This Building in Battle Creek Could Have Started a Nuclear War

An unassuming building on the grounds of Fort Custer near Battle Creek was once part of NORAD's missile command that could have launched nuclear weapons.

The building, located on Base Avenue in Springfield was part of the 34th Air Division and operated between April of 1966 and December of 1969.

During that time frame, it operated as part of NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, was part of a Cold War-era collection of surveillance radar sites that was intended to detect Russian intervention into North American airspace.

A commentor who shared this story on the You Know You're From Battle Creek Facebook group, whose father worked on the base for 15 years, reported that before the control of NORAD missiles moved to Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado, for a few short years in the 1960s, the controls to launch nuclear weapons, belonged in this Battle Creek facility.

Another who worked on the site reported that she

was employed by the 34the Air Force Division in the mid 60s till 1969. They became deactivated soon after. They were under NORAD Command located near Colorado Springs. The outside walls were six feet thick. It had a full size kitchen and a snack bar. AT&T occupied the first floor. The huge computers took two floors. Same for numerous radars. Yes, we did witness UFOs flying over Lake Michigan.

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