LITTLE ROCK — Of the 18 Titan II missile si
los in Arkansas, all were filled
and covered as part of the arms
talks between the United States
and the former U.S.S.R.
But now that 20 years have
passed since the silos were
filled, at least one of the old
sites is literally rising to the
surface "You got this guy out of In
diana, Jim Curry, who bought
complex 39," said Jimmie
Gray, a retired Air Force colo
nel. "It is out on Highway 36,
about four miles north of the
intersection with Highway 64.
He's got it fenced off and a
trailer. He's digging it out and
he's done quite a bit.
But what he will find when
he gets down digging is an in
teresting question.
"I'd imagine its still mostly
intact," said Vince Maes, a
retired Air Force major. "The
first two levels were blown up
and the rest were filled in with
rocks and debris, but that's just
the silo. Everything else wouldbe intact, I'd think." That partly has to do with the construction of the complex. The control center was a three-story facility that also had the sleeping quarters. It was connected to the silo by a walkway, so if the silo was filled in, it wouldn't have filled in the control center.
"I think he's going to be disappointed," Gray said. "He's already ran into a lot of water and while it was sealed, I'd have to think that seals would probably have given way and the control center is probably full of mildew and rust." Gray added that one complex has been excavated in Arizona and turned into a museum.
"It is so dry there," Gray said.
"They don't get any rain and you're not going to get water damage in a place like Arizona." - Jeremy Peppas
Three Rivers, Pages 118 on 10/07/2007