This photograph is of a serviceman standing on top of one of the radars used during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The white dome is where powerful radar signals were sent out to acquire targets. Today all that remains in this image is the metal structure barely visible from the overgrown trees and the man telling his story. Pictured below are the side doors of the mess hall at abandoned Battery B in Key Largo. This was a once in a lifetime visit for me along with men who were stationed there during the 60’s and 70’s. It was so interesting to hear them describe how the base looked like before, what they did to amuse themselves (fish, race down isolated roads, throw handfuls of camera flash cubes in front of the radar signals and watch them explode), but I was moved by how much they are still part of this place. Shifts were usually 24 hours on then 24 hours off in an isolated and unforgiving environment, but they are all proud of the time they spent here. 

Battery B stood down in 1979 and the condition of the buildings show how quickly nature has reclaimed the area. A forty foot tree grows right in front of the main doors, its sprawling roots have torn through the concrete. Where an open helicopter pad was located-almost impossible to find unless you traverse the poison oak and cut through the vines. I’ll be honest, the barracks made me feel like I was on an episode of Ghost Adventures, but thankfully the only things trying to get me were a couple of horseflies.

It’s been 50 years since the Cuban Missile Crisis ended, but there is still so much to learn about how the Cold War affected Florida. As for the gentlemen I met over the weekend, they recounted tales as if they were talking about things that happened a week ago. I was honored to be a part of their group and I’m thankful for their service.

If you are interested in seeing more of the images I took, there is a set uploaded to Flickr. Some of them have additional notes relating to what life was like on the base.