‘Warriors’ to hold reunion

The original “Warriors of the North,” the former members of the 321st Strategic Missile Wing, will return to North Dakota for a special reunion Aug. 4, 5 and 6. On Aug. 6, reunion participants will visit Cooperstown and the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site, which is operated by the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

The general public is invited to attend the concluding banquet and presentations by Gen. Lance Lord (retired) and Merl Paaverud, director of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. The banquet will begin at 5:15 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Griggs County Central School in Cooperstown. Tickets for the banquet and presentations can be purchased from the Friends of Oscar-Zero. Tickets must be purchased by July 29. To purchase tickets, call 701-797-3712.

Lord is the retired commander of the Air Force Space Command. He was responsible for the development, acquisition and operation of the Air Force’s space and missile systems. Lord oversaw a global network of satellite command and control, communications, missile warning and launch facilities, and ensured the combat readiness of the United States’ intercontinental ballistic missile force. He led more than 39,700 space professionals who provided combat forces and capabilities to the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Strategic Command. Lord retired in 2006.

Paaverud, a Steele County native, has been the director of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, since 2001. Paaverud was instrumental in the preservation of the Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility and November-33 Launch Facility. He has also been instrumental in the ongoing expansion of the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck as well as the construction in recent years of a number of new interpretive centers at several of North Dakota’s state historic sites.

For more than 30 years, between 1965 and 1997, the 321st SMW, during some of the coldest years of the Cold War, kept the nation safe by fulfilling a mission of nuclear deterrence. This mission was based on the 321st’s constant maintenance and operation of land-based Minuteman missiles in eastern North Dakota. During that time these service men and women, who were based at Grand Forks Air Force Base, were proud and good neighbors with the city of Grand Forks and the people of North Dakota.

In 1997, after fulfilling its mission, the 321st SMW was deactivated. The missiles were pulled from their silos and the control facilities were shuttered. One of the 321st’s final acts was to assist Grand Forks during the devastating 1997 flood.

The State Historical Society of North Dakota, the Friends of Oscar-Zero (a local grassroots organization dedicated to supporting the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site), and local citizens who formally served in the 321st SMW, are leading the effort to organize and support the reunion.

Tags: community, veterans, missiles