Alaska’s geographic position put it at the center of much of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Much of the focus on Alaska during the Cold War was on the threat of Soviet bombers, and later ICBMs, passing over Alaska to reach targets in the Lower 48. But there were more nuclear activities in Alaska than planes and missiles in the sky. From lost bombs to nuclear testing, and from the Cuban Missile Crisis to nuclear reactors, Alaska’s nuclear history covered nearly the whole state, and continues to this day.

Mark Rice holds a doctoral degree in history from Ohio State University, with a field in diplomatic and international history. Mark received his MA from Ohio University and his BA(H)

from the University of Toronto. Since 2014, he has been a historian with the State of Alaska, first with the Office of History and Archaeology and currently with the Public Access Assertion and Defense Unit.

Cook Inlet Historical Society Presents: Alaska’s Nuclear History