Erik Loney | KXLY4 Reporter
of airmen at Fairchild Air Force Base were charged with managing a
squadron of nine Atlas ICBMs. Now, more than 40 years later, you can
get a glimpse inside one of those missile bases.They were the men of
the 567 Strategic Missile Squadron. Activated for duty on April 1st,
1960, the 567th was put in charge of a group of nine silos filled with
the country's first generation Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
(ICBM).At nine different locations - Deer Park, Newman Lake, Rockford,
Croskey, Lamont, Bluestem, Wilbur, Egypt and Crescent – the
coffin-style launch bunker and associated support facilities were
built to support the Atlas missiles.
March 5, 2010
For five years at the height of the Cold War a squadron of airmen at
Fairchild Air Force Base were charged with managing a squadron of nine
Atlas ICBMs. Now, more than 40 years later, you can get a glimpse
inside one of those missile bases. KXLY4's Erik Loney reports.
The sites were the top priority of the US Government and no expense
was spared in their construction. Each one cost more than $4 million
dollars.The Atlas E missile complex consisted of the main launch bay
and an underground tunnel to the Launch Control Center. There was also
a bunk room and kitchen. Most Atlas E sites were built on approximately 20 acres with 5 acres contained inside a 7 foot chain link fence.
Spokane's Don McCabe, 68, was a member of the 567th SMS and
was assigned to work at the sites. Teams of five airmen would work
24-hour shifts, with two crew members being required to be awake and
alert at all times in case the call to launch came in to strike at
America's Cold War enemy."I had heard it was a city in Russia but
exactly where I have no idea," McCabe said.The call to get the
missiles ready to launch never came but McCabe said they were always
ready."The two commanders, the crew commander and deputy commander
each had a key and they would have to insert keys and turn at same
time to effect a launch," he said."It was a pretty awesome
responsibility when you stopped to think about it," McCabe said. "But
I didn't worry about it, I just did my job."The sites were shut down
in 1965 and later sold to private citizens. A California man owns the
Atlas site in Newman Lake. It's currently empty but caretaker and
historian Charlie Lynch says the owner hopes to retire to the nuclear
bomb proof bunker someday. With walls several feet thick and an
18-inch thick solid steel door that takes 755 hand cranks to open the
bunker was built to withstand a nuclear blast. The Newman Lake site's
owner plans on doing a little remodeling when he retires to the
site."He's going to remodel the place" Lynch said. "Wood floors and
big screen TVs … it will be a real nice place to live."
If you want to see this interesting piece of local military history Lynch offers
tours of the Newman Lake site on the weekends by appointment. Call
509-216-0956 to set up a tour. Donations are accepted.For more
information about the 567th Strategic Missile Squadron click here to
check out their unofficial homepage.
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