The Missile Plains: Frontline of America's Cold War - Historic Study, Minuteman Missile Site, South Dakota, plus the History of Ellsworth AFB and 28th Bomb Wing - Missiles and the Missileers

This is a comprehensive and unique history of the Minuteman ICBM program and related Cold War issues, focusing on missile silos in South Dakota. The history of the Cold War, focusing on the 1950s and 1960s, describes how nuclear systems developed, and the political climate and foreign policy decisions of Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy - and how these factors affected development of strategic missiles and nuclear armament systems. Chapter 2 provides a background on ICBM program beginnings and liquid-fuel ICBMs, placing the development of solid-fuel ICBMs into context. Chapter 3 discusses development and capabilities of both the Minuteman I and Minuteman II missile systems and provides an overview of the development of Minuteman III and the future generation of missile development. Section II -Life on the South Dakota Plains: Before, During, and After Minuteman presents the history of the Minuteman missile in South Dakota. Chapter 1 provides a brief overview of the prehistory and history of the region discussing Native American history, land speculation and settlement, and continued agricultural uses. This background describes the landscape and environment prior to the establishment of 150 Minuteman I and II LFs and fifteen LCFs throughout the state. Chapters 2 to 5 deals with the development, construction, and activities of the missile sites in South Dakota from the 1960s through the 1980s when the sites were still active, with an emphasis on LCF Delta-01 and LF Delta-09. A history of the Air Force highlighting the Strategic Air Command and Ellsworth Air Force Base in Chapter 2 provides the background for a discussion of the 44th Strategic Missile Wing, which commanded the Minuteman sites in South Dakota. Chapter 3 provides the history of the location, land purchase, and construction of the Minuteman sites in South Dakota. Section II continues with a discussion of the day-to-day activities of the personnel assigned to the missile sites, including the training, roles, and responsibilities of the missile combat crew, facility manager, security and maintenance personnel, and the cook. Section II concludes by addressing changes in the roles, responsibilities, and personnel at the sites during the Minuteman's tenure, including the introduction of female missileers and addressing racial issues among personnel at the sites and within the greater community. Section III -Peace Movement, Nuclear Disarmament, and the Future returns to the national and international arenas discussing the opposition to nuclear armament, the end of the Cold War, and the future for Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.

Section I -The Cold War and National Armament * Chapter 1: The Cold War (1945-62) * Introduction * Origins of the Cold War * Eisenhower and Waging Peace * Sputnik * Kennedy Administration and the First Minuteman Deployment * Chapter 2: U.S. Strategic Missile and Armament Systems (1950s-60s) * Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Program Beginnings * Liquid-Fuel Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles: Atlas and Titan * Chapter 3: Minuteman and the Next Generation (1960s-present) * The Missile Gap and Minuteman * Development of Solid-Fuel Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles * Minuteman I * Minuteman II * Minuteman III and the Next Generation * Section II -Life on the South Dakota Plains: Before, During, and After Minuteman * Chapter 1: Life and Landscape Before Minuteman (to the 1960s) * South Dakota Plains Geological Formations * Native American Settlement * Early European Exploration and the Fur Trade * Euro-American Land Speculation, Settlement, and Immigration * Western Plains Settlement and Agricultural History * Chapter 2: U.S. Air Force, Strategic Air Command, and Ellsworth Air Force Base (1940s-90s) * Establishment * Strategic Air Command * Ellsworth Air Force Base * Chapter 3: Minuteman Missile Sites in South Dakota (1960s-80s) * Site Location * Land Purchase