As part of my birthday, I was treated to a visit to the Nike missile installation at Fort Cronkhite in the Marin Headlands, just a few miles north of SF. On the first Saturday of the month, the restored site --the only one of the 300 that used to function-- has "docents" who used to work there and explain the workings of this part of the Cold War defense system. It was great to hear these guys talk about the jobs they did, where they worked, the procedures for for tracking and launching, see the machines, the kind of technology, and the missiles themselves. On the one hand, they looked and felt so antique and clunky, like an old scifi movie, but they were perfectly lethal. Very impressive. The missiles, both nuclear and conventional, could rise to 4000 feet in 3 seconds.
One funny moment was the guard room in the middle of the base, decked out as it would have been in the 60's, books, music playing, etc. And a big sign: Smoking allowed in the this room, but outside only in designated areas...
Made me wish my Dad was still alive. I'd like to tell him about it and how much I enjoyed it. (He was a Navy pilot.)
And it made me nostalgic for the Cold War. At least we were not making believe about who our enemy was.
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