Minot Air Force Base: Celebrating 65 years by MinotDailyNews

Only the Best Come North. Thank you for the past

65 Years!

701-857-1900 • 301 4th Street SE • Minot, ND 2 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

L ETTER

COVER PHOTO

The main gate at Minot Air Force Base is well known for the slogan across the top of the gate: “Only The Best Come North.” Many go through the bases gates each day. Minot AFB is the Department of Defense’s only dual-wing, nuclear-capable installaton.

inot Air Force Base has come a long way since that 14th day of July 1955 when people gathered at a site north of Minot to celebrate breaking the ground for the country’s newest military installation. Today it is the Department of Defense’s only dual-wing, nuclear-capable installation, with the 5th Bomb Wing and its B-52 bombers and the 91st Missile Wing and its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles in underground facilities located in several counties. Countless military members have been assigned to Minot AFB over the past several decades, many with family members accompanying them. In addition, over the years many civilians have worked at the base. Today, the base’s population – counting military members, family members and civilians employed at the base – totals more than 12,000 people, which makes it approximately the seventh largest city in North Dakota. Many military members and their families have remained in the local area after they have been discharged from the military, including a number of them retiring here. They work in the local area and some have opened their own businesses. Some have continued their education after leaving the service. Many are members of local organizations and take part in many activities. When Minot faced flooding many Minot AFB people volunteered to help where needed as they do for other causes and events. They’re our friends and neighbors, and some are our family members. Betty Fedorchak moved to North Dakota with her husband, Mike, who was assigned to Minot Air Force Base, and their three children. They raised their family here and retired here. “We liked what Minot offered us as a family. All three of our children went to universities in North Dakota – Minot, UND and NDSU,” she told The Minot Daily News. George Masters, a retired master sergeant, moved to the Minot area with the Air Force. He left for a year and a half and then came back. “And then I never left again. I stayed on and it became home,” he told The Minot Daily News. Many others also have made their home in Minot or the area. We hope you enjoy this commemorative magazine of Minot AFB covering some of the highlights – news happenings and other significant events – taking place prior to the base’s beginning to the present day. By no means does it cover every event or news happening during the past several decades. There are so many. The Minot Daily News has been an integral part of Minot AFB from the days when it was an idea to have a base at Minot and on through the years. Much of the information and photos for this magazine are from the archive of The Minot Daily News, along with several other sources. Happy 65th Anniversary, Minot Air Force Base.

M D N F i l e P h o to s

65th Anniversary of Minot Air Force Base

PUBLISHER BOB PATCHEN

BPATCHEN@MINOTDAILYNEWS.COM

EDITOR/WRITER ELOISE OGDEN

EOGDEN@MINOTDAILYNEWS.COM

INTERIM AD DIRECTOR ELAINE GUNDERSON

EGUNDERSON@MINOTDAILYNEWS.COM

ART DIRECTOR MANDY TANIGUCHI

MTANIGUCHI@MINOTDAILYNEWS.COM

COPY EDITORS KENT OLSON

KOLSON@MINOTDAILYNEWS.COM

JILL SCHRAMM

JSCHRAMM@MINOTDAILYNEWS.COM

CONSULTANT RETIRED MASTER SGT. PAUL ENGELDINGER

A PUBLICATION OF THE MINOT DAILY NEWS Office located at: 301 4th Street SE, Minot, N.D. For general information: (8 a.m. - 5 p.m.) 857-1900 Circulation: (Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-5 p.m.); (Sat. 6 a.m. -10 a.m.) 857-1910 or toll free: 1-800-735-3119

VIEW US ONLINE

FROM THE EDITOR

www.MinotDailyNews.com

/MinotDailyNews

– Eloise Ogden @MinotDailyNews

MinotDailyNews.com • June 2020 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • 3

TABLE

A Message from Minot AFB commanders

Groundbreaking, Construction

14 16 21 24

Planning for a Base

Aircraft Begin To Arrive First Open House

Entering ICBM World

Facilities for On-Base Life

CONTENTS

Activated, Deactivated

Many Distinguished Visitors Visit Base

34 38 42 43

Reinvigoration of the Nuclear Enterprise

Minot AFB Continues To Build and Revitalize

Weapons Systems Modernization Recognition

Sources include The Minot Daily News, Minot Air Force Base, Air Force Global Strike Command at Barksdale AFB, La., Minot Area Chamber of Commerce, The Boeing Co., North Dakota Air National Guard Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell AFB, Ala., “Mr. Wheat,” a biography of U.S. Sen. Milton R. Young, by Andrea Winkjer Collin and published by Smoky Water Press owned by Rick Collin and Andrea Winkjer Collin, and retired Tech. Sgt. Glenn Chapman, author of “Me and U-2: My Affairs with Dragon Lady.”

From TEAM MINOT – Home of the Barksdale Trophy for great community support!

4 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

A MESSAGE FROM MINOT AFB COMMANDERS n the wake of WWII, the Air Force selected Minot along with Grand Forks, ND, and Glasgow, MT, as the most effective locations for Air Defense Command installations. Though the base, its mission, and people have changed in the decades since 1955, today the base remains strategically critical while supporting two legs of our nation’s nuclear triad. It is important to recognize that Minot Air Force Base might never have come to existence had it not been for the initiative and foresight of the leading citizens of Minot 65 years ago. The City of Minot pioneered the possibility of the newest site for an Air Force Base and then donated $50,000 in private funds to buy the first portions of land. Since then, the incredible community continues to welcome our Airmen home as Minot Air Force Base’s missions have changed throughout its robust history. Our open house tradition began in 1959, only 2 years after the opening of the base. This was part of Armed Forces Day two-day observance “Power for Peace” which drew 25,000-30,000 visitors the first year. It has been a huge success ever since. The open house will always be an opportunity to welcome our community partners on base. Part of this outstanding partnership is shown through the longevity of the relationships dating back to the initial development of Minot when the land was originally dedicated to the USAF. A member of our Auto Hobby Shop on base, Marvin Sanders, has watched Minot become the Magic City it is today. From stories his grandfather told of donating plots of land, to land his father contributed, he

not only is a member of the team, but a member of an original leading Minot family. The Minot community was recently recognized with the Barksdale Trophy from the Global Strike Challenge of 2019. This trophy is awarded to the community that best supports a base in Air Force Global Strike Command over the last 24 months, however Minot has always felt the unwavering support of the Magic City. Through programs and events such as Honorary Commanders Program, Military Appreciation Days at Roosevelt Zoo, Prairie Warrior Auction, Sportsman Feed, Freedom Fest, Military Appreciation Days for the State Fair, Minot State University Sporting Event Military Days and countless others, Team Minot has always had the finest support from the town and state of North Dakota. The 5th BW and 91st MW are eager to make great strides into the next decade with the upgrades and continuous evolution of Global Strike Command and the Air Force. Today, as we move toward a more specialized and innovative Air Force, the community will engage with military members and more organizations on base for the first Pitch Day here. These Pitch Days allow Airmen with innovative ideas to improve conditions while giving local business owners an opportunity to obtain a contract to support the future of the Air Force Base. Throughout the base’s historic partnership with the community, we have been extremely fortunate to work alongside our supportive local, civic and state leaders. Without these relationships, projects such as our new Combat Arms Training and Maintenance (CATM) facility and transition to the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) from our Minuteman III, would not be possible. As the B-52 also undergoes upgrades, the Air Force has further committed to the strategic posture of Minot. This year the MH-139 was delivered to the Air Force and will be known as the “Grey Wolf,” replacing our UH-1N “Huey” to provide vertical airlift support and protect ICBM facilities. We will receive it in the coming years. The Minot community continues to play a major role in the history of the base and our nation’s nuclear surety. Every family welcomed here is a consistent reminder of how incredible the Minot community is at supporting our military members as they make Minot home. We are confident that as technology and missions advance, so will our partnership with our home state, North Dakota. Our Airmen and families leave Minot forever changed by their experiences from their time in the Magic City and military members and their families can all agree; their assignment here, without a doubt, becomes the best of their careers. The past 65 years have proven the decision to build what would become the Home of the Global Striker an incredibly strategic choice fortified by the community just as dedicated to our nuclear mission. As the 5th BW and 91st MW move together into the future, we are grateful and proud to have the opportunity to serve within a community where Only the Best Come North.

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MDN File Photo

Minot Air Force Base was only two years into construction when this photo was taken in May 1957.

6 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE Under a hot July sun some 200 spectators stood on the former Ted Abresch farmland north of Minot 65 years ago to listen to Air Force officials and local dignitaries speak and break ground for what became Minot Air Force Base.

Minot AFB has come a long way since that day – July 12, 1955 – when community leaders pledged their continued support to the Air Force and this new Air Force base being established in the midst of the Cold War. Today, Minot AFB is the only dual wing, nuclear-capable base in the Department of Defense. The 5th Bomb Wing has B-52H bombers and the 91st Missile Wing oversees the Minot missile field with its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. The base also is one of only two bases with B-52s. The other base is Barksdale AFB, La.

