bomarkA special ceremony was held on Tuesday in advance on Armed Forces Day.

The Municipal Heritage Committee designated the Bomarc Missile as it’s latest heritage site plaque.

The plaque is located next to the baseball diamond at Veterans Field, near where one of the missiles was parked before being removed, due to deterioration in 2009. 28 Bomarc missiles arrived in the early 60’s and they were armed to counter a possible nuclear attack.

Mayor Al McDonald says it’s important to remember this week what the Bomarc represented to North Bay.

Committee member Peter Handley says on New Years Eve in 1960 he remembers how big the story was when the missiles arrived as they were snuck in just north of the city on Highway 11.

22 Wing Commander Colonel Henrik Smith says the Bomark is a unique piece of Canadian history.

He says we had nuclear armed missiles ready to strike in defense of a nuclear weapons strike.

For a complete list of the heritage site plaques designated by the municipal heritage committee go to www.cityofnorthbay.ca/heritage