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ALASKA’S COLD WAR NUCLEAR SHIELD

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By Bob Raichle

For more than twenty years, the state of Alaska was thefirst stop for Soviet bombers on the way to the lower 48. Flying over Alaskawas the shortest distance between Soviet bomber bases in Russia and strategictargets in the lower 48. The United States recognized this threat andinitiated many programs to give early warning of a Soviet bomber attack and to defendagainst this attack. A prime example is the DEW (Distant Early Warning) lineof long range radars which gave the United States early warning of an impendingbomber attack. Another program is the NIKE HERCULES air defense system, a systemwhich provided a nuclear shield for strategic Alaskan military bases from 1959to 1979.

After the Second World War, the United States recognized thatthe tension and competition between the west and the Soviet Union increased toa point that intercontinental nuclear war, characterized by large numbers ofnuclear bombs being delivered by fleets of Soviet bombers and laterintercontinental ballistic missiles, was a very real threat. This led theUnited States to develop an advanced air defense capability designed to interceptand neutralize a Soviet bomber attack. The NIKE series of air defense missilesreplaced the aging anti-aircraft batteries which were leftovers from World WarII. The first iteration was the NIKE AJAX, a two stage missile with aconventional high explosive warhead and limited range. NIKE AJAX sites werebuilt around strategic targets in the lower 48 states, located mainly aroundmajor cities and military bases. No NIKE AJAX sites were built in Alaska.

Recognizing that the NIKE AJAX missile system was woefullyinadequate to stop massive waves of Soviet bombers loaded with nuclear weaponstargeted to destroy United States cities, the NIKE HERCULES missile system wasdeveloped. The NIKE HERCULES system had missiles with longer ranges and whichcould achieve higher altitudes, which were important to bring down the Sovietbomber threat. More importantly, the NIKE HERCULES missiles employed nuclearwarheads. This very important capability allowed nuclear explosions to bringdown Soviet bombers flying in high altitude formations. The nuclear blast andresulting radiation would result in “weapons kill” by either knocking the Sovietbombers out of the sky or rendering the Soviet nuclear weapons inoperable. In eithercase, mission accomplished. NIKE HERCULES had done its job. To this day, theNIKE HERCULES missile system was the most capable and effective area airdefense missile system ever fully deployed on U. S. soil. Attempts to developmore effective systems were later scrapped due to the advent of ICBM’s and theAnti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, agreed to in the early 1970’s.

THE NIKE HERCULESSYSTEM

The NIKE HERCULES system is a fixed location ground based airdefense system that employs guided missiles to seek and destroy planes. Thesystems were organized into area defenses employing firing sites, calledbatteries. Each battery employed a series of acquisition and tracking radarswhich identified and tracked incoming airborne targets. Each firing battery hada secured area which contained the radar equipment and controlled the entireoperation of the battery, including the firing of the missiles with nuclearwarheads. This control area (known as the Integrated Fire Control area, orIFC) provided overall command and control of the battery’s firing mission and hadline of sight to a second secured area, the launching area, where the missileswere stored and launched. NIKE HERCULES batteries were easily identified bythe large “golf ball” radar domes which protected the radars from the elementsand allowed the radars to perform their long range acquisition and trackingfunctions during periods of bad weather and high winds.

Each firing battery was an independent site, with powergenerators, troop housing and administrative area, and the ability to performits mission with little outside help. Each firing battery had 100 enlisted andofficer personnel and was supported by on-site civilian personnel. Maintenanceand technical support functions were provided by an off-site military directsupport ordinance company which maintained the radars, computer, andwarheads. Each firing battery was a highly secured site, with double fencing,razor wire and roving security patrols comprised of military police personneland large sentry dogs. Since nuclear weapons were being secured, the rovingguards were armed and were authorized to use deadly force against intruders ifnecessary.

The technical specifications of the NIKE HERCULES systemwere impressive, even by 21^st century standards. The acquisitionradars could see more than 100 miles out, and the missiles had an altitudecapability in excess of 150,000 feet, a range more than 88 miles, and couldreach speeds in excess of 3,000 miles per hour (Mach 3.5). Each site couldengage a target and launch a missile every 2 minutes and would direct themissile to a specific burst point, above and in the front of the oncomingSoviet bombers. The nuclear warheads came in several sizes, the largest ofwhich had a yield of 40 kilotons (roughly 3 times the yield of the Hiroshimabomb).