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PLANNING FOR A BASE As early as the 1940s, Minot was recommended as a good place for an air base. Wesley E. Keller, Minot, chairman of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission, sent a letter to U.S. Sen. Milton R. Young of North Dakota, putting in his recommendation that a base should be built at Minot, according to the The Minot Daily News in October 1948. Young had been urging Air Force officials to build a base in the Garrison Dam area. Keller based his recommendation for an air base at Minot on the city having one of the largest airports west of the Twin Cities and that it’s “close enough to the Garrison Dam to protect that project in case of war.” Prior to Minot AFB, the 786th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron – Minot Radar Station – was located south of Minot. Originally a radar site to detect and identify unidentified aircraft in airspace, it came into being in the early 1950s and closed in 1979. It was reactivated in 1984 as the Minot Communication site, then officially deactivated in 1997 and sold to a private owner. It wasn’t until the mid-1950s that Minot actually was selected as the site of a U.S. Air Force base. Minot came out the winner in the selection for a site announced in 1954 for an Air Force jet interceptor base, beating out Bismarck. Leaders from both cities bid strongly to have the base located near their respective cities. Many stepped up to bring the air base to Minot. The Minot Chamber of Commerce, now Minot Area Chamber of Commerce, led a drive to raise $50,000 to purchase some of the land for the base, according to the 1954 Chamber board of directors meeting minMDN File Photo utes. Wesley E. Keller, Minot, chairman of the North Dakota In October 1954 Air Force officials from Washington, D.C., and Air Aeronautics Commission, recommended as early as the Defense Command, Colorado Springs, Colo., arrived to launch the engi1940s that Minot would be a good place for an air base. neering survey for the new $7 million air base at Minot.

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8 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

MDN File Photo

From the left are Col. Charles Lipscomb, Col. James Gormley, Raymond C. Dobson, publisher of The Minot Daily News, Sen. Milton R. Young and Brig. Gen. Clyde Garner during Young’s visit to the base on July 6, 1978. U.S. Sen. Milton R. Young’s role in the establishment of Minot AFB is explained in “Mr. Wheat,” a biography of Young by Andrea Winkjer Collin, published by Smoky Water Press in 2010. “In their 1977 book, ‘North Dakota, A History,’ Robert P. Wilkins and Wynona H. Wilkins wrote that Young told Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall in 1951 that ‘North Dakota was one of two or three of the 48 states that did not have a military installation of any kind. By 1960, the Defense Department responded to his bid for fair play and had built Air Force bases in Minot and Grand Forks.’ Young said that while he often received credit for where the bases were located in the state, he had nothing to do with it. He was, however, contacted when the locations of Fargo and Bismarck were changed to Minot and Grand Forks. Following is Young’s direct quote from a 1979 interview with then-University of North Dakota Professor Jerome Tweton: “The Air Force first picked Fargo and Bismarck as sites for the two big air bases. Their reasoning was that during World War II, they used both Fargo and Bismarck as modification centers and thought they would make good sites for these new bases. The people in Minot and Grand Forks got busy and made good cases for their two cities, and the Air Force itself decided to change the location from Bismarck to Minot and from Fargo to Grand Forks. Then I got hell from the other side. Bismarck and Fargo wanted the bases and they thought I had something to with their moving. I didn’t.” Andrea Winkjer Collin, in an interview with Evan Lips in 2004 for the “Mr. Wheat” book, wrote: “Evan Lips, who was mayor of Bismarck at the time, was among those who were upset at the final decision.” “It had been announced that the bases would be built in Bismarck, Fargo, Duluth, Minnesota and Miles City, Montana. Then we heard they might be moved. So some of us went out to Washington to see Senator Young,” Lips recalled. “We talked to him for awhile and then he took us over to see the Majority Leader, who was Senator Lyndon Johnson. He was sitting in his office with his feet on his desk, and we talked to him awhile. But it didn’t change. The bases went to Minot and Grand Forks.”

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Happy Anniversary, Minot Air Force Base. Thank you for 65 years of protecting our nation and community.

MDN File Photo

Dr. A.L. Cameron, director in charge of the Military Affairs Committee, Minot Chamber of Commerce, extends greetings during the groundbreaking ceremony held Tuesday afternoon, July 12, 1955, for the Minot jet interceptor base.

MDN Fiile Photo

Construction is under way at Minot Air Force Base shown in this August 1956 photo. The base’s runway, built in the late 1950s, was replaced in recent years during a three-phase, $67 million project that began in 2012 and spanned three years.

10 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

GROUNDBREAKING & CONSTRUCTION At the groundbreaking ceremony on July 12, 1955, Brig. Gen. James Guthrie, commander of the 29th Air Divison at Great Falls, Mont., described the project to build an Air Force base as “North Dakota’s first major military installation” and the “culmination of a two-year dream.” Col. Thomas Hayes Jr., Omaha District engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in charge of the construction, announced the Corps expected to call for bids in August 1955 for construction of 11 buildings, roads and utilities at the base, if the government funds were available. Peter Kiewit Sons Co. already was awarded the $3.6 million contract for construction of a runway, taxiway, parking aprons and fuel storage. Minot Mayor Maurice Harrington; A.R. Weinhandl, president of the Minot Chamber of Commerce; Dr. A.L. Cameron, director in charge of the Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee; Hal S. Davies, chairman of the Military Affairs Committee and then president of The Minot Daily News; Ulric Gwynn, secretary-manager of the Chamber; and B.O. Dahl, president of the Ward County Board of Commissioners, pledged the continued support and cooperation of the citizens of Minot and Ward County for the base. Following the speeches, a ceremonial earth-turning was performed using a “dedicated” strip scraper machine with Dahl at the controls and other dignitaries riding along to “supervise.”

MDN File Photo

Most of Minot Air Force Base, shown from the air in this 1967 photo, lies in Waterford Township, which gave up 3,200 acres of land for defense of the nation. Minot AFB was off to a running start – as far as construction. By September 1956, the base already had some of the basics completed or being constructed. Dormitories, mess hall (chow hall/dining hall), hangars, noncommissioned officers club, chapel, gymnasium, heating plant and six-story control operations tower, concrete parking aprons, taxi strips and a mammoth runway being enlarged from 8,100 to 13,200 feet in length were among the projects Owen Brenden, of Minot, began working at the base only a year or so after it was activated. He was the second civilian engineer assigned to the base. He became the base’s chief engineer in 1962 and continued until his retirement in 1987. During his years at the base he saw many construction projects completed. But every time he drives by Minot AFB he told the base paper in an interview, he thinks about Maurice “Ike” Isaacson, his boss and base’s first engineer. “He always loved trees and because of him the landscaping out there is super,” Brenden said at Isaacson’s retirement. “He (Isaacson) deserves a lot of credit for getting trees out there. We planted a lot of trees,” Brenden said in an interview with The Minot Daily News in 2015. Besides the city of Minot, construction of Minot AFB had an impact on other surrounding communities. Ruthville, a community just three miles south of the base, built a motel and a cafe named for the arrival of the Air Force jets – Jet Cafe and Jet Motel, joining other businesses in Ruthville. “Minot Air Force Base has provided Ruthville with many customers, friends and fine talent – guitar players, banjo pickers, drum beaters and piano pounders. Every night is Saturday night in Ruthville,” according to Ruthville’s 40th anniversary (1971) history. While the initial plans called for the base to be a jet interceptor fighter base, the Air Force then announced the plans called for Strategic Air Command bombers to be stationed at Minot AFB, according to The Minot Daily News in July 1956.

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FIRST OFFICER ARRIVES FOR DUTY Maj. Joe E. Roberts, a native of San Antonio, Texas, and World War II veteran, was the first Air Force man to be assigned duty at Minot in conjunction with the jet interceptor base, The Daily News said in October 1956. Roberts was assigned to Minot as a project officer for the Air Force. His job was to coordinate matters between the military and civilian groups. His duty station was Minot AFB, but he was to spend most of his time in the city, meeting with civic groups, boards and other organizations. Roberts and a noncommissioned officer were the first two Air Force members to arrive at the base. The Air Force took up occupancy eight days later on Feb. 15, 1957. A small ceremony was held in front of base operations when a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officer turned over the “key” to the base to Roberts, the first base commander. “It wasn’t much of a ceremony when Maj. Joe E. Roberts, acting base commander, started moving his operations from temporary quarters in the Chamber of Commerce (in Minot) to the base but to commemorate the occasion Lt. Col. T.W. Roe, area engineer for the Corps of Engineers, presented Maj. Roberts a large cardboard ‘key’ to the base,” The Minot Daily News noted in February 1957.

MDN File Photo

Lt. Col. T.W. Roe, left, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, turns over the “key” to Minot Air Force Base to Maj. Joe E. Roberts, first base commander and first Air Force member assigned to base, during a small ceremony in front of base operations on Feb. 15, 1957.

