As a historian, I have wandered across many Civil War battlefields. Lately, I have found myself wandering across the abandoned and overgrown remnants of Nike Missile Sites that once ringed the Chicago area during the Cold War era from 1956 to 1972. One closest to the city was Nike Missile Site C-44, which still can be visited. It was part of the Chicago/Gary Defense Area, which included about 20 bases around the Chicago area. Other bases were located at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and Wheeler, Indiana, and Porter, Indiana, even in the middle of Chicago's Jackson Park. Nike C-44 was a dual site located in Hegewisch/Wolf Lake in southeastern Chicago. Today, it ls abandoned and overgrown at the south end of William W. Power State Recreation Area. The access road entrance at Avenue J and 133rd Street is largely obliterated. The launch site, on the north shore of Wolf Lake where South Wolf Lake Boulevard becomes South State Line Road,, is also abandoned. The buildings are gone but foundations remain. To reach the site, drive to William W. Power State Recreation Area in southeast Chicago. Turn left onto Wolf Lake Drive and follow it all the way back to where the road forks. The road to the site is down the road to the left.