Veterans Day was celebrated this year with a presentation by Dr. Eric Woodworth, who is the father of Mrs. Daniels and grandfather of Kaitlyn Daniels. Dr. Woodworth was an Air Force officer stationed in South Dakota as a Missile Launch Officer. His job would have been to launch nuclear missiles at our enemy in the 1970s, if he ever got the call (he didn’t). Students also found out that Mr. Fredericks, our school volunteer, had a similar job in North Dakota, though a few years later. We learned about the job of a Missile Launch Officer and about the actual site where they could launch a missile. We saw pictures of the launch facilities where the missiles were and launch control centers that could launch them if they received authenticated orders. We learned that the president carries the “The Nuclear Football,” a briefcase with the launch codes, and only he can give the order to launch. Dr. Woodworth compared the differences between the movie, “War Games,” to reality.
Thank you, Dr. Woodworth!
