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Then and Now: Cold War in Spokane 1957

1957: A National Guard tank and its crew pauses for a newspaper photographer at West First Avenue and Stevens Street during the Lilac Festival-Armed Forces Day Parade. The new Armed Forces Day was combined with the Lilac Festival for the first time in 1957. The nation was at the peak of Cold War fear and military spending, though the national economy was strong. The Inland Northwest economy was booming, too, with Kaiser Aluminum, part of the buildup for World War II, employing thousands of Spokane workers in peacetime manufacturing. Yet, an atomic war and the Soviet Union were still on the minds of nearly every American. (Spokesman-Review Photo Archives)
1957: A National Guard tank and its crew pauses for a newspaper photographer at West First Avenue and Stevens Street during the Lilac Festival-Armed Forces Day Parade. The new Armed Forces Day was combined with the Lilac Festival for the first time in 1957. The nation was at the peak of Cold War fear and military spending, though the national economy was strong. The Inland Northwest economy was booming, too, with Kaiser Aluminum, part of the buildup for World War II, employing thousands of Spokane workers in peacetime manufacturing. Yet, an atomic war and the Soviet Union were still on the minds of nearly every American. (Spokesman-Review Photo Archives)
By Jesse Tinsley jesset@spokesman.com(509) 459-5378

The nuclear standoff with Russia, known as the Cold War, was on everyone’s mind in 1957 in Spokane.

For almost a century the Lilac City encouraged state and federal authorities to put bases and airfields in the region. The World War II buildup left military forces across Eastern Washington, dotting the landscape with ballistic missile sites, National Guard units, supply depots and Air Force bases.

At Fairchild Air Force Base in 1957, the B-52 Stratofortress jet-powered bomber began arriving in March, replacing its predecessor, the B-36 Peacemaker, a six-engine prop plane. Although the B-36 had a range of 10,000 miles or more, aerial refueling now allowed the smaller B-52 to fly farther and faster. The supersonic F-102 Delta Dagger also arrived at the 498th fighter-interceptor squadron at the base.

Many would say the Russian military wasn’t the only threat to the country. The other weapon was “communist propaganda.” Though the national defense budget was $38 billion, some lamented that only a tiny fraction of that went to the new United States Information Agency, created in 1953 to export American ideas and broadcast a positive view of the country to other countries. Efforts included Voice of America broadcasts, creation of libraries and exhibits, press offices that published newspapers and magazines, and movie consultants who encouraged Hollywood to portray America in a positive light.

In Spokane, civil defense authorities tried to prepare Eastern Washington residents for nuclear attack. Nuclear fallout shelters were established in basements in stores, schools and churches that were stocked with food, water and supplies for hundreds of people at each location.

In 1954, the entire city practiced evacuating 70 square blocks of downtown on foot in “Operation Walkout,” where National Guardsmen watched 18,000 people leave the stores and offices. Leaflets with the words “This could have been an H bomb” fluttered down from aircraft.

On New Year’s Eve of 1957, the Spokane Chronicle asked local leaders about their wishes for the coming year. “Of course, the most desired goal during 1958 would be a guaranteed lasting peace,” said Col. E.A. Perry of the 92nd Bomb Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base.