< PreviousRemember When? Remember When? N The underside of a Nike Hercules missile is pictured during what is presumably a test launch. PHOTO COURTESY U.S. ARMY Just 11 years prior, in 1960, that battery and the five others still operating around Pittsburgh had all come under the control of the new Army Air-Defense Command Post PI-70 DC. Located in Collier Township just outside of Oakdale, the 118-acre site contained a radar tower and a state-of-the-art, two-story anti- aircraft operations room known as the blue room, where personnel could control missiles launched from any of Pittsburgh’s missile batteries. According to “What We Have We Shall Defend,” the building, which was constructed to withstand a nuclear blast, contained a massive computer system along with canvas cots, seven 13,000-gallon water tanks, food for 130 personnel for 30 days and a radioactive wash-down area. In 1961, it was integrated into the Air Force’s SAGE system, “a nationwide air defense network maintained by the Air Force,” that was also utilized by the FAA, according to the book. The base also had a commissary, a base exchange clothing shop, a barbershop and a barracks. The base, which was in operation for just 14 years, was the only one of its kind in Pennsylvania. About 15 miles away on Neville Island was yet another facility dedicated to the area’s Nike missile facilities. Crew stationed at this facility, in the form of a warehouse, were responsible for maintaining vehicles, launchers and other equipment at various sites in the Pittsburgh area, according to “What We Have We Shall Defend.” These shops, which were oftentimes located at batteries, were essential to keeping equipment in working order. According to the book, the fact that this one was located away from a battery was unique, and it was the dedicated shop for site PI-62. That site was located adjacent to what is today the South Fayette School District campus. As the arms race between the Soviet Union and the U.S. progressed, the Department of Defense increasingly became more concerned about the threat of intercontinental ballistic missiles as opposed to bombers. That would eventually spell the end of the Nike missile program and its batteries across the U.S. The third iteration of the program, the Zeus, was never deployed. By 1974, all sites, including the air defense base in Oakdale, were shuttered and the missiles decommissioned. Sakmar, who was transferred the year prior, says he heard about the Army’s decision while watching the news on television. He says some of the personnel under his command went on to become helicopter mechanics, which were in particular need at the time due to America’s involvement in Vietnam. Plenty of others, though, simply found themselves without a job and a skill set that had become obsolete just as the country was heading into a recession. Sakmar says some soldiers later lamented how, despite years of preparing for a mission that had once been paramount to national security, the public never even knew they existed. Today, the property on which PI-71’s launch site in Moon Township was located has yet to be developed. The site links up to Hollow Oak Land Trust trails that traverse the Montour Woods Conservation Area and it has thus become popular among both mountain bikers and hikers. Battery PI-62, the one adjacent to the South Fayette School District campus, is now utilized as a storage lot. Many of the buildings at the Oakdale headquarters, meanwhile, are now part of Collier Township Community Park. In 2014, the township remodeled two of the buildings into its community center. The base’s commissary and base exchange continued operating for decades until the new commissary in Moon Township opened. Plans are also in the works to remodel the building that housed the base’s blue room into a brewery. The only part of the base that continues to function in any official capacity is the base’s distinctive radar tower, which is still utilized by the FAA and can be seen for miles. The rest of the property has been deeded to the National Park Service, meaning it will likely forever be used as a park. Some remaining buildings and a historic plaque placed outside the community center are the only reminders of the critical role that the Nike missiles and the local military personnel who operated them played to national defense during the Cold War. Local Nike sites today ABOVE: This photo, taken of the remnants of Nike missile battery PI-71 in Moon Township, shows where the battery’s magazines, which held its missiles, were located. Remnants of two of the magazines are buried below the grassy area on the other side of the concrete seen in the foreground. A third sits just beyond the next stretch of concrete. All three magazines were located within the launch site’s exclusionary zone, which was accessible only to personnel with the proper clearances and patrolled by unleashed guard dogs. It’s believed the magazines in this photo could have at one time collectively held upwards of nine or more nuclear missiles. RIGHT: This radar tower in Collier Township, once part of the Oakdale air defense base, is still utilized by the FAA. PHOTOS BY DOUG HUGHEY 30 • Allegheny West Magazine • Fall 2020PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID PITTSBURGH PA PERMIT NO. 5605 Hughey Publications, LLC P.O. Box 220 McDonald, PA 15057 Now in Our 22 nd Year Proudly Serving the Airport Area Allegheny West MagazineNext >