Most people can recall where they were on 9/11 or when they witnessed the Challenger Explosion or heard about President Kennedy being shot.
These events are seared into our memories and are called “flashbulb memories” because we retain vivid details of the event which will last a lifetime. And, whenever there is a collective memory of something, there will always be all kinds of conspiracy theories that emerge, too, including the ones about our own Government plotting and carrying out the actual events.
None of these conspiracy theories, though, can compare to a real-life story I heard this past week about the bombing of Creede in 1964.
Now Ol’ Dutch has been known to hang out with some shady characters in his past but sitting next to a well-respected gentleman (let’s call him Eagle Eye Ernie) at a high-end venue, I never thought to hear a story such as this.
We were talking about hunting, fishing, ATVing and the normal Colorado stuff like the Denver Broncos and the changing leaves, when out of the blue Ernie decided to divulge his role in the attempted annihilation of Creede, the beloved mountain village nestled along the Rio Grande.
Old Eagle Eye Ernie had us in absolute rapt wonder as he began to tell about his Cold War activities. It seems that Ernie was at White Sands Missile range and part of a crew scheduled to test a $1 million Pershing missile.
All seemed to be going well until it came his crew’s turn to fire off their rocket. They carefully staged the test, lit it up and, then, as the rocket was making its way down range he said they noticed that it was a two stage rocket instead of a single stage construction.
Now to most of us such details are irrelevant as our experience with rockets is pretty weak and even Ol’ Dutch who shot a 4th of July Rocket into Mrs. McGinty’s kitchen really cannot appreciate the difference between one or two stage design.
But, when you are talking a 35-foot short-range ballistic missile, the design is important. A two-stage rocket has two engines and will go further than a single one. So, this one although aimed onto Army property, got an extra life out of its second stage and soared into the history books.
No one knows for sure why the missile traveled so far as it was way beyond design standards but somehow it found its way some 300 miles away to the snowy mountains six miles northwest of Creede, Colo., landing with a resounding thud November 19, 1964 at about 7:30 p.m.
Subsequent searches were made but it was not until 1982 that a hunter stumbled upon the crash site and the missile was found.
After the error was made, Ernie said his unit was bundled up and shipped double pronto to Germany the next day where they could not do any more harm to U.S. citizens and hopefully not start a war with Russia in the meantime with an errant shot in the dark.
I think Eagle Eye Ernie had been sworn to secrecy those many years ago much like UFO and JFK witnesses you read about. But like them he decided to come clean about such things having reached an age advanced enough that he is not afraid of untold consequences for spilling the beans.
And Old Ernie has been known to be full of beans at times as far as stories go, but this one checked out.
Miss Trixie has always said “Ol’ Dutch never lets the truth get in the way of a good story” and with that in mind I have set off on a path to find out more about this event. I need to find people who were in Creede during this attack and with their help spin a yarn worthy of any conspirator’s Web page on the Internet.
So if you are old enough to recall just where you were on that fateful day in 1964 whether it be at work, school or in your own personal bomb shelter, let Ol’ Dutch know so he can join the ranks of conspiracy theory whackos and maybe sell some books in the process.

Kevin Kirkpatrick and his Yorkie, Cooper, fish, hunt, ATV or hike daily. His email is [email protected]. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com or on Twitter at TroutRepublic.