During the Cold War, numerous missile silos were created throughout North America and the Soviet Union. The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is a preserved example of the operational missile sites, with nukes!
The sites were constructed in 1961. Part of the 44th Missile Wing, the D-01 and D-09 ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) silos were commissioned to deter a Soviet nuclear attack by ensuring mutual assured destruction (MAD).
Today, the facilities are a Cold War museum, and also represent the only remaining intact components of a nuclear missile field that once consisted of 150 Minuteman II missiles, 15 launch control centers, and covered over 13,500 square miles (35,000 km2) of southwestern South Dakota. The silos were decommissioned by the signing of the START treaty in 1991, and designated a national park in 1999.