Thank You Minot Air Force Base for having 65 years of “The Best Come North” DON BESSETTE MOTORS is grateful to the men and women who serve in our armed forces, both past, present, and future. We would like to serve you! On all service appointments receive a 10% discount with any military ID (and the car wash after is FREE) Looking to buy? Hyundai has an additional $500 Military Rebate on all new vehicles and America’s Best Warranty. “Only the Best Come North” - to Minot AFB AND Don Bessette Motors 12 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

FIRST FIRE CHIEF KENNETH O. GILLESPIE World War II veteran Kenneth O. Gillespie arrived at Minot AFB on Feb. 17, 1957, while the base was still under construction. He served as acting fire chief and in January 1961 he was named Minot AFB fire chief. He and Maurice Isaacson, base engineer, were among the first civilians hired at the air base. In the beginning there were five people who served the dual role of both firefighters and guards for the completed and unfinished buildings on base. Five days after Gillespieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arrival the fire department became operational with two borrowed trucks. Gillespie said in the early days all of the firefighting team members were civilians with one pumper and a pickup truck to cover the baseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 4,000 acres. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Of course, there wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t too much to cover, except prairie then,â&#x20AC;? he said in an April 1961 story in The Minot Daily News. When the current fire station was built, it was named in honor of Gillespie in October 2002. Gillespie died in 1972. Initially, Minot AFB was developed as an air defense command base and in 1957 the first unit there, the 32nd Fighter Group, was activated. The first permanent Strategic Air Command unit assigned to Minot AFB was the 4136th Strategic Wing in September 1958.

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AIRCRAFT BEGIN TO ARRIVE It wasn’t long after the base was activated that aircraft began to arrive. Before any other aircraft was assigned to the base the famous U-2 “spy planes,” arrived, according to The Minot Daily News. The U-2s and personnel came to the base in the late 1950s for a special project called “Operation Crowflight.” The Minot Crowflight unit was a detachment of the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing out of Laughlin AFB near Del Rio, Texas. The Minot Daily News files show the U-2s were at the base from September 1958 to May 1960 but Operation Crowflight went on until the late 1990s. Three Lockheed U-2 spy planes were with Detachment 9 at the Minot base. Military orders for those assigned to the Minot AFB detachment were marked “Top Secret.” Retired Air Force Tech. Sgt. Glenn R. Chapman of Tucson, Ariz., was at the Minot base with the U-2 unit from Jan. 3, 1960, to March 1960 as a nephographics technician. “Our mission, although highly top secret at that time, was to sample for upper air radioactivity,” he told The Minot Daily News for a story published in December 2002. He said samples were collected to determine how much radioactive fallout was in the atmosphere. He said they also had operating locations in Puerto Rico, Argentina, Australia, Alaska, Panama and other places. “The idea was to sample air at altitudes of 70,000 feet plus from the North Pole to the South Pole,” Chapman said. “When Crowflight began Dragon Lady (the U-2s) and all her missions, including Crowflight, were classified as top secret. At that time it was very highly classified where Crowflight locations were located or what the duration of the TDY (temporary duty) would be,” said Chapman in a December 2019 story published in The Minot Daily News. Chapman wrote a book, “Me and U-2. My Affair With Dragon Lady.”

SAGE/PRIDE BUILDING

Submitted Art

Operation Crowflight’s mascot was a crow In 1958, Air Defense Command established a Semi-Automatic Ground Environment and at Minot Air Force Base the mascot (SAGE) sector at Minot AFB, which was construction of a huge, windowless blast-resistant donned ear muffs, a scarf and skis. Operaconcrete building. IBM engineers installed two large, 275-ton computers in the basement of the building. Activated in June 1961, the SAGE facility processed air surveillance information tion Crowflight’s U-2 “spy planes” were at the and sent the data to Air Defense Command units. As Minot’s mission changed, the SAGE cen- base before any other aircraft were permater was deactivated in May 1963 and eventually housed numerous base agencies and today is nently assigned to the base. Drawing by Wilknown as the PRIDE (Professional Results In Daily Endeavors) building. iam Valance.

328 20th Ave SE, Minot, ND 58701 | 701-852-1491 14 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

TANKERS 1ST PERMANENT AIRCRAFT About four years after Minot Air Force Base “opened for business,” the first plane to be permanently assigned to the base arrived on Sept. 23, 1959 – a Boeing KC-135 stratotanker named “Miss Minot.” The first single engine jet aircraft to be assigned to Minot AFB, a T-33, the trainer version of the famous F-80 “Shooting Star,” arrived and was assigned to the 32nd Fighter Group, The Minot Daily News reported in December 1959. MDN File Photos

ABOVE: Aircrew members who brought the first KC-135 and first permanently assigned plane to Minot Air Force Base depart from the plane shown in September 1959. LEFT: On hand to greet two members of the aircrew bringing the first KC-135 tanker plane to Minot Air Force Base in September 1959 were their families. At the left are Lt. William Beeler, copilot, and Capt. Raymond Traeger, right, navigator, with their families. With the arrival of this plane, Strategic Air Command was “in business” at the Minot base.

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Submitted Photos

The first open house at Minot Air Force Base took place in 1959. Photo from Eloise Ogden family collection.

FIRST OPEN HOUSE

Eloise Ogden/MDN

Pat Travnicek, a former B-52 pilot, and Jim Clifford, a former base fire chief, have been deputy directors of Minot Air Force Base’s open house and air show for a number of years. This photo was in July 2005. The next event is planned for August 2022.

16 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

About two years after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers turned the base over to the Air Force, the base opened its gates to the public for its first open house in 1959. The event was part of a two-day Armed Forces Day event called “Power For Peace” to salute the armed forces and the readiness of this nation. It started on Saturday, May 16, 1959, with an open house at the radar station south of Minot and a Chamber of Commerce-sponsored “Air Fair” at the Minot International Airport. “It was at the air base, however, where upwards of $100 million already has been spent on construction, that attracted the most attention,” said The Minot Daily News in May 1959. Cars by the thousands, bumper to bumper, jammed the highway between the base and Minot and the roads leading into the base on the day of the first open house. The open house and air show at Minot AFB became known as Northern Neighbors Day and now Northern Neighbors Day Air and Space Show. The most recent event was held in 2018. Pat Travnicek, a former B-52 pilot, and Jim Clifford, a former base fire chief, have been involved in the event for a number of years including serving as its deputy directors.

FIGHTER PLANES The first F-106 Delta Dart followed the tankers at the base, arriving in Jan. 30, 1960. When the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was assigned to the base Minot became a true fighter base. After the fatal crashes of 13 fighter pilots, including two from 5th Fighter flying the 106s, Lt. Col. Jacksel “Jack” Broughton, 5th Fighter commander who arrived at Minot AFB in 1962, took it upon himself to figure out what was wrong. Along with military members from 5th Fighter, he demonstrated the problem – a deadly ejection seat – to higher level military members and was instrumental in getting the F-106s ejection seat replaced besides saving the Air Force a large amount of money. Broughton was 5th Fighter commander when President John F. Kennedy informed the world that Russia was placing secret missiles in Cuba and the Russians had a supply ship heading for Cuba. The entire 5th Fighter squadron was on alert and Broughton was requested to send four alert planes with all weapons on board, including hot nukes from Fargo, to pull alert there. It was a tense time, but eventually the ship turned around. The squadron, nicknamed “Spittin’ Kittens,” had a patch with a lynx on it. Broughton decided the squadron should have live mascots and was responsible for “adopting” two lynx kittens in 1963. An area farmer shot the female lynx because she was raiding his chickens and discovered she had two kittens. “Spitten” and “Kitten” were the first two 5th Fighter mascots to make their home with the squadron. The squadron got a zoo license and numerous cats were born to adult cats. When the squadron was deactivated in the late 1980s, two offspring went to live at Minot’s Roosevelt Park Zoo, where they remained until they died several years ago. Broughton said during an interview with The Minot Daily News in 2004 that some of his most memorable and enjoyable years were commanding the Air Force’s Thunderbirds demonstration team in the 1950s and commanding the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Minot AFB from September 1962 to June 1964. Many former 5th Fighter members remember Jack Broughton as being a tough but fair commander. Bernie Pellenwessel, of Minot, who as a young airman worked in the orderly room (5th Fighter headquarters office), then armament, MA-1 (electronics) and 5th Fighter operations during Broughton’s tenure at Minot AFB, said, “He was great. He was a true leader. He would never ask us to do anything he wouldn’t do. When it came to his job as a pilot, he was one of the best ever.” Col. Broughton, who was a combat pilot in Korea and Vietnam and one of 50 most decorated officers in the United States, said his theory was he wouldn’t have any of his people do anything he wouldn’t do. “That was one of my pride and joys,” he told The Minot Daily News in the August 2004 interview. Broughton was the first person to be inducted in Minot AFB’s Hall of Fame in 2004. His name is painted on an F-106 exhibited with other 5th Fighter aircraft at the Dakota Territory Air Museum.

The first F-106 Delta Dart arrived in January 1960.

Submitted Photo

MORE AIRCRAFT ARRIVE INCLUDING 1ST B-52

Two Kaman HH-43 Huskie helicopters arrived in August 1960 for permanent assignment at the base. About 16 months later on July 16, 1961, the first B52H bomber arrived.

