The main program was presented by Col. William Gregory (“Greg”), USAF (Ret.). Please see the Rotary Moment for this day for a brief biography. This remarkable man, age 99, first flew a Piper Cub in 1940, flew the P-38 in WWII, and ended his career as a Squadron Commander and U-2 pilot. At the end of World War II, Germany was defeated by the cooperative efforts of the US and Russia. After the war, however, Russia became the enemy. Eisenhower tried an open-air policy, but Russia would not agree. So he ordered a plane that could fly higher than any other to be used for reconnaissance, and the U-2 came into service in 1956. In 1960, after Gary Powers was shot down, the U-2 mission was switched to flying over Cuba and Viet Nam. It was then that Greg, now CO of the U-2 squadron at Andrews AFB, CA, flew the U-2 missions. Their information alerted Pres. JFK to, and guided him through, the Cuban Missile Crisis, thus avoiding war. The U-2, as an updated model, is still flying today, though for what mission he could not say. The Q&A session was quite lively, including an insightful query about the future of the U-2. It has not happened yet, but Greg felt that eventually satellites will dominate as the reconnaissance tool. The final question: “To what do you owe your long life?” His answer, “I guess I’ve just been blessed.” NxNE members might be interested in this current biography of Greg: Eagle 5X5 by Robert L. Richardson, Austin Brothers Publishing, Ft. worth, TX, 2019