Given the longer range and nuclear capability of the NIKEHERCULES missile system, the NIKE AJAX systems were phased out or converted toNIKE HERCULES installations. More than 145 NIKE HERCULES sites were deployedin the United States in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s with the majority ofthe sites converted from existing NIKE AJAX sites. Major target areas, such asNew York, Washington, D. C., Los Angeles and San Francisco were surrounded bymultiple integrated firing batteries, in some cases more than 12 firingbatteries. Other defense areas were located around major military bases(Strategic Air Command bases which were the home to the United States bomberfleet, for example) and around other strategic locations (nuclear weaponsproduction facilities and major military headquarters). Each area “defense”was controlled by an Army air defense command post, known as AADCAP’s. The AADCAPprovided command and control of the firing batteries and directed the airdefense battle, integrating the activities of the firing batteries, Air Forcefighter interceptors, and other air defense resources.

NIKE HERCULES INALASKA

Alaska’s nuclear air defense shield was put into place inthe late 1950’s with the building of eight nuclear capable NIKE HERCULES airdefense missile sites (firing batteries), five sites in the “Fairbanks defense”area, which consisted of Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base, and threesites (including one with a double launching area) in the “Anchorage defense”area, which consisted of Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base. With eachAlaskan firing battery armed with 14 NIKE HERCULES missiles carrying a nuclearwarhead with a yield ranging from 20 kilotons to 40 kilotons, the total nuclearyield of the Alaska air defense missile sites was more than 5 meta-tons ofnuclear destruction. The missile sites were organized under two battalions andwere part of the 87^th Artillery Group headquartered at FortRichardson and under the command of the United States Army Alaska.

THE ANCHORAGE DEFENSE

Served by the 4^th Missile Battalion, 43^rdArtillery, the Anchorage defense’s prime mission was to protect Fort Richardsonand Elmendorf Air Force Base, which was home to the KC-135 tanker fleet whichwould refuel the American bombers on their way to the Soviet Union in the eventof war. Elmendorf AFB also housed Air Force fighter interceptors which wouldfly out to meet and destroy the invading Soviet bombers in advance of the useof NIKE HERCULES missiles. However, the interceptors were armed with air toair missiles which carried small nuclear warheads with only one tenth the yieldof the NIKE HERCULES warheads and which would do only initial damage to thelarge numbers of Soviet bombers which would come. The NIKE HERCULES missilesites had larger nuclear warheads which would do the bulk of the damage to thebomber fleet. The Anchorage defense consisted of three firing batteries plus aheadquarters battery for administrative control. The Anchorage batteries were initiallysupported by the 194^th Ordinance Detachment and later by the 524^thOrdinance Company, both of which provided direct maintenance support and technicalsupport of the sites and the nuclear weapons.

The firing batteries were under the tactical control of theArmy Air Defense Command Post (AADCAP) which was initially located at the NORADcontrol center at Fire Island and later moved to A Battery at Site Point,located near the Anchorage airport. Unlike the NIKE HERCULES batteries whichwere controlled by NORAD commanders in the lower 48, the Alaskan batteries wereunder the command and control of the commanding general of the US Army in Alaska(USARAL), who would authorize the use of nuclear weapons should a Soviet attackoccur. The firing batteries were Site Point (A Battery, the dual launchingsite which was located near the Anchorage airport); Site Summit (B Battery,located in the Chugach Mountains 4,000 feet above Anchorage), and Site Bay (CBattery, which was located in the Knik Arm of the Cook Bay inlet at Goose Bayacross from Fort Richardson).

The Alaskan NIKE HERCULES sites were unique from similarsites in the lower 48 due to the extreme weather and terrain conditions foundin Alaska. For example, instead of the underground missile storage magazinesused in the lower 48, the Alaskan missiles were stored above ground inreinforced concrete bunkers. The tracking radars were positioned on top ofradar towers and were enclosed in steel “clamshells” which could be closed tomaintain the radars during inclement weather. Construction of the Alaskansites required careful planning and design to allow for the unique weather andterrain. The three Anchorage sites were built by Patti McDonald Co. and M-BContracting Co. in the late 1950’s for less than $10 million. Site Summit,located more than 4,000 feet above Anchorage, was especially difficult tobuild. The IFC (battery control) area was placed on top of an area in which 60vertical feet had to be blasted off of the mountaintop and more than 25,000cubic yards of rock removed to make an area for the site. Concrete for thebattery control buildings, which were anchored to the ground with steel rodsanchored in concrete pads due to the high wind conditions, and the missilemagazine bunkers, had to be poured In weather conditions conducive to pouringconcrete, conditions which were hard to achieve due to constant extremeweather. These unique conditions added significantly to the costs to buildSite Summit.

