A crew from the Omaha Public Power District’s Nebraska City station erected a state marker Wednesday near the site of the Atlas-F ICBM base, which operated from 1961 to 1965.
The men finalized establishment of the marker on behalf of Rudy Burd, who had worked on the new OPPD power plant and served with the 551st Strategic Missile Squadron based at the Lincoln Air Force Base.
The marker memorializes the squadron’s role in the Cold War and six men that died in a plane crash near the missile site in 1964.
Burd said he hopes a formal dedication will be held later. He said the marker reminds us of a dangerous time in U.S. history.
“Most people alive today cannot commence to comprehend just how fragile existence was, nor the thin thread it was all suspended by,” he said.
“That we survived through those times can be largely attributed to Strategic Air Command. We did our jobs,” he said.
Nebraska City, Neb. —
