Settling into the pilot seat of the SR-71, Buz Carpenter knew his impending mission impacted the security of the United States. Straddling the border of the Soviet Union or zipping across a Middle Eastern nation, the reconnaissance he was gathering could determine whether there would be ensuing military action.

"It was an absolutely incredible airplane, and unlike a lot of other airplanes, peacetime, wartime, we flew so many missions that you came back and you felt you had made a positive contribution to our nation's defense," said Carpenter, who was assigned as a SR-71 pilot 1975-80.

Carpenter and Jerry Glasser, both retired Air Force colonels, were among more than 40 former SR-71 air crew members participating in a recent event at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum near Ash

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