– 1954: Minot was selected as the site of a U.S. Air Force base. Bismarck was also in the running for the base in this part of the state. Many stepped up to bring the base to Minot. The Minot Chamber of Commerce, now Minot Area Chamber EDC, led a drive to raise $50,000 to purchase some of the land for the base, according to the 1954 chamber board of directors meeting minutes.

– October 1954: Air Force officials from Washington and Air Defense Command, Colorado Springs, Colorado, arrive to launch the engineering survey for the new $7 million air base at Minot.

– July 12, 1955: Official groundbreaking ceremony held north of Minot for new air base.

– September 1956: The new air base already has some of the basics completed or being constructed, including dormitories, mess hall, hangars and the runway being enlarged.

MDN File Photo The Minot Daily News reported during a small ceremony in front of base operations on Feb. 15, 1957, Maj. Joe E. Roberts, right, first base commander and first Air Force member assigned to Minot Air Force Base, received the “key” to the base from Lt. Col. T.W. Roe, left, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

– Jan. 10, 1957: The Air Force accepted the first buildings on Minot AFB.

– Feb. 7, 1957: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers turns over the “key” of the base to Maj. Joe Roberts, the first base commander.

– Feb. 7, 1957: The 32nd Fighter Wing, the first unit at Minot AFB, was activated.

– 1958: Air Defense Command established a Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) sector at Minot AFB. It was the construction of a huge, windowless blast-resistant concrete building. IBM engineers installed two large, 275-ton computers in the basement of the building. Activated in June 1961, the SAGE facility processed air surveillance information and sent the data to Air Defense Command units. The SAGE center was deactivated in May 1963 and eventually housed numerous base agencies. Today it is known as the Professional Results in Daily Endeavors (PRIDE) building.

– July 1958: Personnel celebrated the first church service.

Submitted Photo Minot Air Force Base held its first open house in May 1959 with 25,000-30,000 people attending. Photo from Eloise Ogden family collection.

– September 1958: The Base Exchange opened.

– Sept. 1, 1958: The 4136th Strategic Wing was activated, the first permanent Strategic Air Command (SAC) unit, a tenant unit.

– September 1958: U-2 “spy planes” arrived for a nearly two-year special top secret mission Operation Crowflight. The U-2 planes were at the base before any other aircraft was assigned to Minot AFB. Their mission was to sample for upper air radioactivity.

– May 17, 1959: Minot AFB holds its first open house. Armed Forces Day open house was held as part of a two-day observance, “Power for Peace,” on Armed Forces Day with Minot and the south radar site. The base event drew 25,000-30,000 visitors.

– Sept. 23, 1959: First tanker, a Boeing KC-135, called “Miss Minot,” arrives.

MDN File Photo The first plane to be permanently assigned to the base, a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker named “Miss Minot,” arrived on Sept. 23, 1959.

– Mid-1960s: The Team Minot Sportsmen’s Feed at Minot Air Force Base began. The late S.L. “Bud” Olsen, executive vice president of the Minot Chamber of Commerce, and the late Kenton Bischke, a pilot, spraying service operator and chamber member, came up with the idea to hold the wild game dinner for enlisted military members.

– Feb. 1, 1960: The 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was transferred from Suffolk County Airport, New York, and assigned to the 32nd Fighter Group.

– Feb. 4, 1960: First F-106 Delta Dart arrives.

– October 1960: The first 40 housing units open.

– Fall 1960: Then Sen. John F. Kennedy who would become president in January 1961, met the Minot Air Force Base B-52 crew at Offutt AFB, Neb., who would transport the first bomber to Minot AFB. The crew included Maj. Clyde Evely, aircraft commander; Capt. Henry Sienkiewicz, co-pilot; Capt. Dwight Baker Jr., navigator-bombardier; Maj. Edmund Bible, navigator; Tech. Sgt. George Babich, observer; and Tech. Sgt. Narold Reed, gunner.

MDN File Photo The Minot Daily News, in this story published Jan. 9, 1962, reported on the coldest day at Minot Air Force Base since operations started there – 72 degrees below zero – and the “chill factor” formula used by base forecasters.

– July 16, 1961: The First B-52H bomber, “Peace Persuader,” arrives, with Maj. Clyde P. Everly as its commander for the flight. N.D. Gov. William Guy and Col. Harold A. Radetsky, commander, 4136th Strategic Wing at Minot AFB, accompanied the crew on the flight to Minot from Rapid City, South Dakota. Plane arrived at base on same day as base open house named “Peace Persuader Day,” when plane was christened “Peace Persuader.” A second plane (Tail No. 60-0025) was the backup plane in case “Peace Persuader” could not land. It also landed at Minot AFB that day but the “Peace Persuader” officially is considered the first B-52 to arrive at base. “Peace Persuader” tail No. 60-0027 crashed Oct. 4, 1968, while assigned to the base’s 23rd Bomb Squadron. Crash occurred eight miles south of Minot AFB runway, with one survivor.

– June 1962: Last BUFF off the assembly line 61-0040. Accepted into Air Force inventory in fall 1962.

– Jan. 11, 1962: Crewmembers in a Minot AFB B-52 flew halfway around the world from Okinawa, Japan, to Madrid, Spain. Called Operation Persian Rug, the crew successfully completed a more than 21-hour non-refueled flight – flying about 12,500 miles – and breaking 11 non-stop distance and course-speed records.

– January 1962: Construction starts on Minuteman I intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) complex.

– July 1, 1962: Minot AFB transferred from Air Defense Command to Strategic Air Command.

