Southeastern PA Cold War Historical Society

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Warminster, PA
Southeastern PA Cold War Historical Society

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Preserving history through the memories of those who created it.
* Oral History Interviews - over 100 so far
* History in Our Backyard lectures

Preserving history through the memories of those who created it. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Cold War Historical Society was founded in 2010 by a group of motivated women dedicated to preserving the contributions of current and former residents of southeastern Pennsylvania made towards protecting the United States during the Cold War.

10/30/2026

"Let's get a lock for this thing." The Washington Post's Cuban Missile Crisis capper cartoon by Herblock [1909-2001]. Published November 1, 1962 on the editorial page.

10/30/2026

Front page of the first issue of The Crossroads newspaper published by the men of the USS Bowditch (AG-30). Later issues featured Miss Crossroads of the Week and The Girl We Would Most Like to Split Atoms With.

10/30/2026

Join Dr. Christian Ostermann, Dr. Jillian Hartley and a global pane...

10/30/2026

Long-shot request:

We’ve had someone reach out to us whose father was briefly stationed at NAS Johnsville (the Naval Air Development Center, Warminster, PA) from April 2, 1957 to April 7, 1958. His name was Stanley Anthony Kissel, and he apparently served as a Photographer’s Mate Second Class.

The family member who reached out has attempted to locate information on her father from a variety of other sources, and she has a copy of his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) which claims that his security clearance and advanced technical training suited him for assignment to the photography team documenting early high-G human centrifuge tests on the Johnsville Centrifuge.
Family accounts have long maintained that his official photography from this era was picked up by national publications, including LIFE Magazine (our organization has some skepticism regarding this assertion.)

We do not have information on Stanley, but the timeframe in which he was in Warminster would have coincided with the initial X-15 training that was undertaken on the centrifuge (among other projects during that timeframe.)

We asked if there were any photos of Stanley, but unfortunately, those were unavailable.

If anyone recalls this individual, or has any information on him while stationed at Warminster, let us know!

10/14/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/19kmB69XCZ/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Today in American history, the Cuban Missile Crisis began—a 13-day showdown that pushed the United States and the Soviet Union to the edge of nuclear war. Sixty-four years since those U-2 photos revealed Soviet medium-range missiles in Cuba, the world still studies how close miscalculation came to catastrophe and how careful statecraft pulled it back.

What many forget: the ExComm meetings that followed were recorded, giving historians a rare, candid window into presidential crisis management. And a little-known pivot point came at sea—when a U.S. destroyer dropped practice depth charges to signal a Soviet submarine to surface. The sub’s captain considered arming a nuclear torpedo; only the refusal of second-in-command Vasili Arkhipov helped avert disaster.

The standoff ended with a secret and a signal: the USSR removed its missiles from Cuba; the U.S. publicly pledged not to invade and quietly agreed to pull Jupiter missiles from Turkey. Out of the peril came durable guardrails—backchannel diplomacy, a Washington–Moscow hotline, and a sober new humility about nuclear brinkmanship.

10/13/2026

Celebrating Philly Aerospace History— the ENIAC

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1cYxp51zty/?mibextid=WC7FNe

10/09/2026

Bonus live lecture (with booksigning) and livestream on November 19 at the Fuge! Join us!

Address

868 West Street Road, Suite 353
Warminster, PA
18974

Telephone

+19178167547

Website

http://www.ColdWarHistory.org/

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