At the close of World War II, fear of communism and nuclear assault helped push America into the Cold War, and the U.S. Army and Air Force responded with Operation Long Horn, one of the largest maneuvers ever staged on American soil. Beginning in late March 1952, the mock war simulated thwarting an invasion and recovering from an atomic attack. Ranchers between Waco and San Angelo signed easements to their land, and several ranches near Lometa became battle sites and campgrounds as more than 115,000 troops came to Texas for the exercise. The town's population swelled from 900 to 22,000, and troops, civilian staff, and local residents adjusted to life together in a small town, with residents rationing and trading with troops, offering facilities for a mock U.S.O. operation, and attending soldiers' programs and presentations. These included an airdrop of 2,500 troops along with weapons, equipment, and rations in training that matched the 31st Infantry, 47th Infantry, and 1st Armored Division against the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In a nationally publicized episode, aggressor forces captured and occupied Lampasas, imposed mock control of the media and curfews, and the city was liberated near the end of the simulation on April 9, 1952. The 3,300,000-dollar exercise left damaged ranch land, outbuildings, fences, and gates, disturbed livestock, and gave local residents a direct experience of war in their own community.