Submitted Photo

Col. Jack Broughton is shown with the lynx cats, mascots of the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Minot Air Force Base. This photo is displayed in the Dakota Territory Air Museum, Minot.

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Submitted Photo

Robert Sivley, center, a B-52H engineering manager at Boeing Wichita (Kansas) is shown in this photo with military members when the first B-52, “Peace Persuader,” was brought to Minot Air Force Base in July 1961. Photo from The Boeing Company.

1ST B-52s ARRIVE

On July 16, 1961, the first two B-52H Stratofortresses (s/ns 60-025 and 60-027) were delivered to Minot AFB. According to 4136th Strategic Wing histories, s/n 60-027 was named “Peace Persuader” and designated as the first B-52 to be assigned to Minot AFB. Maj. Clyde Evely was the commander of the crew flying that first B-52 to Minot AFB that day. North Dakota Gov. William L. Guy and Air Force Col. Harold Radetsky, then commander of the 4136th Strategic Wing at Minot AFB, accompanied Evely and the aircrew on the last leg of the flight from Rapid City, S.D., to the Minot base. An open house called “Peace Persuader Day” was held at the base that day and the first plane was christened “Peace Persuader.” Clyde P. Evely Jr., of Catawba, Va., told The Minot Daily News in an interview in 2011, it was an honor for his father to bring the first B52 to Minot AFB. “He had a lot of respect for the B-52,” Evely Jr. said. Minot Air Force Base was one of the first base’s to get the B-52H model. Col. Harold Radetsky told The Minot Daily News in 1961 that the B-52 was the “most devastating offensive weapon in our country’s arsenal.” Brad Foote of Annapolis, Md., and Bill Sims of Yuba City, Calif., made history in 1961 when they were aircrew members of one of the first new B-52H bombers to arrive at Minot AFB. “There were two aircrafts that day, one of which landed ahead of us – the ‘Peace Persuader,’” said Foote. Foote said their plane was the backup plane for “Peace Persuader” – in case it couldn’t get here or land. The air-

Submitted Photo

From the left, Maj. Gen. Delmar Wilson, division commander, North Dakota Gov. William L. Guy, Miss North Dakota Diane Ulvedal of Grand Forks and Col. Harold Radetsky, commander of the 4136th Strategic Wing at Minot Air Force Base, are shown at “Peace Persuader Day” at the base on July 16, 1961, when the first two B-52H’s arrived. Ulvedal had the honors of christening the first plane to arrive. Photo from The Boeing Company. crews flew the planes “right out of the factory” at Wichita, Kan., said Sims, a former B52 electronic warfare officer in an interview for The Minot Daily News in July 2018.

18 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

Foote’s former wife named the “Peace Persuader” in a “Name the Plane” contest but because she was part of the Air Force family, she requested the prizes go to the second-

MinotDailyNews.com • June 2020 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • 19

Congratulations on your

65TH

ANNIVERSARY

place winner, Murray Sagsveen, a teenager from Lansford who submitted the name “The New Dawn.” The contest, promoted by the base and the Minot Jaycees, drew 3,697 entries, including some from Alaska, Canada and Florida. As the first aircrew at Minot AFB, Sims, a former B-52 electronic warfare officer, said they started the bomb squadron there. Within five months after the first B-52H arrived, the base received its first Hound Dog missile to give the B-52 its first standoff capability. The Minot wing had the largest single wing complement of Hound Dog missiles in the fleet, said retired Master Sgt. Paul Engeldinger, of Burlington, who was assigned to the 5th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron.

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20 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

About a year after the first B-52 arrived at Minot Air Force Base, in 1962 Maj. Clyde Evely headed a crew that gained notoriety in a B-52. Operation Persian Rug was a B-52 flight halfway around the world from Okinawa, Japan, to Madrid, Spain – 12,519 miles – without refueling, according to The Minot Daily News in January 1962. The flight set a distance flight and other records for the Minot AFB plane and aircrew. On Nov. 8, 1962, the last B-52H bomber (tail number 611040) to come off the assembly line arrived at Minot Air Force Base, joining the 4136th Strategic Wing, now the 5th Bomb Wing. The plane arrived at the Minot base on Oct. 26, 1962. It was the 744th B-52H produced by Boeing, The Minot Daily News reported. With a variety of aircraft in place at Minot AFB – fighters, bombers, tankers, jet trainers, C-47 cargo planes and helicopters – now the base would take another step, this time into the intercontinental ballistic missile world.

ENTERING ICBM WORLD

Submitted Photo

A missile transporter erector is shown traveling through

an area community in this undated Minot Air Force Base The Air Force selected land for photo. The 741st Strategic Missile Squadron at Minot the missile complex in 1961. Construction began on Jan. 12, AFB was the first operational Minuteman III squadron in 1962, on the new Minuteman I inDecember 1971. The Minuteman III’s replaced the Mintercontinental ballistic missile comuteman I’s in the Minot missile field. plex covering several counties in northwest and north central North Dakota. By April 1964, all 150 missiles were in place and ready to go, if needed. A few years later a change would come to the missile field when the Minuteman I ICBMs were replaced by the Minuteman III ICBMs, the current missiles in the Minot missile field. The Air Force had selected the 91st Strategic Missile Wing to become the first MDN File Photo wing to convert to the Minot Air Force Base welMinuteman III ICBM. comes home the 91st Strategic The Minuteman III Missile Wing in May 1978 after “tripled striking power and enhanced the crediwinning a top award. Both the bility of the Strategic Air Minot AFB missile and bomb Command deterrent wings have won many awards force,” according to over the years. Minot AFB history. The 741st Strategic Missile Squadron beEloise Ogden/MDN came the first operational Minuteman III This is a squadron in December scene at a 1971 and the entire launch wing converted by Defacility in cember 1971. the Minot Boeing built the namissile tion’s Minuteman missile for the U.S. Air Force in field in the early 1960s and continues to sustain the program. 2008. The Minuteman III is as fast as a seismic wave, traveling up to four miles per second and up to 15,000 miles per hour. Initially a nine-year program starting in the 1980s, Rivet MILE – the Minuteman Integrated Life Extension program – modification program for missile support systems and facilities has upgraded the missile infrastructure for years. Eloise Ogden/MDN

Boeing built the nation’s Minuteman missile for the U.S. Air Force in the early 1960s and continues to sustain the program. Shown in this 2008 photo is a missle alert facility in the Minot missile field.

MinotDailyNews.com • June 2020 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • 21

MDN File Photos

LEFT: First of the K-9 sentry dogs to arrive at Minot Air Force Base peer from car windows shown in this September 1971 photo. With them are their handlers, Airman 1st Class Larry Kleft, left, and Airman 1st Class Howard Kellogg, both of Fairchild AFB in Washington who will train Minot AFB security police as handlers. Thirteen dogs are to go on patrol duty. RIGHT: Minot Air Force Base’s K-9 sections sentry dogs will perform at the base’s open house on Sept. 29, 1974.

SENTRY DOGS ASSIGNED

The first sentry dogs assigned to Minot AFB arrived in September 1971, according to The Minot Daily News. The dogs, all German Shepherds, would go on general patrol duty at the base. They would be used to patrol the flight line, in the housing area, along the perimeters of the installation and ride in military police cars on occasion with their handlers. MDN File Photo

John Sinn, left, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Lt. Col. Thomas Reynolds are shown at the site of construction for a cruise missile facility at Minot Air Force Base in August 1986.

FIRST FOR 906TH

A special crew from Minot AFB’s 906th Air Refueling Squadron had the honor of performing the first refueling mission of a B-1 bomber for the squadron. The mission took place over the Pacific after the Minot crew, led by Lt. Col. Donald G. Krause, commander of the 906th, had flown their KC-135 tanker to March AFB in California for a briefing, The Minot Daily News reported in May 1976. 22 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

VIETNAM WAR The 5th Bombardment Wing personnel saw combat over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Its crews attacked targets and provided refueling support in the region while supporting American and allied air and ground forces during Operations Arc Light, Linebacker II and Young Tiger, according to Minot AFB history. The 5th Bomb Wing added the Short Range Attack Missile (SRAM) to its arsenal in September 1973, and later equipped its bombers with an improved offensive avionics system for more accurate bombing. Shortly after, the SRAM replaced the Hound Dog missile which was retired in 1975, according to retired Master Sgt. Paul Engeldinger of Burlington.

File Photo

A special crew from the 906th Air Refueling Squadron at Minot Air Force Base performed the first refueling mission for the squadron of a B-1 bomber in 1976. The mission took place over the Pacific after the Minot crew had flown their KC135 tanker to March AFB, Calif., for a briefing.

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MDN File Photo

Family housing at Minot Air Force Base included units like the one shown in this June 1973 photo.

