[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 107 (Friday, July 27, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8354-S8355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for himself and Mr. Ensign):
  S. 1257. A bill to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
theme study to identify sites and resources to commemorate and 
interpret the cold war; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the cold war was the longest war in United 
States history. Lasting 50 years, the cold war cost thousands of lives, 
trillions of dollars, changed the course of history, and left America 
the only superpower in the world. Because of the nuclear capabilities 
of our enemy it was the most dangerous conflict our country ever faced. 
The threat of mass destruction left a permanent mark on American life 
and politics. Those that won this war did so in obscurity. Those that 
gave their lives in the cold war have never been properly honored.
  Today I introduce a bill that requires the Department of the Interior 
to conduct a study to identify sites and resources to commemorate 
heroes of the cold war and to interpret the cold war for future 
generations. My legislation directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
establish a ``Cold War Advisory Committee'' to oversee the inventory of 
cold war sites and resources for potential inclusion in the National 
Park System; as national historic landmarks; or other appropriate 
designations.
  The Advisory Committee will work closely with State and local 
governments and local historical organizations. The committee's 
starting point will be a cold war study completed by the Secretary of 
Defense under the 1991 Defense Appropriations Act. Obvious cold war 
sites of significance include: Intercontinental ballistic missiles; 
flight training centers; communications and command centers, such as 
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado; nuclear weapons test sites, such as the 
Nevada test site, and strategic and tactical resources.
  Perhaps no other State in the Union has played a more significant 
role than Nevada in winning the cold war. The Nevada Test Site is a 
high-technology engineering marvel where the United States developed, 
tested, and perfected a nuclear deterrent which is the cornerstone of 
America's security and leadership among Nations. The Naval Air Station 
at Fallon is the Navy's premiere tactical air warfare training 
facility. The Air Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base has the 
largest training range in the United States to ensure that America's 
pilots will prevail in any armed conflict.

[[Page S8355]]

  The Advisory Committee established under this legislation will 
develop an interpretive handbook on the cold war to tell the story of 
the cold war and its heroes.
  I'd like to take a moment to relate a story of one group of cold war 
heroes.
  On a snowy evening in November 17, 1955, a United States Air Force C-
54 crashed near the summit of Mount Charleston in central Nevada. The 
doomed flight was carrying 15 scientific and technical personnel to 
secret Area 51 where the U-2 reconnaissance plane, of Francis Powers 
fame, was being developed under tight security. The men aboard the ill-
fated C-54 helped build the plane which critics said could never be 
built. The critics were wrong, the U-2 is a vital part of our 
reconnaissance force to this day. The secrecy of the mission was so 
great that the families of the men who perished on Mount Charleston 
only recently learned about the true circumstances of the crash that 
took the lives of their loved ones. My legislation will provide 
$300,000 to identify historic landmarks like the crash at Mount 
Charleston. I'd like to thank Mr. Steve Ririe of Las Vegas who brought 
to light the events surrounding the death of the fourteen men who 
perished on Mount Charleston nearly a half century ago, and for the 
efforts of State Senator Rawson who shepherded a resolution through the 
Nevada legislature to commemorate these heroes.
  A grateful nation owes its gratitude to the ``Silent Heroes of the 
Cold War.'' I urge my colleagues to support this long overdue tribute 
to the contribution and sacrifice of those cold war heroes for the 
cause of freedom.
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