Richard S. Heyser | Missile-crisis pilot, 81

Richard Stephen Heyser, 81, a U-2 spy-plane pilot who took the first photos of ballistic-missile launch sites during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, died last Monday.

Lt. Col. Heyser, who lived in Apalachicola, Fla., died at a nursing home in nearby Port St. Joe.

The retired Air Force officer said in 2005 that no one was more relieved than he that the crisis ended peacefully. He said he did not want to go down in history as the man who started World War III.

President John F. Kennedy announced to the world that the photos proved the Soviet Union was building secret sites for nuclear-tipped missiles 90 miles south of Key West. Kennedy then summoned Lt. Col. Heyser to the White House after he made five flights over Cuba in nine days. Lt. Col. Heyser served two combat tours during the Vietnam War before retiring in 1974. - AP