FACILITIES FOR ON-BASE LIFE Facilities for military members and also their family members, many of them living on the base, were completed and opened as time went on. Personnel celebrated the first church service in July 1958, and the Base Exchange opened in September 1958, according to Minot AFB history. The first housing units on base opened about two years later. In 1959, Minot Air Force Base leased Minot’s John Moses Veterans Memorial Hospital from the Veterans Administration in northwest Minot (now site of the Burdick Job Corps Center). But with a clinic on the base itself and the main hospital 14 miles away, logistics were difficult. Sixteen years later in June 1985, ground was broken at Minot AFB for a $20.4 million composite medical facility to serve military members and their families, veterans and Public Health Service recipients, according to The Minot Daily News. When the three-floor, 178,000-square-foot hospital was completed in 1988, named 91st Strategic Hospital, it was designated for 47 hospital beds, but in an emergency could be expanded to accommodate up to 75. The hospital opened for patients on April 11, 1988. In later years, the hospital portion was discontinued and now the facility has offices and clinics of the 5th Medical Group. Those requiring hospitalization are referred to hospitals including Trinity Hospital in Minot. Many other facilities have been added to the base over the years as well.

MDN File Photos

A hospital was built at Minot Air Force Base, shown in these 1988 photos. Prior, the base leased John Moses Veterans Memorial Hospital in Minot from the Veterans Administration.

LARGE MILITARY INSTALLATION

By 1964, Minot AFB was ranked as one of the biggest military installations in the nation. It had a military and civilian population of 18,500 men, women and children who lived on or worked on the giant facility, including 5,990 officers and enlisted members, accordBUILDINGS HONOR ing to an Aug. 12, 1964, report in The Minot INDIVIDUALS Daily News. Of that 18,500 number, 11,345 A number of buildings on Minot AFB are people resided in housing on the base and the named for individuals who have served or remainder in Minot and the surrounding area. Aircraft assigned at the base as of 1967 inbeen civilian employees at the base plus those Based on the 1960 census, this made the included: with nationwide recognition. stallation the seventh largest “city” in North - 20 F-106 interceptors On Aug. 12, 2013, a formal rededication of Dakota from a population viewpoint. - 15 B-52 bombers Richardson Hall was held at the dormitory Three years later, in a 1967 report issued - 15 KC-135 tankers named for Capt. William D. Richardson, who by the base called “Report to the Stockhold- 3 T-33 jet trainers was killed in December 1963, when his F-106 ers,” the base was even bigger than in 1964. - 1 T-29 training plane crashed near Flasher, southwest of Bismarck. There were 18,771 military, civilians and - 3 C-47 cargo craft Richardson’s wife, Joan Richardson Singleton, dependents living, working or associated with - 10 helicopters two daughters and nephew were among those the base, including 16,872 at Minot AFB and Total: 67 aircraft. attending the ceremony. 1,899 at the radar site south of Minot. 24 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

By 1982, then Minot State College was offering about 60 extension classes at Minot AFB during the Minot Air Force Base is a self-contained “city” with winter quarter, with classes meeting at night on base or schools and other educational opportunities offered. downtown, Saturdays and during the lunch hour. Minot Public Schools operates the two elementary Today, MSU offers classes at the base, online and on schools and middle school on base. Mark Vollmer, sucampus in several flexible formats. Many military memperintendent of the Minot Public School System, said in bers assigned to Minot AFB and their family members a story in The Minot Daily News that the teachers at the have attended and graduated from the university. base schools are essentially Minot Public Schools’ The MSU Military Resource Center also provides teachers. services to many affiliated or formerly affiliated with “We have used this situation and this way of handling Minot AFB. education on Minot Air Force Base for many, many Among educational programs offered at the base inyears and it has been very successful for everyone include for a number of years missile crew members volved,” he said. could sign up for the University of North Dakota MinuteMinot State University had an early role in providing man Education program to work on a master’s degree. education to airmen at Minot Air Force Base. The program, phased out Air Force-wide a number of Three night courses taught by instructors from what years ago, was organized at the request of Strategic Air was then named Minot State Teachers College were Command. made available to airmen starting in September 1959. “The United States Air Force felt when you pulled Two of the courses were for college credit and the other missile duty it would be boring and tiresome in the capfor high school credit. sule. They wanted an enticement,” said Tom Olofson, of Professors Harold Aleshire and Wilbur E. Schville Annandale, Va., a missile combat crew commander at taught English and psychology classes to enlisted Minot from 1963-67, in a July 1987 story in The Minot members and officers in the 906th Air Refueling Daily News. Squadron, The Minot Daily News reported in May 1962. That enticement was to provide the missile crewmen Several more classes were added in May 1962 and the the opportunity to advance their educational level during classes were held in the SAGE building. Military detheir tour of duty. Many of them graduated from the propendents and civilians could also attend the night gram. classes.

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MinotDailyNews.com • June 2020 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • 25

CHAMBER AND MINOT AFB base activities, International Military Ball The Minot Chamber of Commerce, now Minot Area Chamber of Commerce, and its membership played an important role in establishing the Air Force base at Minot in the 1950s. The Chamber of today continues its support of Minot AFB and its men and women who are assigned to the base, their families and the civilians employed at the base. The Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee sponsors or supports a number of programs and other activities, including the Team Minot Sportsmen’s Feed held for more than 50 years. The late S.L. “Bud” Olsen, executive vice president of the Chamber for many years, and the late Kenton Bischke, a pilot and operator of a spraying service who was a Chamber member, came up with the idea of having a wild game dinner for enlisted military members at the base. Olsen told The Minot Daily News in an interview the first game dinner was so successful that base officers got interested in attending. Every ticket sold entitles an airman to free admission to the event. The Chamber also sponsors or supports other activities including the annual Prairie Warrior Auction held for more than 30 years to raise funds for

also held for many years, and Military Day at the Parks, sponsored along with Minot Parks and Roosevelt Park Zoo and the Honorary Commander’s Program. The Chamber is the downtown gathering site for cookies going to the base’s annual Cookie Drive for first-term airmen who are unable to go home for the holidays. Task Force 21 was established in 1997 to advocate for continuation of Minot Air Force Base and to actively search for new missions.

AIR FORCE APPRECIATION

The Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee dedicated a B-52H model on June 5, 2014, that now “flies” in front of the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot. The model is a token of the community’s appreciation of the U.S. Air Force, according to the June 6, 2014, edition of The Minot Daily News. Another model is located near the bomb wing headquarters building on base. the Boeing Co. also contributed to the project. The air museum also has an outdoor display of planes representing those flown by the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron and other air base-related displays in the museum.

26 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

Eloise Ogden/MDN

From the left, U.S. Rep. Earl Pomeroy; Col. Alex Mezynski, Bruce Carlson, chairman of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Committee; John Kegley, of The Boeing Co.; and Don Larson, president of the Dakota Territory Air Museum’s board, unveil a plaque at the dedication of a B-52 model at the air museum in June 2014.

AIRCRAFT CRASHES CHANGING TO STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND As Strategic Air Command’s mission continued to grow at Minot, ownership passed from Air Defense Command to Strategic Air Command. Minot AFB’s organizational makeup changed in mid-1968 when the 91st Strategic Missile Wing replaced the 455th Strategic Missile Wing, and the 5th Bombardment Wing, now 5th Bomb Wing, replaced the 450th Bombardment Wing. These changes were in line with Air Force policy in keeping active those units with the most illustrious histories.

Minot AFB did not escape the years without having aircraft crashes, including a few in which, unfortunately, lives were lost. On March 10, 1969, a more unusual crash happened when a $3 million F-106 Delta Dart plunged through the ice into Lake Sakakawea about five miles northwest of New Town in the old Missouri River channel. Pilot Capt. Merlin B. Riley Jr., managed to parachute out of his stricken aircraft when he encountered trouble while flying over the reservoir, The Minot Daily News reported in March 1969. Riley didn’t appear to have any injuries but received a medical checkup.The crash formed a hole of about 40-feet in diameter. Divers have over the years attempted to retrieve the plane’s wreckage from its watery grave some 70 or so feet below the lake but no one has been successful. On Jan. 4, 2017, another unusual incident occurred when an engine dropped from a Minot AFB B-52 bomber during a training mission. The engine fell in an unpopulated area 25 miles northeast of the base.

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LOCAL AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION CHAPTER Aimed at effecting a closer working relationship between Minot AFB and the local community, the Minot Air Force Association, now Gen. David C. Jones Chapter, came into existence in December 1971, according to The Minot Daily News. Headed by A.R.Weinhandl as president, the Minot group is affiliated with the national organization. Other officers were J.H. Hoeven, vice president; Leo Makelky, secretary; and R.W. Auran, treasurer. In charge of committees were James Fisher, membership; Warren Sands, program; and Raymond C. Dobson, publicity.

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BASE AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES The base is important to Minot and surrounding communities and the communities are important to the base. Nearly 50 years ago the first Thanksgiving Day program held at the base for local senior citizens got its start in 1970 when Col. Grover C. Graves Jr., commander of the then 91st Strategic Missile Wing (now 91st Missile Wing), called Claude “Bud” Ebert, then chief of Recreation Services at the base, to start a program for Minot’s senior citizens. Graves, arriving at the Minot base in August 1970, wanted the program to involve base personnel who were away from their families during the holiday. Later, the special day became designated “Day of Love.” Ebert and staff were instrumental in carrying out the program for many years. The program continues today.

