The Cold War could have heated up quickly if U.S. analysts were correct about a missile with its target on Wilmington.
According to a story in the Aug. 23, 1981, StarNews, U.S. analysts said somewhere in the Soviet Union was a missile silo containing a nuclear warhead targeted for Wilmington.
If a crisis with Moscow had included alerts for a nuclear exchange, the president would order a total evacuation of New Hanover County. It was the only county in North Carolina with the distinction.
Wilmington, situated near the Fort Fisher Air Station, General Electric's nuclear facility, the State Ports authority terminal and Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal, would make it a priority as high as Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune.
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Residents would've been forced to flee to Pender and Columbus counties as well as the western half of Brunswick County. Brunswick's eastern half would've also been evacuated.
If there wasn't enough notice to evacuate, there were 112 civil defense shelters in the county capable of shielding 120,000 residents, including the basements of the courthouse, banks and churches. One shelter was the Battleship North Carolina. Trask Coliseum and the North Carolina Armory were regarded as shelters against radioactive fallout, although they would offer little blast protection.
Owen Hassell is the local news editor for the StarNews. You can reach him at ohassell@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: From the archives: Nuclear missile aimed at Wilmington, analysts said