During the period of time that the Anchorage NIKE HERCULESsites provided air defense for the Fort Richardson/Elmendorf AFB/Anchoragecomplex, the Cuban missile crisis dominated the news. In October, 1962, it wasclear that tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States werereaching the boiling point. Although Cuba was thousands of miles away, inresponse to the higher defense condition (DEFCON) at this time, the Alaskan NIKEsites were locked and loaded with missiles on launchers and sites on a “fiveminute” status, i.e. ready to fire in 5 minutes. The troops were at thisstatus for more than 30 days, as President Kennedy dealt with the crisis. Alsoof note during the 20 year period NIKE HERCULES protected Alaska was the GoodFriday earthquake experienced in March of 1964. Although damage to the battery’sbuildings was minor, several missiles stored in the magazines were knocked offtheir launchers and, upon inspection, were determined to be in dangerous condition. However, although the nuclear warheads were not armed, the warheads were partof the missile tangle in the magazines which had to be rendered safe, then sortedout, inspected, and secured.

It did not take long to see the overall impact of the NIKEHERCULES sites on the Anchorage community. Millions of dollars were pumpedinto the local economy as a result of the sites. Long time Anchorage residentswould remember the large Christmas star which was placed below the launch areaof Site Summit. And early in Site Summit’s history, the Alaskan NIKE HERCULESmissile sites conducted annual service practice at Site Summit. This practicewas used to evaluate the training and readiness of the missile crews andinvolved a live firing of a NIKE HERCULES missile from Site Summit. As theAnchorage area grew, the annual firings were moved to Site Peter in theFairbanks defense, which was located east of Eielson Air Force base and whichprovided a large uninhabited firing range at the US Army Alaska Yukon MissileRange east of Fairbanks.

The Anchorage sites were deactivated and closed in 1979,with the missiles, warheads, and equipment transferred to the lower 48. Several buildings at Site Point were converted to a ski chalet facility. SiteBay was used for prisoner housing and later demolished. Site Summit was thelast site deactivated and closed in July of 1979. The remnants of Site Summitexist today and restoration of the site began in 2010. The site is beingpreserved as a National Historic Site and once restored plans include a museum tobe established and possibly guided tours to be given.

THE FAIRBANKS DEFENSE

Served by the 2^nd Missile Battalion, 562^ndArtillery, the mission of the Fairbanks defense was to provide for the airdefense of the Fort Wainwright/Eielson Air Force base/Fairbanks military complex. Like the Anchorage area, the Fairbanks defense provided the protective nuclearumbrella for the Air Force’s KC-135 tanker fleet at Eielson AFB which wouldrefuel the United States bombers from the lower 48 on the way to targets inRussia. Eielson also was home to fighter interceptors (F102’s, F-4 Phantoms,and later F106’s) which would fly out to engage intruding Soviet air forcebombers and escort aircraft. Other military assets in the Fairbanks area were FortWainwright and Ladd Air Force base, which was turned over to the Army in 1961. Ironically, Ladd Field was the “transfer” location for United States aircraftbeing shuttled to Russia during World War II. Finally, there was thesuper-secret and not talked about Air Force unit which flew the U-2 spy planeto gather intelligence data over the Soviet Union. The U-2 was frequentlyobserved taking off and landing on daily spy missions at Eielson AFB. The NIKEHERCULES sites were not officially advised about the U-2 flight schedule, butsites in the Fairbanks defense, especially SITE LOVE, observed the U-2’s flightactivity frequently.

As the planning for the Fairbanks defense evolved in the mid1950’s, eight NIKE HERCULES sites were initially planned. When Ladd AFB wasturned over to the Army and renamed Fort Wainwright, the four sites planned todefend Ladd AFB were eliminated. However, the Army decided to build one site, SITELOVE, to protect the western flank of the Fairbanks area and to integrate thefirepower of the four NIKE HERCULES sites surrounding Eielson AFB. SITE LOVEwas the northernmost NIKE HERCULES missile site in the United States and wasthe first NIKE HERCULES missile site the Soviet bombers would face on their wayto the lower 48.

