This may be off topic here, but it seems to be at least somewhat
related to the issue here. This is for a personal 'just because I'm
curious' research project I'm working on.
     I'm trying to dig up information about the old Nike-Hercules SAM
bases that were set up around the country in the late fifties as part
of what became known as the 'Ring of Steel'. In particular, I'm
interested in the base north of Denton, TX (about 8 miles from where I
live.)
     I know it was opened in '59 (and assigned to defend the Dallas-Ft
Worth Area, along with similar bases near Mineral Wells, Alvarado, and
Terrell) closed in '69, and the unit assigned there was 'Battery A, ??
Missile Battalion, 562nd Artillery'. The unit info comes from a
photograph in a book on Denton County History, but a soldier was
standing in front of the battallion number (sorry).
     Presently, the old barracks are leased out as a depositary to our
local school district, and the old launch site (a mile up the road) is
leased out as a depositary, observatory, and radio transmitter site
for the University of North Texas.
     In particular, I'm curious about...
-    How the bases were organized and set up.
-    How many men were assigned to them.
-    How were the missiles handled (storage, loading, etc).
-    How was fire control organized and handled
-    How were the units organized (I'm horrible when it comes to
     Army unit organization and nomenclature) and what branch of
     the Army controled these bases.
-    What were the issues that led to the closings of these bases.
-    Etc.
If anyone knows of any books on this subject, please pass on the
information.
     So far, trying to get information about these bases has proved
very difficult. I contacted the Army about information on the base in
Denton, but was told all the files were 'most likely' destroyed in a
warehouse fire in the late 80's.
     Any help or assistance would be appreciated.
Derek Wakefield
iscandar@chatter.com
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