The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line
The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line was designed and built during the Cold War as the primary line of air defense to warn of an attack on the North American continent. The DEW Line was declared fully operational on 31 July 1957, and remained in operation for more than 30 years. Although the primary purpose of the 58 sites was to watch for potential threats to the security of North America using radar, all sites also collected weather observations that have become an important part of the arctic climate record.
In March 1985, when Canada and the United States signed the North American Air Defense Modernization agreement, an upgrade to the DEW Line began. Today it is known as the North Warning System (NWS).
In addition to the original DEW line sites, an additional 15 sites filled gaps along Alaskan north coast. Between 1957 and 1959 the DEW Line was extended westward along the Aleutian Islands. The DEW East project established four DEW Line sites in Greenland in 1957.
The map below shows the location of the stations that made up the DEW line in 1962.
Map courtesy of "The DEW Line" (http://www.magma.ca/~lwilson/dewline.htm)
The people who staffed the DEW line sites were proud of their accomplishments and survival in the harsh environment of the far north. Many of the stations are commemorated by patches and other mementos.