The Fairbanks NIKE HERCULES sites were built in the late1950’s by Peter Kiewit Son Co. for a contract cost of almost $13 million. Theconstruction of Site Love was accomplished by B-E-C-K Constructors at a cost of$3 million. As with the Anchorage sites, weather and terrain played a factoris timely completion of the sites. However, the four Fairbanks sites aroundEielson Air Force base were finished and on line in mid-1959. SITE LOVE wasfinished and put on line in late 1960.

The Fairbanks defense consisted of the five firingbatteries, plus a headquarters (administrative) battery. Technical andmaintenance support for battery equipment and warheads was provided by the 166^thOrdinance Company. Operational command and control for the Fairbanks defenseand firing batteries was conducted by the NORAD control center at Murphy Dome,an Air Force radar center located northwest of Fairbanks and near SITE LOVE. Accessto the sites was strictly limited to military personnel with securityclearances, but civilians could easily drive to the sites on public accessroads and view both the IFC (control) areas and, if they were lucky, see themissiles on the launchers outside the missile magazines in the launcher areaduring military exercises and frequent maintenance activities. Ironically, thebatteries received classified messages telling them to put the missiles awaywhen Soviet satellites were overflying the sites, but one could drive up to thelaunching area and take pictures of the missiles from outside the double fencesprotecting the missiles. It is unknown whether or not Soviet spies took thisopportunity to study the capabilities of the sites from this vantage point.

The five Fairbanks batteries were on duty from 1959 to 1971,at which time reductions in the military budgets due to the Vietnam War led tothe deactivation and closing of the Fairbanks batteries in 1970-1971. Thebatteries were deactivated and equipment and missiles, plus warheads, weredismantled and shipped back to equipment and warhead storage areas. Controlbuildings at the batteries were destroyed and bulldozed in open pits which werethen covered with dirt. Some control buildings, as well as some concretemagazines, were spared and today serve as storage facilities for localcompanies and civic entities. Spanning several decades of utilizinganti-aircraft guns and later NIKE HERCULES missiles, the era of air defense wasover for the Fairbanks defense. Except for limited fighter-interceptorresources placed at Eielson AFB, for the first time since World War II, Fairbankshad no air defense.

ALASKAN NIKE HERCULESTACTICAL OPERATIONS

Cold War debriefings of Soviet pilots reveal that they werewell aware of the NIKE HERCULES batteries defending Alaska and the lower 48targets, but flying around the Alaskan defenses would consume unacceptableamounts of fuel. Consequently, in order to clear a path of attack to the lower48, each Alaskan NIKE HERCULES battery was targeted with more than 250 kilotonsof nuclear devastation. As indicated earlier, the batteries were easilyidentified by their “golf ball” silhouette and their locations, originallysecret, were well known and Soviet satellites overflying the batteries couldeasily target the batteries.

The air defense threat posed by the Alaskan NIKE HERCULESbatteries was well known and elimination of the Alaskan NIKE HERCULES sites wasa major element of the Soviet battle plan. The Soviets were so concerned aboutthe NIKE HERCULES defensive capabilities that they recruited a high ranking US Armyofficer who had been involved in the development of the missile system and whocould provide classified details about the system’s capabilities anddeployment. Classified system documents, including radar schematics and plans,were discovered in the military sections of Russian libraries after the ColdWar was over.

The Alaskan NIKE HERCULES batteries could also execute asurface-to-surface firing mission, meaning that the batteries could deliver a40 kiloton nuclear warhead to a target up to 100 miles away from the battery. This capability was added to the Alaskan batteries in the event of a Sovietground invasion of Alaska. This may seem farfetched, but the Soviet plan todominate the world included invasion and occupation of neighboring countries. Thesurface-to-surface mission was added for the NIKE HERCULES batteries (thesurface-to-surface capability was critical to the battery’s mission, and waspart of the evaluation of each battery utilizing live missile firings everyyear). NIKE HERCULES missiles in the surface-to-surface role were the mostaccurate artillery weapon in the Army’s arsenal at that time.

