Editing Damascus, Arkansas (section)

===Broken Arrow Incident===
{{Main|1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion}}
Construction began on a Titan II missile base north of Damascus in 1961; the site became active on December 18, 1963. During routine maintenance in a Titan II silo, an Air Force repairman dropped a heavy wrench socket, which rolled off a work platform and fell toward the bottom of the silo. The socket bounced and struck the missile, causing a leak from a pressurized fuel tank. The missile complex and the surrounding area were evacuated and a team of specialists was called in from Little Rock Air Force Base, the missile's main support base. About {{frac|8|1|2}} hours after the initial puncture, fuel vapors within the silo ignited and exploded. The explosion fatally injured one member of the team. Twenty-one other USAR personnel were injured. The missile's re-entry vehicle, which contained a nuclear warhead, was recovered intact. There was no radioactive contamination.

Damascus was the site of a [[List of military nuclear accidents|nuclear "Broken Arrow" incident]] on September 18–19, 1980 when a [[LGM-25C Titan II|Titan II]] [[Intercontinental ballistic missile|ICBM]] exploded {{convert|3.3|mi|km}} NNE of the town, although no radiation was spread as a result of the explosion. An extensive description of the Damascus accident can be found in Eric Schlosser's 2013 book: Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety.