Reporter-News Archives

Thursday, September 24, 1998

Missile society set to blast off tonight

By BILL WHITAKER

Associate Editor

A new historical society is set to "blast off" tonight to collect and preserve memories involving the Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, a pivotal component in the Cold War's most heated moments.

The Atlas ICBM Historical Society will hold its first meeting at 6:30 p.m. today at Harlow's South-40 Steak House on East South 11th. The society will systematically collect as much history as possible on these significant systems, organizer Larry Sanders said.

"Dyess Air Force Base was one of six bases in the United States to host the Atlas F-ICBM," Sanders said in making the announcement. "The Atlas F was among Kennedy's 'missiles of October,' poised for launch during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

"The Atlas missile was not only historically significant," Sanders said, "they represented a phenomenal investment in defense, set the technological standards for our nuclear forces and were monumental in every sense of the word."

The Atlas ICBM Historical Society invites individuals of all ages and professional backgrounds. The society's meetings will touch on Cold War politics, evolution of America's space program, military history, rocket science and technologies pioneered in the Atlas program.

Much discussion will also involve the amazing silos that housed the Atlas missiles. However, Sanders - also associated with the Taylor County Historical Commission - hopes to get beyond the dozen silos in our area and probe into the history surrounding them.

"As historians, we've talked about the physical structures left behind and even visited them," Sanders said, "but we've never really talked about the human element - for instance, all the farmers and ranchers who had to co-exist with these during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War.

"You know, when these huge things were upright and ready for launch, they were as visible as the Abilene Christian University Tower of Light at night," he said.

For more information on tonight's meeting and the society's historical aims, contact Larry Sanders at 676-7404.

Bill Whitaker can be reached at 676-6732 or WTWARN@aol.com.