At the time of the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Alaska was an armed camp, the front line of Cold War homeland defense. Recent research has underscored the critical role that events in Alaska played in nearly bringing about—and then helping to avert—nuclear catastrophe. Explore the dramatic story of Alaska’s Cuban Missile Crisis with Friends of Nike Site Summit, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and interpreting Alaska’s Cold War heritage. This is the second talk in the Cook Inlet Historical Society’s 2025-2026 speaker series.

Ivan Hodes is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and a former educator in the Anchorage School District. He holds a degree in European history from the United States Military Academy. A member of the Friends of the Nike Site Summit Board, he is the principal author of “Alaska’s Cold War Landmark: Nike Site Summit at Arctic Valley” (Charleston, SC: Palmetto Publishing, 2025), an illustrated guide to the Nike-Hercules missile battery overlooking Anchorage.

Photo: A pair of Convair F-102 Delta Daggers of the 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, cruise past the summit of Denali in the late 1960s, US Air Force official photograph. Private collection of William Stein. Courtesy of Friends of Nike Site Summit.

Cook Inlet Historical Society and Friends of Nike Site Summit Present: Alaska’s Cuban Missile Crisis