1 State of Arkansas
2 93rd General Assembly
3 Regular Session, 2021 SR 6
4
5 By: Senator D. Wallace
6
7 SENATE RESOLUTION
8 TO RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO DESIGNATE THE MUSEUM LOCATED
9 ON THE FORMER EAKER AIR FORCE BASE THE "NATIONAL COLD
10 WAR CENTER".
11
12
13 Subtitle
14 TO RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO DESIGNATE THE
15 MUSEUM LOCATED ON THE FORMER EAKER AIR
16 FORCE BASE THE "NATIONAL COLD WAR
17 CENTER".
18
19 WHEREAS, the Cold War was a period of tension between the Soviet Union
20 and the United States after World War II; and
21
22 WHEREAS, historians do not agree on the dates of the Cold War, but the
23 period is generally considered to span the time between the establishment of
24 the Truman Doctrine in 1947 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991;
25 and
26
27 WHEREAS, a Strategic Air Command program was established in 1946, at
28 the Blytheville Air Force Base, which was renamed Eaker Air Force Base in
29 1988, located in Blytheville, Arkansas, to oversee the United States Air
30 Force's long-range bombing forces and to conduct long-range offensive
31 operations in any part of the world; and
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33 WHEREAS, that same year the Eaker Air Force Base was designated a
34 Strategic Air Command operation responsible for Cold War command and control
35 of land-based strategic bomber aircraft and intercontinental ballistic
36 missiles; and
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 SR6
1
2 WHEREAS, the Eaker Air Force Base closed in 1992, but given its place
3 in history, it is imperative that artifacts, mementos, and stories of the
4 Cold War and its impact on the United States be preserved; and
5
6 WHEREAS, with the only publicly accessible and fully intact Alert
7 Facility and Weapons Storage Facility in the United States, the National Cold
8 War Center, located at 4701 Memorial Drive on the former Eaker Air Force Base
9 will provide a completely unique and immersive tourist experience; and
10
11 WHEREAS, the National Cold War Center will:
12 (1) Educate a diverse group of tourists on the influence of the
13 Cold War on the history of the United States and the role of Arkansas's
14 military facilities throughout the years; and
15 (2) Heighten preservation efforts in, and the economic strength
16 of, the Arkansas Delta region which is struggling to maintain balance with
17 the levels of economic growth in other areas of the state,
18
19 NOW THEREFORE,
20 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
21 STATE OF ARKANSAS:
22
23 THAT the Senate recognizes the need to designate the museum located on
24 the former Eaker Air Force Base the "National Cold War Center".
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