it continued to operate until its inactivation on 25 June 1961. On 1 December 1956, the name of the base was changed to Dyess Air Force Base in honor of the late Lt Col William E. Dyess, USAAF. The 96th Bombardment Wing moved to Dyess on 8 September 1957 and for a few years worked alongside the 341st. It included not just B-47 and B-52 nuclear bombers, but also the KC-97 and later on the KC-135 refueling aircraft. During the Cold War, the base was constantly on alert in case of nuclear attack. Even signs in the base's movie theater would instantly alert pilots in the scenario that the USSR would initiate a nuclear attack during a movie. These can still be seen today at the theater. During the Vietnam War, B-52s and KC-135s (917th ARS) from the 96th BW participated heavily in various air campaigns, including Arc Light, Young Tiger, Bullet Shot, Linebacker, and Linebacker II missions over North and South Vietnam. The B-52s flew combat missions primarily out of Andersen AFB, Guam and Utapao RTAFB, Thailand during these missions. The KC-135As flew primarily out of Utapao RTAFB, Thailand, Clark AFB, Philippines, Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Andersen AFB, Guam, and NAS Agana, Guam. On 19 November 1959, the United States Army conducted groundbreaking ceremonies at Dyess AFB for the battalion headquarters of the 5th Missile Battalion, 517th Artillery of the U.S. Army Air Defense Command. Installed to defend the SAC bombers and Atlas F missile silos stationed at and around Dyess AFB, the two Nike Hercules sites were controlled by a "BIRDIE" system installed at Sweetwater Air Force Station. Site DY-10, located at Fort Phantom Hill and site DY-50, located southwest of Abilene , remained operational from 1960 until 1966. Units stationed at Dyess Air Force Base while the 5/517th was operational included SAC's 819th Strategic Aerospace Division, the 96th BW, and the 578th Strategic Missile Squadron. Several of the 578th's Altas F Silos are located near the Nike sites. The Army Air Defense Command Post was located 37 miles west at Sweetwater AFS. Both of the sites were located near former Army posts. Camp Barkeley served as a World War II infantry division training center, while Fort Phantom Hill was a frontier outpost and stop on the Butterfield stage route. Since 1961, various models of C-130 Hercules aircraft have been stationed at Dyess AFB. The C-130s were originally assigned