![]() ![]() So, the empty buildings – the crew’s ready-alert housing, storage buildings that kept nuclear weapons and other structures - gradually fell into a state of mostly disrepair. In fact, locals tried to lure FedEx officials into using the former air base as a training center. ![]() It replicated operations at the FedEx facility in Memphis. C-130 aircraft would bring tons of mail to the base daily, local workers would sort it for the mail’s destinations, and the airplanes would line up and take off on the southern runway at the end of each day. Postal Service briefly used the base’s runways and hangars as a Christmas mail sorting facility. Its closure left a gaping hole in the Mississippi County economy, and area leaders attempted to lure businesses using the airstrip as an incentive. The logo for the 97th Bombardment Wing based at Eaker. ![]() The base’s B-52 bombers were ready at a moment’s notice to roar over the Arkansas Delta and head to Moscow, or later Vietnam or even the Middle East. military security during the Cold War and was known for being home to the Boeing B-52G Stratofortress and the Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker. Once a thriving military base, known as Blytheville Air Force Base through 1988, Eaker played a vital role in U.S. It’s still in the early planning stages, but a local board challenged with developing the museum has hired designers who have come up with tentative plans for a two-story building near the southern end of the base.Ī small exhibit that’s now housed in the former administration building and serves as a precursor for the larger museum plan draws dozens of people monthly. It will also look at how the base affected the area both culturally and economically.Ī feasibility study shows an estimated 50,000 could visit the center yearly once it opens its doors. It will focus on the base’s role during the Cold War, from its opening in 1942 until its closure in March 1992. The National Cold War Museum, tentatively scheduled to open in 2027, will cost an estimated $25 million. ![]()
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