There was one scene where one of the characters (I believe it was the one played by Jason Robards) visits the ruins of the Liberty Memorial, which is the US national monument to those killed in World War I.  The large sculptured figures on either side of the base of the tower are two winged griffins, who are hiding their faces with their wings at the horror of the war.

From the hill where the monument stands, the character could see for miles in every direction that nothing was left of the city (in the linked photo you can see the buildings of downtown KC about two kilometers away, in the distance behind the monument).

After the movie a candelight protest/peace vigil was held at the monument.  The police expected only a small crowd, as it was about midnight, but a throng of tens of thousands spontaneously descended on the site and filled the park surrounding it.  Me and my wife and baby son went down; it was incredibly powerful.  Almost 25 years later and I'm still getting filled up as I remember it and type...

Another strange memory from that time was driving on the backroads, going to the Missouri state fair, and happening to run across a missle silo site out in the middle of nowhere by the side of the road.  There was not a lot to see: heavy fencing with barbed wire, concrete pad, and the lid of the silo - on tracks so it could roll back - but it gave one a shiver down the back to be unexpectedly in the presence of such monstrous evil power on what had been a pleasant late summer morning.

What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on? - Thoreau