Adopt a Missile Silo: A 2003 Citizen Inspection Action
This editorial is a historical summary of material archived from the former ColoradoPeace.org website, dated July 2003 and revised July 28, 2003. It describes events and statements as they appeared at that time. Nothing here should be read as a claim about present conditions, organizations, or activities.
The Archived Announcement
In July 2003, the ColoradoPeace website carried an announcement titled “Adopt a Missile Silo!” It described a planned day of citizen action on Saturday, July 26, 2003, at the 49 nuclear missile silos of northeastern Colorado. According to the archived text, concerned citizens from across the country intended to gather to protest the nuclear weapons stationed there, which the organizers characterized as dangerous and illegal.
Inspiration and Context
The announcement said participants drew inspiration from three Dominican nuns—Ardeth Platte, Carol Gilbert, and Jackie Hudson—who had recently been convicted for symbolically disarming a missile silo in Weld County. The archived page stated that the sisters were to begin serving prison sentences on July 25, and that the action was intended to show that their voices could not be silenced.
The organizers described the Minuteman III silos in northeastern Colorado as part of a larger national system of more than 500 silos. The page asserted that each missile was far more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb and that the weapons remained on alert despite the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. These are the organizers’ claims as recorded in the source, not independent findings.
The Planned Program
- At 11:00 a.m., volunteer “Citizen Weapon Inspection Teams” were to hold protests or ceremonies at each of the 49 silos.
- At 12:30 p.m., groups were to meet at the Community Center in Stoneham for a symbolic disarming.
- Peace Poets founder Alan Wartes was described as walking from Gunnison to Denver, gathering messages of peace, with a public reading planned for July 24.
The page listed numerous participating organizations and quoted individuals including Cynda Collins-Arsenault, Bob Kinsey, and Alan Wartes. It also included media contacts and references to documentary footage. These details are preserved here only as historical record of the archived announcement.
Historical Framing
This material reflects the language and intentions of its authors in 2003. It is presented as an archived artifact, not as a description of any current event, group, or program.