Aero Linx: NORAD
Santa
For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the
Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s
flight. The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based
Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa
misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the
phone number put kids through to the CONAD
Commander-in-Chief’s operations "hotline." The Director of
Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check
the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the
North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location,
and a tradition was born.
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