Lieutenant Colonel Richard S Heyser

On October 14, 1962 (53 years ago today), then Major, Richard Heyser climbed into his U-2F, which he had only recently been qualified to fly, at Edwards AFB in California on mission "Brass Knob". Exactly seven hours later he landed at McCoy AFB in Florida, after a slight detour.

He had flown over very hostile Cuban airspace for less than seven minutes and collected some 900+ photos, some of which revealed several SS-4 missile transporters. This discovery set of the Cuban Missile Crisis. If you're not sure how that played out, it is worth digging into...

Heyser had joined the USAAF in 1944 and began pilot training in 1952. He eventually flew combat missions in both Korea and through two tours in Vietnam. He retired after 30 years of service in 1974. Lt. Col Heyser passed away in 2008 at 81 years of age.

Heyser had said of the mission and it's outcome, "...nobody was more relieved than he that the crisis ended peacefully. He said he had no desire to go down in history as the man who started World War III. I kind of felt like I was going to be looked at as the one who started the whole thing. I wasn't anxious to have that reputation."

We're glad it ended as peacefully as it did, though it could have turned out better, which we sill see in an upcoming post. But, we are glad that Lt. Col. Heyser was able to make it home and enjoy his retirement for as long as he did. We thank you and salute you sir!