Near Valier in Pondera County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
The 546th Missile Squadron
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 12, 2022
1. The 546th Missile Squadron Marker
Inscription.
The 546th Missile Squadron. . Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union ran high during the cold war. Both sides relied heavily on their nuclear weapons arsenals as deterrents to actual combat between the two superpowers. When the Soviets launched the first man-made earth-orbiting satellite, Sputnik, in October 1957, it ushered in a new and deadlier phase to the cold war, the use of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBMs) to carry nuclear warheads. , The Montana missile field is a 23,500 square mile area that encompasses nine Montana counties and was the largest missile field in the United States. At its height in the late twentieth century, it contained 200 Minuteman missiles under the command of the 341st Missile Wing based at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. This area was controlled by the 564th Missile Squadron. Nicknamed "Deuce," the squadron was responsible for five Minuteman Missile alert facilities and fifty nuclear missile silos. The unit originated as the 564th Bombardment Squadron during World War II. flying B-24 "Liberators" on missions in central and southern Europe. The Air Force reactivated it as an ICBM squadron in 1965. The 564th was the first squadron in Montana to receive the new Minuteman II missiles in 1967 and had upgraded to the Minuteman III ICBMs by 1975. The USAF inactivated the 431st Missile Squadron and removed the Minuteman III missiles from their silos in 2008
Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union ran high during the cold war. Both sides relied heavily on their nuclear weapons arsenals as deterrents to actual combat between the two superpowers. When the Soviets launched the first man-made earth-orbiting satellite, Sputnik, in October 1957, it ushered in a new and deadlier phase to the cold war, the use of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBMs) to carry nuclear warheads.
The Montana missile field is a 23,500 square mile area that encompasses nine Montana counties and was the largest missile field in the United States. At its height in the late twentieth century, it contained 200 Minuteman missiles under the command of the 341st Missile Wing based at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. This area was controlled by the 564th Missile Squadron. Nicknamed "Deuce," the squadron was responsible for five Minuteman Missile alert facilities and fifty nuclear missile silos. The unit originated as the 564th Bombardment Squadron during World War II. flying B-24 "Liberators" on missions in central and southern Europe. The Air Force reactivated it as an ICBM squadron in 1965. The 564th was the first squadron in Montana to receive the new Minuteman II missiles in 1967 and had upgraded to the Minuteman III ICBMs by 1975. The USAF inactivated the 431st Missile Squadron and removed
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the Minuteman III missiles from their silos in 2008
Location. 48° 19.281′ N, 112° 32.544′ W. Marker is near Valier, Montana, in Pondera County. Marker is on U.S. 89 near Robare Lane, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Valier MT 59486, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . The Minuteman Missile -- National Park Service. The Minuteman was - and still is today - a technological wonder. The first solid fuelled Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) the U.S. Air Force would deploy, the Minuteman could stand dormant and unmanned for days, weeks,
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 12, 2022
2. The 546th Missile Squadron Marker
Birch Creek Flood Memorial on the left/
months and decades on end, needing only limited maintenance and upkeep.(Submitted on April 10, 2023, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)
Photographed By Theaviationist.com
3. Minuteman III in its silo.
Photographed By Missile Threat.csis.org
4. Minuteman Missile launch.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 12, 2022
5. Birch Creek Flood Memorial
Emmet Ryan Post No. 36
Valier, Montana
In Memoriam
Birch Creek Flood
June 8, 1964
Dorothy Hall Marlon Hall Marjorie Hall Martha Hall Edward Hall Jody Hall Thomas Hall III Patricia New Breast Samuel New Breast Jr. Ethel New Breast Gilbert England Jerry Thomas Ralph Overlack Peggie Bradley Ernest L'Auffer Linda Arnoux Joe Hamlin
Credits. This page was last revised on April 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 10, 2023, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 184 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 10, 2023, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.