The mission of shooting down large formations of incomingbombers armed with nuclear weapons with fixed missile sites also armed withnuclear weapons required close coordination of all military assets and strictoperating guidelines and rules of engagement. All combat operations werecoordinated and centrally controlled by the AADCAP’s at the NORAD ControlCenter in each defense area. If the AADCAP was put out of action by invadingbombers, the NIKE HERCULES could operate autonomously using electronic methodsto identify friend versus foe aircraft and pre-designated safe flying corridorsfor friendly aircraft. The NORAD control center would manage the air battleintegrating the fighter interceptor resources and NIKE HERCULES batteries withthe long range radar data from the DEW line and other remote early warning acquisitionradars. The NORAD Control Centers were Air Force installations whose role wasto manage the air space for their area of responsibility and to manage the airbattle when the Soviet bombers came. In this role, these centers controlledail airspace activities and directed fighter-interceptors and later NIKEHERCULES missiles to their targets. This was especially important as theSoviets constantly probed the air defenses of Alaska by flying aircraft up tothe western coast of Alaska, and then fly zigzag patterns up and down the coastto see how the United States forces would respond. Frequently, the Sovietswould send aircraft directly at the coast of Alaska and turn around when theywere detected and fighter interceptor aircraft were scrambled to head off thepossible threat. The NIKE HERCULES batteries were also called up to a higherreadiness status until the threat was over. Sometimes these games lasted allnight, but eventually the Soviets would return to base. As the United Statesfighter interceptors returned to base, they were tracked by the NIKE HERCULESbatteries all the way back to their home base. The returning fighter jets werealways low on fuel and the NIKE HERCULES battery radars could pinpoint theirposition if they went down.

Command and control of the nuclear warheads at the NIKEHERCULES batteries was very tight. No one was authorized to be in the launcherarea without a companion (the two man rule). Any type of flame producingmaterials (matches, lighters) was forbidden and the physical security of themissiles with their nuclear warheads was insured by roving military policepatrols with large sentry dogs and loaded weapons. The use of deadly force wasauthorized to secure the NIKE HERCULES missiles and warheads. Frequentsecurity inspections were conducted which included attempts to breach thesecurity of the launcher areas in the middle of the cold Alaskan night.

In the event of an actual incursion by Soviet bombers, astrict line of control authorizing the release of nuclear weapons was inplace. Upon release authorization from the President of the United States, therelease order would travel down the chain of command with frequent TOP SECRETcoded authentications of the release order. At the battery level, the releaseorder would be confirmed by two individuals (a commissioned officer on one teamand a warrant officer or senior non-commissioned officer on another team) whowould open a safe with two combinations, each individual knowing only onecombination (two man control again). At the battery level, the nuclear releaseauthorization would be confirmed using TOP SECRET authorization codes and the finalpreparations to fire the missiles with the nuclear warheads were completed. These security measures, along with other methods of securing access to thebatteries radars and missiles, ensured that each firing battery was totallysecure and ready to perform its mission when called upon.

Given the high level of technology and maintenancerequirements at each firing battery, especially critical in the extreme weatherconditions experienced at the Alaskan sites, the readiness condition of thebatteries were rotated on a weekly basis, with one battery designated the “HOT”battery (ready to fire in 15 minutes) and the other batteries in the defense atlower status yet ready to respond quickly to a call up in readiness. “HOT”batteries were locked and loaded and ready to go, with equipment checks conducted hourly and tracking of live targets (usually commercial airliners) doneregularly. The troops at the “HOT” battery lived and slept at their stationsand were ready to go at moment’s notice. If the “HOT” battery experiencedequipment problems rendering the battery unable to fire, the next battery inline (and at the lower status) would be called up to “HOT” status.

As the 1960’s unfolded, the NIKE HERCULES system equipmentwas being constantly improved to increase their effectiveness. Significantenhancements were made to the electronic countermeasures (ECM) capabilities ofthe NIKE HERCULES radars to counter advancements in the Soviet’s capability tojam these radars and render them less capable or even totally ineffective. Equipmentwas developed which would hook up to the battery’s electronic systems, givingthe capability of simulating target acquisition, tracking and firing exercisesand training electronically without the need for a live target. A majorimprovement was made in the mid-1960’s to the acquisition and tracking radarsand related systems which gave the Alaskan NIKE HERCULES batteries thecapability to acquire, track and shoot down an incoming ICBM. This newdefensive capability, which was the precursor to today’s ballistic missiledefense, was implemented at limited NIKE HERCULES locations. The Alaskan NIKEHERCULES batteries were selected to have this improvement due to their locationand importance to the air defense integrity of the United States. It isinteresting to note that these improvements to the NIKE HERCULES radar systemswere developed at the famous “non-existent” research and development site knownas Area 51 in Nevada.

