With our days in Colorado numbered, I took a look at my things to do list and realized I’d never made it to this museum in Colorado Springs. It’s located on Peterson Space Force Base, and I had to request permission to visit three days in advance.
The museum is based on the original 1926 Colorado Springs airport. All four buildings form that airport still exist — the manager’s house, two hangers, and the terminal. There were a few displays in the old terminal.
My 86-year old guide met me at the door and began by asking me if I was in the military. When I said no, he looked surprised and asked me what my connection was. I told him I liked history and visited a lot of museums. He further challenged me to list the museums. When I got to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, he acknowledge that I did visit a lot, and from that point on we got along well. He enjoyed stories and told me many. After 10 minutes or so, he escorted me and a young couple to one of the original airport hangers where there were displays on missile defense.
The guide served in the Army between Korea and Vietnam on a DEW (Distant Early Warning) radar site in Alaska. He showed us a mock-up of the control desk at the instillation where he served and another of a missile control bunker just like the one we toured in South Dakota several years ago.
The guide made it interesting, but the museum itself wasn’t fascinating. There were a lot of mannequins standing around wearing various uniforms and a lot of Cold War-era electronic equipment. Outside between the hangers there were a dozen or so Cold War airplanes and various missiles — all part of the nuclear missile defense system.
I stayed about an hour and a half. It was free, and since it was in town, it was worth a visit.