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Base interested in keeping missile; Correspondence raises questions about removal
Dave Dale
Local News - Saturday, August 11, 2007 @ 08:00
The historic Bomarc missile displayed at Veterans Park for three decades is pointing in the right direction for its new home if Canadian Forces Base North Bay gets its way.
Maj. Bruno Villeneuve, administrative officer at 22 Wing, is the point man attempting to transfer ownership of the Cold War artifact from the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
And Capt. Cynthia Elia, of the 22 Wing public affairs office, said the base museum has expressed "absolute interest" in keeping the missile from leaving the area.
The Bomarc, one of 28 missiles formerly armed with nuclear warheads to help repel a Russian attack on North America, has been in the care of the city since 1978. The Kiwanis Club of North Bay erected the monument to honour the city's role in continental defence.
Loan of the Bomarc is being terminated sometime this month due to the deteriorating condition of the magnesium-thorium plates on the fuselage which offered light-weight strength.
Thorium naturally emits radiation and puts the Bomarc under the United States Environmental Protection Act, requiring cautious legal and technical controls.
The U.S. museum had pulled the missiles from its static display program and initially recalled the North Bay Bomarc in 1995.
An extension was given to keep the missile here for display and a special paint was applied 12 years ago to slow the erosion, but little else was done.
Correspondence between the city and museum states that human health risks are possible if the magnesium-thorium plates are sanded, cut or drilled.
There is some controversy about whether the museum decided to take back the missile or if the city requested the museum take it off its hands.
The issue arose after Project Flanders, the group which restored the CF-100 fighter jet in Lee Park nearby, asked the city last year if it could head up a project to restore the missile.
In a letter to the city dated July 23, the senior curator of the U.S. museum, Terry Aitken, references the advanced state of deterioration and formally notifies North Bay it is recalling the loaned missile.
But in an Aug. 6 e-mail to U.S. air force command historian George Bradley III, Aitken states North Bay has recognized "the deteriorating condition of the missile and their lack of resources to properly deal with the challenges." Aitken goes on to say "the city has responsibly offered the return of the missile."
The e-mail was forwarded to former North Bay resident Neall Hards after he asked the U.S. air force why the Bomarc was being removed. "I grew up in North Bay and my brother and I actually used to run through the entire Bomarc missile site (even the underground sections) when we were kids after the local college took over the land for their rotary craft program," Hards wrote after reading about the issue at nugget.ca last month.
"Now living in Ottawa, it's still nice to come home and be able to show and explain these wonderful pieces of history to my children. This missile displays North Bay's very active participation in the . . . 'Cold War' protecting our fellow Canadians, and respect for our heritage.
"The USAF should show us a little more respect . . . I would just like to know why there is such a need to have it removed, after what our town did for the country - do we not deserve recognition?"
Dave Linkie, North Bay's chief administrative officer, said the city never asked the museum to take back the missile, adding Aitken's official letter July 23 best reflects the scenario.