The rules of engagement for the NIKE HERCULES batteries werevery specific and gave the individual battery control officers little room forvariance. All actions were scripted with every team member having specificresponsibilities. The chain of command rules authorizing firing a missile werevery clear, and extensive safety rules were in place to prevent theunauthorized launch of a nuclear warhead. Authorization for release of nuclearweapons came from the top, beginning with the President. Two man control ruleswere in place in the launching area, and frequently changed top secretauthentication codes were required to be opened and verified for the battery touse nuclear warheads. Batteries were constantly evaluated for operationalreadiness in addition to the normal military inspections. In addition to frequentunannounced readiness evaluations and the requirement to respond to a call upto hot status in a minimal period of time, the batteries also were subject toan annual evaluation in which battery personnel would travel to a remotebattery (Site Peter or B battery southeast of Fairbanks for the Alaskanbatteries), perform the assembly of a live missile, and then fire the livemissile at an incoming aircraft target and a ground target. Failure was not anoption at any of these evaluations, and many officer careers were impacted bypoor evaluation results.

THE END OF NIKE HERCULES IN ALASKA

The Cold War was an extremely dangerous time. Both theUnited States and the Soviet Union were developing weapons of mass destructionand the means to deliver these weapons to the opposite side. In the early1960’s the United States had more than 27,000 nuclear weapons with adestructive yield of almost 4,000 megatons and the means to deliver them to theSoviet Union. A similar destructive power was in the hands of the SovietUnion. In the mid-sixties, this destructive power on both sides was almosttwice as much as the early sixties. ICBM development and deployment wasprogressing on both sides, and the bomber delivery system was being phased outby increasing numbers of ICBM’s. The changing Soviet threat and the changingdefense requirements of NORAD, along with budgetary constraints imposed by theprotracted Vietnam War, forced the Army to take a hard look at the NIKEHERCULES systems in Alaska as well as the lower 48 states.

Other strategic and defensive weapons systems were developedwhich were to be more effective against the Soviet ICBM’s. These systems wereultimately dropped as political systems changed and the Anti-Ballistic Missiletreaty was signed and implemented. Even with its anti-ballistic missilecapabilities, the decision was made to deactivate the NIKE HERCULES system inAlaska and well as the lower 48 states in the late 1960’s. The last batteriesin the lower 48 were deactivated in 1974, and the Anchorage batteries were keptopen until deactivation in 1979. The Fairbanks batteries were deactivated andclosed in 1971.

The impacts of more than twenty plus of NIKE HERCULES air defensein Alaska are significant. In addition to the millions of dollars spent in thelocal communities, the sites provided assistance during the 1964 earthquake inAnchorage and the 1967 flood in Fairbanks. More than 12,000 officers andenlisted men passed through the Alaskan batteries on their tours of duty andmany decided to stay in Alaska and are Alaskan citizens today.

There were no nuclear warhead accidents or missileaccidents, even as the Alaskan environment presented challenging conditions tothe movement and use of the weapons. The Soviet bombers never came and theNIKE HERCULES air defense systems were never tested under wartime conditions. There were many reasons why the Cold War never erupted into intercontinentalconfrontation, and the strength and quality of the NIKE HERCULES air defensesystem in Alaska was one on those reasons. But weapons systems and technologyaside, it was the quality of the troops, both enlisted and officer, which wasthe backbone of the NIKE HERCULES air defense system in Alaska.

“THEY ALSO SERVE WHOONLY WATCH AND WAIT…AND ARE PREPARED TO DEFEND.”

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bob Raichle served at Echo Battery in the Fairbanks, AlaskaNIKE HERCULES defense from 1966 to 1968. AS IFC platoon leader, ExecutiveOfficer, and Battery Control Officer, Mr. Raichle was responsible foraccomplishing the mission of Echo Battery and had the authority to launch thebattery’s NIKE HERCULES missiles against incoming Soviet bombers and ICBM’s.

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Mr. Raichle left the U S Army in 1968. After a successfulcareer managing companies in the consumer products and the building productsindustries, Mr. Raichle retired in 2010. He resides in southern California.

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See this Guest Book entry for another perspective on the Anchorage earthquake.