trying to split hairs with your arguments.
Most of the sites had been carved out of private land. Previous owners had SOLD the land to the government, often under threat of eminent domain. Construction of the places was a major, major undertaking as recounted in a picture caption in the NPR article you cite. By the way, an article from any source other than an official government document does not prove the secrecy of these places, no matter what the first attention grabbing line of the article may say.
If you are actually correct, it should be very easy for you to provide proof positive. All it takes is a reference to any official document that proves that LOCATIONS of these silos was top-secret.
As for being "traitors," for listing locations of these silos . . . haven't you in the past here vehemently howled about what you felt was government overreach? Shouldn't you be praising watchdogs who had the courage to stand up and speak out when necessary? For example, are the watchdog groups that exposed the recent anthrax problems involving Dugway Proving Grounds or the earlier safety problems at Tooele (too-ILL-ah) Army Depot's nerve gas incinerator traitors? Both of those installations are "secret" and have signs nearly identical to those I saw around those fences in the Great Plains back in 1961.