Students from Mr. Arseneault’s, Mrs. Diedtrich’s and Mr. Swedlund’s 8th grade classes at Custer Junior High School, with the assistance of songwriter Cory Tomovick, wrote about the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.
“Find Another Way”
Words and music by Cory Tomovick
And Mr. Arseneault’s, Mrs. Diedtrich’s and Mr. Swedlund’s 8th Grade Classes
©2016 National Park Service
I am a missileers for the Minuteman Missile. I will not hesitate. I will obliterate us all.
For if we die, they die. It is called deterrence. It is our assurance for peace.
(Voice of Scientist)
Humanity has a problem, and it is here to stay
The knowledge of a weapon, when evil wants to play.
We must find another way. We must find another way.
(Voice of Teacher)
Get under your desks, stay calm. Hear what I say.
A nuclear bomb is coming. We’ll all be blown away.
We must find another way. Find another way.
(Voice of the World)
Listen to the songbirds. Listen to the prairie wind.
Listen to the children, like you’ll never hear them again.
We’ve come to the brink of this apocalypse.
We’ve stared into the abyss of nothingness.
We must find another way. Find another way.
(Voice of the Young)
Hundreds of these missiles, are pointed at the sky.
This cannot be our answer , or how we say goodbye.
We must find another way. Find another way.
(Voice of the Young)
Please sign our petition. Hear us when we say –
No more nuclear weapons. We must find another way.
We must find another way. Find another way.
(Voice of the World)
Listen to the songbirds. Listen to the prairie wind.
Listen to the children, like you’ll never hear them again.
We’ve come to the brink of this apocalypse.
We’ve stared into the abyss of nothingness.
We must find another way.
Find another way.
(Voice of the Missileer)
I am a missileer for the Minuteman Missile I will not hesitate. I will obliterate us all.
For if we die, they die. It is called deterrence. It is our assurance for peace.
Find another way. Find another way. Find another way. Find another way.
This is our only assurance for peace.
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Mr. Arseneault’s, Mrs. Diedtrich’s and Mr. Swedlund’s 8th Grade Classes
During the Cold War, the western South Dakota prairies contained much more than grasses and rolling hills. They also concealed 150 Minuteman nuclear missiles aimed at the Soviet Union, some with warheads packing as much explosive power as over a million tons of dynamite. These missiles were part of a “deterrence strategy” used by the U.S. to prevent a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. The idea was that if both countries had the same nuclear power, neither would strike, knowing that there would be equal retaliation.
The Cold War ended around 1991, but some missiles are still active in the upper Great Plains, however, none are operational in South Dakota anymore. Instead, in 1999, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site was established to preserve that part of US history. Our 8th grade class took a field trip there in November, and despite up to 75 mph winds that day, we had fun and learned a lot. We visited the silo at Delta-09 and saw the Minuteman 2 training missile it contained, as well as the Delta-01 Launch Control Center. Some of our class was lucky enough to go below ground to tour the underground Launch Control Center. This was where missileers were standing by around the clock to launch missiles if there was a nuclear attack. The missiles would have then crossed the North Pole and hit their target less than 30 minutes later.
The boy’s group had fun pretending they were saboteurs, and were amazed by how there was a back-up and sometimes a double back-up for everything. One of the highlights of the trip was when the elevator up from the underground Launch Control Center broke down and the boys had to climb up the escape ladder instead. We all enjoyed our experience at the missile site, but we were thankful there was never a need to use such destructive weapons.