Submitted Photo Then Sen. John F. Kennedy meets in fall 1960 at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., the Minot Air Force Base crew who will transport the first B-52 to the Minot base. The crew, from the left, are Maj. Clyde Evely, aircraft commander; Capt. Henry Sienkiewicz, co-pilot; Capt. Dwight Baker Jr., navigator-bombardier; Maj. Edmund Bible, navigator; Tech. Sgt. George Babich, observer; and Tech. Sgt. Harold Reed, gunner.

– Sept. 6, 1963: The first Minuteman missile arrives at Minot AFB.

– Sept. 9, 1963: First Minuteman I missile installed at Launch Facility (LF)- Alpha 02.

– Nov. 21, 1963: First two flights of Minuteman I missiles (20 LFs and two Launch Control Facilities (LCF) turned over to the 455th Strategic Missile Wing.

– Jan. 3, 1964: Base trailer court opened.

– Feb. 26, 1964: Last Minuteman I missile installed at LF Oscar-06.

– April 1964: The 455th Strategic Missile Wing became combat ready.

– Jan. 15, 1965: A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the $147,000 base library.

– November 1965: Fifth Fighter Interceptor Squadron acclaimed as the finest F-106 squadron in the Air Force.

– Sept. 28, 1966: New flight control tower became operational.

– June 24, 1968: The 455th Strategic Missile Wing was redesignated as the 91st Strategic Missile Wing.

– June 25, 1968: The 450th Bomb Wing was redesignated the 5th Bomb Wing.

– Sept. 24, 1968: The 91st Strategic Missile Wing’s on-base Launch Facility trainer was completed.

– April 10, 1969: The base provided personnel and equipment to support the City of Minot during the flood crisis, which lasted until May 21, 1969.

– July 1, 1969: John Moses Veterans Hospital in Minot becomes USAF Regional Hospital.

– April 13, 1970: First Minuteman III missile arrives.

– June 18, 1970: First Minuteman III flight accepted by Strategic Air Command.

– November 1970 – First Thanksgiving Day dinner for local senior citizens held at Minot AFB held on Thanksgiving Day. Program started with an idea by Col. Grover Graves Jr., then commander of the 91st Strategic Missile Wing, later 91st Space Command. He called Claude “Bud” Ebert, longtime chief of recreation at base, to make it possible. Later it became the “Thanksgiving Day of Love.”

– Dec. 29, 1970: The 741st Strategic Missile Squadron became the first SAC Minuteman III squadron to obtain operational status.

– Jan. 20, 1971: First Minuteman III squadron, 50 missiles, was completed.

– September 1971: The first sentry dogs, all German Shepherds, assigned to Minot AFB arrived. They would go on general patrol duty at the base.

– Dec. 16, 1971: Minuteman III Modernization Program (15 flights) completed.

– July 1973: Minot AFB pays special tribute to the late A.R. Weinhandl, often known as the “Father of Minot AFB.” Weinhandl, a Minot banker and community leader, was known for his support and promotion of Minot AFB. Following his death in a traffic crash, he was honored at the base.

– January 1975: 57th Air Division reactivated at Minot AFB and also serves Grand Forks AFB.

– Jan. 16, 1975: Minot AFB captured national media attention when a group of about 27 young Black airmen, male and female, held a sit-in at the dining hall to draw attention to what they called the plight of young Black airmen being stationed there. Negotiations were held with the airmen and commanders, and then a human relations committee including local citizens was formed to alleviate some of the problems.

– May 14, 1976: Minot AFB pays tribute to Raymond Dobson, publisher and president of The Minot Daily News, for his many years of building relationships between the Minot community and Minot AFB. He was among local leaders with a leading role in securing the site north of Minot for the air base in the 1950s The day was designated Raymond C. Dobson Day and included a retreat ceremony, dedication of a tree in his honor and a testimonial dinner at the base.

– November 1977: A new $8 million radar approach control (RAPCON) facility considered the most modern of its kind in the Air Force opened at Minot AFB. Minot AFB was the second base in the Air Force to receive the system.

Submitted Photo Robert Sivley, center, a B-52H engineering manager at Boeing Wichita (Kansas) is shown in this photo with military members when the first B-52, “Peace Persuader,” was brought to Minot Air Force Base in July 1961. Photo from The Boeing Company.

A large crowd attended the ceremony when “Peace Persuader,” Minot Air Force Base’s first B-52, arrived on July 16, 1961. Submitted Photo

From left to right, Maj. Gen. Delmar Wilson, division commander, North Dakota Gov. William L. Guy; Miss North Dakota Diane Ulvedal of Grand Forks and Col. Harold Radetsky, commander of the 4136th Strategic Wing at Minot Air Force Base, are shown at “Peace Persuader Day” at the base on July 16, 1961. On this day the first two B-B2H’s arrived. Ulvedal christened the first plane to arrive. Photo from The Boeing Company. Submitted Photo

Eloise Ogden/MDN The front page of The Minot Daily News on Jan. 11, 1962, reported the success of the Minot Air Force Base B-52 and aircrew when they set records during Operation Persian Rug, a flight halfway around the world.

Eloise Ogden/MDN The Minot Daily News reported when the first Minuteman I missile arrived at Minot Air Force Base.

A.R. Weinhandl

MDN File Photo Raymond Dobson, center, publisher of The Minot Daily News, was honored by Minot Air Force Base on May 14, 1976, at a day proclaimed Raymond C. Dobson Day. In this July 6, 1978, photo, are, from the left, Col. Charles Lipscomb, Col. James Gormley, Dobson, Sen. Milton Young and Brig. Gen. Clyde Garner during Young’s visit to the base.

Eloise Ogden/MDN This is the front page of The Minot Daily News on May 15, 1976, reporting on Raymond C. Dobson Day at Minot Air Force Base on May 14, 1976.

MDN File Photo Minot Radar Station, south of Minot, operated from the early 1950s to 1979 and then was reopened as a communication site for a time before it was officially deactivated in 1997.