Submitted Photo

Susan Wagers, right, 5th Force Support Squadron special programs coordinator, crowns Leonard Lund, of Minot, the eldest man attending the annual Thanksgiving Day of Love at Minot Air Force Base, on Nov. 23, 2017. Lund, a World War II veteran and former longtime Minot Daily News northwest editor/staff writer, was born in 1923. Minot AFB photo by Airman 1st Class Alyssa M. Akers.

A WORLDWIDE TALENT COMPETITION

MDN File Photo

Staff Sgt. James Davis of Robins Air Force Base, Ga., accepts congratulations from fellow contestants as he and members of the Southland vocal group make their way to the stage in the Minot Municipal Auditorium to accept awards for winning in their category at the Air Force Worldwide Talent Competition in May 1985. It was the first time in the contest’s 32 years it was held in North Dakota and the first time ever held in a civic facility instead of on a base.

28 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

Minot and the base had the honor in May 1985 to be selected to host the Air Force Worldwide Talent Competition at the Minot Municipal Auditorium. It was the first time in the contest’s 32 years that it was held in North Dakota and the first time ever to be held at a civic facility instead of on a base. Much credit was given to Claude “Bud” Ebert, chief of Recreation Services at the base, a longtime booster of the military and community. People packed the auditorium for the nights of the competition. Minot was again selected to host the competition in 1986. For many years Tops in Blue, the Air Force’s premier traveling entertainment showcase, gave performances in Minot. The Bud Ebert Park at Minot AFB is named in honor of Claude “Bud” Ebert.

MinotDailyNews.com • June 2020 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • 29

DINING HALL INCIDENT

HONORING TWO LOCAL LEADERS A.R. Weinhandl, a Minot banker and community leader known for his support and promotion of the base over the years, was often known to the military as the “Father of Minot AFB.” He was honored in July 1973 with a parade and address attended by more than 2,000 participants and observers on the base, according to The Minot Daily News on July 3, 1973. Weinhandl and his wife, Ethel, died in a vehicle accident in June 1973. Three years later, the base paid tribute to Ray Dobson, publisher of The Minot Daily News, on May 14, 1976, when Raymond C. Dobson Day at the base was proclaimed with a retreat ceremony, unveiling of a bronze plaque, dedication of a tree in his honor and a testimonial dinner. Dobson was honored for the “quality of his journalistic enterprise, ‘The Minot Daily News,’” and his long-time work to establish and better the operation of Minot Air Force Base, according to The Minot Daily News in May 1976.

Minot Air Force Base captured national media attention when on Jan. 16, 1975, a group of about 27 young black airmen, male and female, held a “sit in” at the base dining hall for several hours to draw attention to what they considered the plight of blacks being stationed in the area. Following the “sit in,” the black airmen and base commanders began negotiating sessions to iron out some of the difficulties and what led to the incident. A human relations committee made up of local citizens, blacks from the base and other individuals was set up in Minot to try to alleviate some of the problems, such as having stores carry more merchandise (i.e. clothing styles, magazines more specifically for blacks), according to The Minot Daily News in January and April 1975.

57TH AIR DIVISION Submitted Photo

A.R. Weinhandl, a community leader known for his support and promotion of Minot Air Force Base over the years, was often known to the military as the “Father of Minot AFB. Following his death in a traffic accident, he was honored at the base in July 1973.

After the 1980 Iran hostage crisis, SAC assigned the 57th Air Division , which had been on base since the mid-1970s, to organize the Strategic Projection Force. The 57th became the first division in SAC to implement this concept. The 5th Bomb Wing’s B-52H fleet became the spearhead of this force, able to provide conventional warfare anywhere in the world. In the late 1980s, the 57th became the host unit, providing logistical, security, administrative and other support services to the 5th Bomb Wing, 91st Strategic Missile Wing and tenant organizations.

HAPPY 65TH ANNIVERSARY MINOT AIR FORCE BASE!

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30 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

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FIRST FEMALE PILOT AT BASE Capt. Michele Woolman of the 906th Aerial Refueling Squadron became the first woman to ever hold the rating of pilot at Minot AFB. This was actually the third milestone for Woolman, who also was the first woman assigned to the squadron and the first woman co-pilot for the 906th, according to The Minot Daily News in October 1984.

MDN File Photo

The first of two F-15 Eagle fighters leaves Minot Air Force Base in January 1978, headed for the East Coast. The 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was deactivated and the 18 fighter planes were transferred to Otis National Guard Base in Massachusetts.

CHANGES IN AIRCRAFT Changes in aircraft and weapons took place at the base during the next years including: – The 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS) converted from the F-106 to the F-15 Eagles in the mid-1980s. The F-15s and the 5th FIS were at Minot AFB until the spring of 1988 when the 5th was deactivated. – The Bell HH-1H helicopters arrived at the base in January 1980 to replace the previous fleet.

HIGH-LEVEL HONOR The Air Force selected Minot AFB for the Commander-in-Chief’s Installation Excellence Award in 1988. The presidential award recognizes those military installations that combine mission excellence with a concern for people to produce working and living conditions truly above other installations.

MDN File Photo

Senior Master Sgt. William Sudol, aeromedical technician with John Moses Air Force Regional Hospital in Minot, applies oxygen to “survivor” Staff Sgt. Kenneth Foxworth during a Minot Air Force Base helicopter crew’s rescue training mission in December 1985. Foxworth, on temporary duty from Reese AFB, Texas, volunteered to be the patient for the rescue.

MinotDailyNews.com • June 2020 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • 31

DEPLOYMENTS

MDN File Photo

A public hearing was held in 1988 in Minot on a plan to place Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles on the U.S. rail network. Minot Air Force Base and nine other sites were considered for basing but the plan was scrapped due to the end of the Cold War.

RAIL GARRISON

Minot AFB was one of 10 Strategic Air Command sites considered in the 1980s for the Peacekeeper Rail Garrison plan to place 50 Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles on the U.S. rail network. Hearings on the missiles’ basing were held at Minot, Grand Forks and other areas but the plan was canceled due to defense cuts after the end of the Cold War.

32 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

In the 1990s, the 5th Bomb Wing deployed aircraft and personnel to the Middle East for the victory over Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. Months later, a deployment occurred to England in support of Operation Allied Force over the former Republic of Yugoslavia, according to Minot Air Force Base history. Following the terrorist attacks against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, the 5th Bomb Wing deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Flying from a forward operating location, bomber crews attacked strategic targets in Afghanistan to topple the Taliban regime. In 2003, the 5th Bomb Wing deployed about 550 people and 14 B-52s to U.S. European Command region in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. “During the war, the B-52s flew more than 120 combat missions and logged more than 1,600 combat flying hours. The bombers dropped more than 3 million pounds of weaponry, including conventional air-launched cruise missiles, joint direct attack munitions, gravity weapons, laser-guided bombs and leaflet dispensers,” Minot AFB history said.

MDN File Photo

Tech. Sgt. Dale Robinson communicates with the crew during pre-flight operations aboard the last KC-135 to leave Minot Air Force Base in April 1994.

ACTIVATED, DEACTIVATED Units were activated, deactivated, names changed, etc., over the years of the base. The 5th Bomb Wing continued to modernize in October 1989, when it added the AirLaunched Cruise Missile to its arsenal, according to Minot AFB history. After Desert Storm, the base prepared for changes as the Air Force directed a major reorganization. In June 1991, the 57th Air Division was inactivated and the 5th Bomb Wing assumed host base responsibilities. As the Cold War came to an end, aircraft came off alert status in September 1991, after 35 years of continuous alert. That same year the B-52s tailgunners’ position was eliminated. In June 1992, the newly formed Air Combat Command replaced Strategic Air Command as host command. Both the 91st Missile Wing and 5th Bomb Wing came under the newly formed Air Combat Command. The following summer, the 91st was reassigned to Air Force Space Command. The 5th Bomb Wing gained the Advanced Cruise Missiles for the B-52 in the spring 1993, according to Minot AFB history. The base lost one of its oldest units – the 906th Air Refueling Squadron – in January 1994. The final KC-135 left Minot three months later. The 91st Missile Wing completed its first major upgrade on the command, control and communication systems of the Minuteman III ICBM’s launch and control centers in August 1996. The wing did it with the new Rapid Execution and Combat Targeting upgrade program. MDN File Photo

Members of the 23rd Bomb Squadron including Capt. Gary Harms, aircraft commander, said they were stunned by the speed in which crews were taken off alert after President Bush’s speech. Planes were taken off alert in 1991.

MDN File Photo

Staff Sgt. Thomas Seabolt spent his last day on the job. In 1991, Seabolt’s job, a B-52 tailgunner, was eliminated by the Air Force.

