Dakota Datebook: Operation Skywatch, 1952

The 1950s has been called the “Decade of Fear,” for in the time of the Cold War, the worst fear was of “the Bomb”—the atomic bomb.

In 1949, Russia tested its first atomic bomb, and defense experts feared the Soviets would launch a sneak attack on the United States. To guard against such an attack, the Air Force began installing a line of radar stations. Unfortunately, the radars of that era could...