Why a DEWline?

There are many people today that have never heard of the DEWline and a few more that have heard of it but still don't know what it is, or was.

After WW II was over the United States, and what in those days was the USSR, were becoming belligerent with each other. Over succeeding years, this became the Cold War. The Cold War, in essence, was both sides intimating "You use the atom bomb on us, we'll use the atom bomb on you," keeping everyone continually on their toes. Either or both sides could have done just that. The DEWline was a deterrent.

In that era the blind side of the United States was from the North. If an enemy came at us from that direction we might not be able to detect them soon enough to defend ourselves. The polar north in those days was very desolate with no lookout stations covering this vast territory. An early warning plan was conceived, by the United States in the early 1950s and swung into action February 15, 1954, when President Eisenhower signed the bill approving the construction of a continuous radar line above the arctic circle. It extended from the western extreme of Alaska to the eastern extreme of Canada. Canada became a member of the construction team because most of the line was based in their country, and they were in need of similar protection. Hence the DEWline was born -- Distant Early Warning line. Reportedly, it was the most expensive single military project, up to that time.