Cold War Memories: Legislating a Historic Site - Archaeology Magazine Archive


Legislating a Historic Site	"Cold War Memories" May 3, 2000

Senate bill 382, the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Establishment Act of 1999, was passed by unanimous consent on March 25, 1999, and adopted and passed by the House on November 17, 1999.

Extract of Senate bill 382, the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Establishment Act of 1999, from Congressional Record--House, November 17, 1999:

Sec. 2 FINDINGS AND PURPOSE

(a) FINDINGS.--Congress finds that--

(1) the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile (referred to in this Act as "ICBM") launch control facility and launch facility known as "Delta 1" and "Delta 9", respectively, have national significance as the best preserved examples of the operational character of the American history during the Cold War;

(2) the facilities are symbolic of the dedication and preparedness exhibited by the missileers of the Air Force stationed throughout the upper Great Plains in remote and forbidding locations during the Cold War;

(3) the facilities provide a unique opportunity to illustrate the history and significance of the Cold War, the arms race, and ICBM development; and

(4) the National Park Service does not contain a unit that specifically commemorates or interprets the Cold War.

(b) PURPOSES.--The purposes of this Act are--

(1) to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the structures associated with the Minuteman II missile defense system;

(2) to interpret the historical role of the Minuteman II missile defense system--

(A) as a key component of America's strategic commitment to preserve world peace; and

(B) in the broader context of the Cold War; and

(3) to complement the interpretive programs relating to the Minuteman II missile defense system offered by the South Dakota Air and Space Museum at Ellsworth Air Force Base.

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