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REINVIGORATION OF THE NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE

FLINN CASE Minot AFB became the focus of a court-martial when Lt. Kelly Flinn, the first female B-52 pilot in the Air Force, was facing a court-martial for charges including adultery, disobeying an order and lying to offical investigators. National news media flocked to Minot to cover the court-martial held at the base. At the end, Flinn was allowed to resign with a general discharge instead of going through the court-martial.

START

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) entered into force on Dec. 5, 1994 and baseline inspections took place between March and June 1995 including the first inspection at Minot AFB during that time. As part of preparations for START II – a START mock exhibition involving Air Force strategic nuclear weapons-capable aircraft took place at Minot Air Force Base on Aug. 12, 1998. A 17-person OnSite Inspection Agency team from Washington, D.C., and Travis AFB, Calif., served as mock Russian inspectors during Minot’s practice exhibition.

BRAC

Minot AFB has undergone many changes throughout the years including surviving base realignment and closure commissions, better known as BRAC.

In 2009 and 2010, the 91st Missile Wing, followed by the 5th Bomb Wing became part of Air Force Global Strike Command, the Air Force’s newest major command to focus on the nation’s nuclear enterprise. Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, a former Minot missile wing commander, became the first commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. The brand new 23,000-person organization merged responsibility for all U.S. nuclear-capable bombers and landbased missiles under a single chain of command. On Dec. 1, 2009, members of the 91st Missile Wing made history when they officially transferred from Air Force Space Command to Air Force Global Strike Command. On Feb. 1, 2010, the 5th Bomb Wing officially transferred from Air Combat Command to Air Force Global Strike Command. North Dakota’s congressional delegation announced in early 2008, Minot AFB would get an additional bomber squadron with 1,000 new personnel to be stationed at the base. The Air Force had announced it planned to keep the nation’s total B-52 force at 76 aircraft instead of cutting the fleet to 56 aircraft as originally proposed. The number of combat-ready aircraft at Minot AFB would increase from 12 to 22. Some people for the new squadron were expected in 2009 but the major group would not arrive until 2010, according to plans. The 69th Bomb Squadron joined the 23rd Bomb Squadron at the Minot base. Earlier, the 72nd Bomb Squadron had been inactivated due to 1995 force structure and realignment.

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Submitted Photos by Chief Master Sgt. David H. Lipp, U.S. Air National Guard

LEFT: Senior Airman Austin Schreiner of the North Dakota Air National Guard’s 219th Security Forces Squadron prepares to fire his M-9 pistol at the small arms firing range at Minot Air Force Base in this December 2019. BELOW: Master Sgt. Shawn Wegner, left, and Staff Sgt. William Tilton, members of the North Dakota Air National Guard’s 219th Security Forces Squadron, operate a high-tech unstable gunnery training individual simulator at Minot Air Force Base shown in this December 2019 photo.

NEW BASE MISSION The North Dakota Air National Guard’s 219th Security Forces Squadron, activated on Oct. 18, 2008, became the first Air National Guard squadron whose mission is to support missile security in the missile fields with its missile wing counterparts, according to The Minot Daily News in February 2010. The 219th, part of the N.D. Air National Guard’s 119th Wing, is a geographically separate unit from the N.D. Air National Guard headquartered in Fargo, according to the N.D. Air National Guard. The 219th at Minot AFB was the first Air Guard security forces unit working in the missile field role with an Air Force base.

NEW UNIT The 5th Bomb Wing’s 705th Munitions Squadron activated in December 2011, replacing the 17th Munitions Squadron, an Air Force Materiel Command Unit, according to Minot AFB history.

RETURNING FROM GUAM

Submitted Photo

Airmen from the 5th Bomb Wing deployed to Guam return to Minot Air Force Base in April 2020. It was the last Continuous Bomber Presence mission held in the Indo-Pacific region based out of Andersen AFB, Guam. Minot AFB photo by Airman 1st Class Josh W. Strickland.

Many Minot AFB people continue to deploy to areas around the world. In early 2017, B-52 bombers and more than 400 airmen from the 23rd Bomb Squadron and other units deployed to support U.S. Central Command’s Operation Inherent Resolve in the Middle East. The U.S. Central Command’s combined joint task force operation was done to eliminate ISIS terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. It was the first time in 12 years Minot AFB bombers had deployed to the Middle East for combat operations. Beginning in 2004, B-52 bombers from Minot AFB and Barksdale AFB, La., shared non-stop rotations in support of U.S. Pacific Command’s Continuous Bomber Presence (CBP) mission based at Andersen AFB in Guam. The mission provided opportunities to strengthen regional alliances and long-standing military-to-military partnerships. The Air Force ended the mission on April 16, 2020, with the 69th Bomb Squadron from Minot AFB being the last B52 unit to deploy to Guam. Now strategic bombers will no longer be based outside the continental U.S.

MinotDailyNews.com • June 2020 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • 35

Photos by Eloise Ogden/MDN

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates became the first secretary of defense to visit Minot Air Force Base when he arrived at the base on Dec. 2, 2008.

HISTORY-MAKING POLAR FLIGHT A B-52 from the 5th Bomb Wing made a historic flight from Minot AFB over the North Pole on Aug. 21, 2011. The crew of airmen from the 23rd Bomb Squadron achieved the historic high flight over the geographical North Pole in a B-52H Stratofortress, while en route to the 2011 Moscow International Air and Space Aviation Salon in Russia, which took place Aug. 1621. The first time a B-52 landed in Russia was March 3, 1992, as part of a goodwill tour to mark the 50th anniversary of the 8th Air Force, as well as the anniversary of Soviet long-range aviation.

36 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

MANY DISTINGUISHED VISITORS VISIT BASE As the Defense Department’s only dual wing nuclear-capable installation (the Navy has submarine-launched ballistic missiles – the third leg of the nuclear triad), Minot Air Force Base leaders greet many distinguished visitors. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates became the first secretary of defense to visit Minot AFB when he arrived at the base on Dec. 2, 2008, to tour the installation and speak to several thousand airmen in a B-52 bomber hangar. Gates’ visit came months after nuclear weapons were accidentally loaded on a B-52 bomber at Minot AFB and flown to Barksdale AFB, La., in August 2007. The plane was from Barksdale AFB. Based on everything he’s seen in past months, Gates said when speaking at Minot AFB, “I strongly believe the Air Force now is moving in the right direction” and that it is “reclaiming the standards of excellence,” The Minot Daily News reported in its Dec. 2, 2008, edition. Since Gates’ visit, several other defense secretaries have visited the base, including Chuck Hagel, James Mattis and Mark Esper. Vice President Mike Pence visited Minot AFB in October 2017. Secretaries of the Air Force and other high-level military officials and other distinguished visitors have visited the base over the years.

Eloise Ogden/MDN

A crew of airmen from the 23rd Bomb Squadron at Minot Air Force Base achieved a historic flight over the geographical North Pole in a B-52H in August 2011.

RUNWAY CONSTRUCTION

Eloise Ogden/MDN

The base’s runway was used for nearly 60 years before a major runway construction project began. On Sept. 29, 2014, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the completion of that project. The three-phase, $67 million project began in 2012 and spanned three years. The newly reconstructed runway is aimed to support another 50 years of service. Col. Jason Armagost, commander of the 5th Bomb Wing, said the runway, originally built in 1957, lasted 27 years longer than it was originally planned to last. “But this runway will be a legacy of the hard work here and the community support as we go forward into the future for the Air Force and innovations that are coming,” The Minot Daily News reported in its Sept. 30, 2014, edition.

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Workers work on the project to replace the middle section of Minot Air Force Base’s runway, shown July 9, 2014. The west and east ends were completed in the previous two years. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new runway was held in September 2014.

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Eloise Ogden/MDN

Family housing at Minot Air Force Base has been replaced with new homes with modern standards. Dormitories for unaccompanied airmen have been refurbished and others built new.

MINOT AFB CONTINUES TO BUILD AND REVITALIZE

When a new weapon system comes in, it also brings new construction. Dormitories for unaccompanied airmen have been refurbished and others built new. Family housing has been replaced with new homes with modern standards. “When I started here we had 2,461 houses which was the largest housing village in CONUS (continental U.S.),” said Kevin Nelson, in a July 2013 interview with The Minot Daily News. Nelson held various positions with the civil engineer squadron, including deputy base engineer. He also was director for installation support for the base’s 5th Mission Support Group. When he retired in 2013, he was the highest level civilian at the Minot base– a federal Civil Service GS-14, The Base Exchange and the Commissary have been replaced with new buildings, among the many construction projects including renovations completed throughout the years. Minot Air Force Base was the first base to privatize utilities. The natural gas distribution system (Montana-Dakota Utilities), electrical distribution system (Verendrye Electric), family housing (Balfour-Beatty) and water and wastewater utility systems (Base Utilities Inc. of Minot) all have been privatized through agreements with private companies.

Thank you to all the men and women who have served at the Minot Air Force Base for your dedication to our country and communities.

CONGRATULATIONS ON 65 YEARS OF BEING PART OF OUR COMMUNITY.

