It was a ‘Mad’ World

Today we visited the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.  It was a struggle for me to go.  I do not like war.  Some would call me anti-military…they are probably right.  I was also concerned that this Historic Site would be draped in the American Flag…or as a friend of mine put it, we would have to be vaccinated against American ‘hyper jingoism’.  That was not the case.  It was an attempt to explain the nuclear proliferation of both the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War.  It takes into account the point of view of both the Soviets and the Americans.  It is well done.

Minuteman Missiles could be launched within one minute if the Soviet Union struck first.  There were more than 1000 of these hidden beneath the sunflowers and wheat, the cattle and the corn of America’s Great Plains.  They were hidden in plain sight.  South Dakota had 150 missiles.  All have been decommissioned…worry not, there are still lots located in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska.  And to think that the ‘loony tune’ in the White House holds the keys to this arsenal…maybe we should be worried!

From the 1960’s to the 1990’s, the United States and the Soviet Union followed a strategy called ‘Mad’, or ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’.  Neither side would risk launching an attack because the other side would launch an equally destructive counterattack.  Interesting logic if I do say so…I guess it worked, so far, we are still here to talk about it!

Distance Traveled = 284 km.  Wildlife Sightings = Red-headed Woodpecker, Common Nighthawk, Eastern Bluebird, Western Bluebird, Meadowlark, Grackle, Robin, Red-tailed Hawk, Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove, Turkey Vulture, Pronghorn, Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, Coyote.

Minuteman National Historic Site

Actual launch site...now decommissioned

Badlands

One last look at the Badlands