Bangor

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. News, and Other Relevant Links
3. Related Organizations and Resources
4. Featured Resolutions

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In 2021, Bangor aligned itself with the Back from the Brink campaign by passing a key resolution entitled ‘Supporting Efforts to Prevent Nuclear War’

Bangor, Maine, a small city located in east-central Maine, is an illustrative example of the effect of nuclear weapons on smaller localities. The city’s ties to nuclear weapons began in 1955, when Bangor was selected to participate in “Operation Alert.” This operation was a simulation of nuclear warfare in which the residents of Bangor were forced to take cover while civil defense officials tested their readiness and communication systems, and federal officials practiced evacuating the capital. 

The city later came to house critical nuclear infrastructure. Since the 1930s, Bangor had housed an air strip, which the U.S. Army acquired in 1941 and renamed Dow Army Airfield. After years of use during WWII, followed by extensive renovations, the Bomarc Missile Site, located just off the air strip, became operational in June of 1960. During the Cold War, this site served as a crucial space for storage of nuclear warheads. Though the airfield and storage areas were closed in November 1964 by the former U.S. Defense Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Bangor came to be known for its role in nuclear missile storage. This catapulted the citizens of Bangor’s interest in the fight for nuclear disarmament. The airfield and the subsequent storage areas were closed by Secretary McNamara in November 1964. 

In 2021, Bangor aligned itself with the Back from the Brink campaign by passing a key resolution entitled ‘Supporting Efforts to Prevent Nuclear War.’ This resolution called for added safeguards when launching a nuclear attack, preventing the development of more enhanced weapons, the creation of an international agreement to abolish nuclear weapons, and starting with the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.