38 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

‘GHOST RIDER’ RETURNS On Sept. 27, 2016, “Ghost Rider,” the first B-52 (tail number 1007), to ever be removed from long-term storage (the Boneyard), with the 309th Aerospace and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., was restored and then returned to flying operations at Minot AFB, where the plane had been assigned earlier, according to Minot AFB information.

FIFTH VISIT Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James visited Minot AFB in January 2017, her fifth visit to the base since becoming secretary of the Air Force three years earlier. “I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the Air Force that I have been five times,” she said. Immediately when assuming the position of secretary of the Air Force, she addressed some nuclear enterprise issues, problems and challenges. After meeting with leaders and military members at the Minot base, she said, “Morale is up, training has improved greatly in the enterprise, there is a good sense across the board that this is an extremely important mission and it’s going to be enduring.”

Submitted Photo

Capt. Ben Shea became the first reserve airman in October 2019 in the history of intercontinental ballistic missiles in the U.S. Air Force to complete a 24-hour “alert” at a missile alert facility near Max. Minot AFB photo by Senior Airman Alyssa Akers.

RESERVIST PULLS ALERT

Capt. Ben Shea, a 91st Operations Support Squadron Minuteman III combat crew commander at Minot Air Force Base, became the first reserve airman in October 2019 in the 60-year history of intercontinental ballistic missiles in the U.S. Air Force to complete a 24-hour “alert” at a missile alert facility near Max. Shea had pulled over 200 alerts while on active duty in the Air Force.

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COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Submitted Photo by Pete B. Ladendorf

A B-52H Stratofortress from Minot Air Force Base flies over Trinity Hospital in Minot on May 18, 2020, as part of a flyover including medical facilities in Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks to honor front-line responders, essential employees and volunteers in the fight against COVID-19.

On March 25, 2020, the secretary of the Air Force directed Health Protection Condition (HPCON) Charlie for all U.S. Air Force installations to further prevent the spread of COVID19. In response, Minot AFB implemented HPCON Charlie. More COVID-19 measures followed.

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40 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

CURRENT POPULATION, ECONOMIC IMPACT Current population of the base is 12,041 personnel of which 5,637 are military members.There are also 1,099 civilians employed at the base. The base has an economic impact of $559.3 million on the local area, according to the fiscal year 2019 base economic impact analysis.

Submitted Photo by Minot AFB Senior Airman Jonathan McElderry

Submitted Photo by Minot AFB Airman Jesse Jenny

TOP LEFT: Senior Airman Benjamin Robinson, 5th Security Forces Squadron response force member, guards a C-17 Globemaster III at Minot Air Force Base on March 14, 2019. Submitted Photo by Minot AFB photo by Airman 1st Class Caleb S. Kimmell

ABOVE LEFT: A member of the 5th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordinance disposal team scans a field for a low flying drone at Minot Air Force Base on Aug. 8, 2019. Instructors flew high-speed drones while airmen took turns looking for them on the horizon.

ABOVE: 1st Lt. Alexander Hansen, right, 742nd Missile Squadron mission lead, and 2nd Lt. Elizabeth Jordan, 742nd Missile Squadron missileer, process a technical order checklist on Jan. 15, 2019.

Airmen with the 91st Missile Maintenance Squadron electromechanical team perform final equipment checks before battery operations commence near Minot Air Force Base on March 19, 2019. Battery maintenance is a vital step in keeping the Minuteman III’s tertiary power source functioning as America’s 24/7 deterrent force. Submitted Photo by Minot AFB Senior Airman Ashley Boster

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MinotDailyNews.com • June 2020 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • 41

B-52s, ICBMs WEAPONS SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION The B-52 bomber and the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system have gone through continuous upgrades to take them into future years.

The Air Force is looking ahead to the future of the base’s weapon systems. A new Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program or GBSD will replace the Minuteman III ICBM system at ICBM bases including Minot AFB. Air Force officials announced in 2018 that Minot AFB and Barksdale AFB, La., will continue to have the B-52 bomber through 2050. The B-52s engines will be replaced along with other upgrades. The B-21, the next-generation bomber, will replace the B-1 and B-2. Final retirement of the B-1B and B-2 is conditionally based on the delivery of operational B-21s.

NEW HELICOPTERS Minot AFB and other intercontinental ballistic missile bases will be getting the MH139A helicopter to replace the Vietnam-era UH-1N Hueys that provide security and support for the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missile fields. Air Force Global Strike Command accepted the first delivery of the MH139A with its new livery on Dec. 19, 2019, and announced the name of the helicopter will be “Grey Wolf,” according to a December 2019 Minot Daily News story. To prepare for the new helicopters, a Helicopter Operations and Tactical Response Force Facility will be constructed at Minot AFB. The facility will house all the operations and maintenance for the helicopters and the tactical response force that responds to the missile field. Groundbreaking for the facility is tentatively scheduled for late summer 2020.

Submitted Photo

The MH-139A Grey Wolf was unveiled and named during a ceremony at Duke Field, Fla., on Dec. 19, 2019, shown in this U.S Air Force photo. Minot Air Force Base and other Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile bases will be getting the new helicopters.

42 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

From the left, Mark Jantzer, John MacMartin, Brekka Kramer and Randy Burckhard are shown with the Barksdale Trophy after they unveiled it at the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Committee meeting in February, 2020. The Minot community received the trophy for its support to Air Force Global Strike Command wings at Minot Air Force Base. Eloise Ogden/MDN

RECOGNITION The Minot community was recognized for its support to the Air Force Global Strike Command wings at Minot AFB with its award of the Barksdale Trophy in November 2019. The trophy is awarded by the community of Shreveport and Bossier. La., home of Global Strike Command and Barksdale AFB. “They are friends, neighbors, and for some of us, they are family. They fight for their country and make sacrifices, so we don’t have to. Because of their dedication to our country and their sacrifices, the Minot community has embraced Minot Air Force Base and the people who make it great. The men and women of Minot Air Force Base are part of our community and we are proud to have them here.” – From Minot Area Chamber of Commerce Barksdale Trophy nomination Bob Herrington of Minot, a retired chief master sergeant, spent 30 years in the Air Force, including at Minot AFB. He’s active in the Minot community and at the base. He said the relationship between Minot AFB and the local community has grown over the years. He said many businesses and organizations in Minot and area have been “super supporters” of the base. “The base gives to the town and the town gives to the base,” he said in an interview with The Minot Daily News. The sign over the main gate, Magic City Gate, says “Only the Best Come North.” Thousands of military members and others have passed through that gate and many more will well into the future.

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MinotDailyNews.com • June 2020 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • 43

Submitted Photo by Minot AFB Airman 1st Class Heather Leveille

Airman 1st Class Annie Gomez, 91st Missile Security Forces Squadron airman, drives a Humvee at Minot Air Force Base on May 7, 2019. The driver is responsible for navigating through various terrains, while simultaneously remaining vigilant to surroundings.

Submitted Photo by Minot AFB Senior Airman Jonathan McElderry

Members of the 91st Missile Maintenance Squadron facilities maintenance section perform maintenance at a launch facility near Minot Air Force Base on July 17, 2018.

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44 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

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Second from right, Vice President Mike Pence, with Gov. Doug Burgum, first right, is shown after leaving Air Force Two on Oct. 27, 2018, at Minot Air Force Base. In back, from left, are Col. Colin Connor, commander of the 91st Missile Wing, Sen. Kevin Cramer, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson and Sen. John Hoeven.

Submitted Photo by Minot AFB Justin T. Armstrong

Shaquille O’Neal, right, former professional basketball player, signs a name plaque held by 2nd Lt. Tyler Roten, 5th Maintenance Squadron fabrication flight commander, at Minot Air Force Base on Sept. 8, 2015. Dale Brown, former college basketball coach, and Sen. Kevin Cramer were with O’Neal for the visit.

HAPPY 65TH ANNIVERSARY! We would like to say thank you to our customer base and to the Military for all they do to defend and protect our country every day!

MinotDailyNews.com • June 2020 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • 45

Submitted Photo by Minot AFB Senior Airman Jonathan McElderry

Members of the 5th Security Forces Squadron military working dog section prepare to take off with the 54th Helicopter Squadron during flight familiarization training at Minot Air Force Base on Aug. 23, 2018. This was the first time the K-9 unit had flown with the 54th Helicopter Squadron.

Submitted Photo by Minot AFB Airman 1st Class Jessica Weissman

Airmen from the 5th Operations Support Squadron weather operations flight set up tactical meteorological equipment on the airfield at Minot Air Force Base on Nov. 8, 2016. The weather flight supports Minot AFB with weather condition updates for flight operations, ground operations and weapons movements.

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46 • Minot Air Force Base 65th Anniversary • June 2020 • MinotDailyNews.com

MDN File Photo

ABOVE: Minot Radar Station operated from the early 1950s to 1979 and then was reopened as a communication site for a time before it was officially deactivated in 1997.

Submitted Photo by Minot AFB

LEFT: A sign from Minot Air Force Base was posted to salute Minot and Ward County for the diamond jubilee observance in 1961.

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