On Dec. 5, 1964, Bob Hicks had a crucial
task in a remote part of South Dakota.
He had to descend into a Minuteman I
missile silo to disarm the missile and
retrieve its warhead. At the time, Hicks
was a missile maintainer stationed at
Ellsworth Air Force Base. Late at night, he
received a phone call from his crew chief,
who informed him about an accident that
occurred at one of the intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM) silos. According to
released documents cited by the Rapid City
Journal, the warhead was no longer on top
of the missile.