We visited the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site on the way to Badlands National Park. The Cold War may be a thing of the past, but for many years people lived in constant fear of nuclear attack. I even remember the yellow and black fallout shelter signs posted in buildings. Until the 1990s, the US and Soviet Union adopted a strategy of “Mutually Assured Destruction.” Simply put, a country wouldn’t launch a nuclear attack because they feared nuclear retaliation by the other side.

To prepare for a nuclear attack, the US government installed hundreds of Minuteman missiles throughout the Great Plains. Offering the shortest distance over the North Pole to the USSR, the Great Plains states also provided more rural land. The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site explores this period of history with three sites, the visitor center, Delta-01 launch control center, and Delta-09 missile silo.