The 91st Bombardment Group, the forerunner of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, arrived in England in September 1942 prepared for the initial bombing operations against Fortress Europe. Commander of the 305th Bomber Command, Curtis LeMay and Director of Operations, Joseph J. Preston, trained air crews in locating and identifying strategic targets in Nazi Germany. LeMay and Preston developed a dynamic working relationship and left a lasting legacy. News correspondents were trained as gunners in order to fly on the bombing missions and report the war first hand. Young college-aged crews rapidly became seasoned warriors and struggled to meet the 25-mission requirement before their return home. One of the most famous B-17s during World War II was the "Memphis Belle" which was featured in a movie "Saga of the Memphis Belle" / In February 20-25, 1944, known as "Big Week," the VIII Bomber Command put up 1,000 heavy bombers that flew 3,800 sorties, destroyed 75 percent of buildings bombed in Germany and downed 600 Nazi fighters. The following month, 800 bombers struck Berlin targets during such bad weather that Luftwaffe fighters never became airborne. That offensive established aerial supremacy in Europe in preparation for General Dwight Eisenhower's command of the D-Day invasion on Nazi-occupied France. The 91st was again in the thick of world events when the Soviet-backed North Koreans pushed through the 38th Parallel into South Korea. Photographic reconnaissance and mapping of the uncharted Korean peninsula became a top priority. The nation's first jet-propelled bomber, the RB-45C, led the newly designated US Air Force assigned to a detachment bound for Japan. Capable of air refueling, the RB-45C detachment made an island-hopping flight due to the time constraints to become proficient in working with tanker refueling. The 91st SRW detachments continued to perform at Forward Operating Locations in Eielson AFB, Alaska, Thule AFB, Greenland, Turkey, Libya, Morocco, Spain, England and Japan, with the same skill and security. 'We Served with Honor' tells the history of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing from the perspective of the men who lived it. One pilot describes his Top Secret overflight of the Soviet Union's Kola Peninsula including an attack by MiG fighters. The partnership between the Royal Air Force and the 91st SRW was a unique collaboration and is described by the RAF officer who was the center of the events.

When Chang-di 'Robin' Yeh departed on his scheduled recon flight on 1 November 1963, his life was full of promise. In an instant, the experienced pilot transitioned from a free man to a prisoner held on spy charges by mainland China. Promised early on he would be returned to Taiwan, the weeks and months passed without change. Denounced by the government of Taiwan, Yeh became a man without a country. The son of a retired nationalist army general and educated in private schools, Yeh was forced to do the most menial jobs while in captivity: cleaning after farm animals, pulling weeds by hand, overhauling trucks and tallying workers' farm productions. Interrogations continued with the hope Yeh would break; the guards and interrogators were surprised at his unwavering position. Day after day, the examiners continued the questions about his flight, his aircraft, his squadron and even his family. They could not understand why he would not know all the intricacies of his aircraft and flight. After all, his was a new and special aircraft. Global changes between East and West provided slightly improved living conditions for prisoners. When the Chinese learned by accident that Yeh spoke English, they hatched a plan to use his language ability to their benefit while offering a better job using his skills. When Yeh's usefulness was exhausted, the Chinese offered him a chance to leave, but not without strings. After almost 20 years captive in China, the Taiwanese refused to allow him to return. Where could he go? Who could he turn to for help? Did his family know he was alive? Arranging his exit from China was another hurdle to clear. Using his ROCAF contacts from years past, 'Robin' found assistance where he did not expect it...

With heightened tensions mounting in the Cold War, President Dwight Eisenhower's request for more accurate intelligence information on the Soviet Union was the spark that ignited the U-2 project. Modified USAF bombers began overflights of the Soviet Union in 1951, but existing lower flying aircraft in the US inventory were vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire and a number of cross-border flights were shot down. To meet the challenge and improve the survivability, the Lockheed Corporation received approval for their revolutionary design of a new recon aircraft on December 9, 1954. The company began work under a heavy veil of secrecy with only 81 people, including 25 engineers. A test pilot flew the first flight on August 1, 1955, after only eight months of production, a record-breaking result for rollout of a new project, especially one this complex and innovative. A dedicated and inventive group of contractors came together to support the project with partial pressure suits for pilots, high-resolution cameras, and an engine that could carry the aircraft to altitudes of 70,000 feet and higher. Nicknamed the Dragon Lady, the U-2 has flown over Cuba, Alaska, North and South poles, Vietnam, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, and Afghanistan. The U-2 is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. More recently it flew over the hurricane-ravaged US Gulf Coast to collect imagery of the destruction over a 90,000 square mile area. First-person memoirs of many of the men who supported the early US spy plane project are included in this book. They include pilots, maintenance specialists, a flight surgeon, photographic specialists and some family members. The US also trained U-2 pilots from Taiwan and the UK and some of their photos and memoirs are in this collection. Maintenance technicians recalled working long hours to prepare aircraft for historic flights over Cuba. Photographic specialists remembered the difficult conditions in Vietnam, and the care required to download the exposed film of North Vietnamese targets from the cameras in the aircraft. All of these experiences were achieved under Top Secret security conditions and on a"need to know" basis.

Ninety miles from the US coast of Florida, dictators and zealots ruled the island of Cuba for hundreds of years. The last half of the 20th century saw dictator Fulgencio Batista deposed by rebel leader Fidel Castro and his followers. Proclaiming himself a supporter of Cubanism not Communism, Castro's nationalization of agriculture and businesses revealed a different side. Thousands of Cubans departed by air and sea en route to the US and Europe. The US government, alerted by the Central Intelligence Agency, became concerned when an alliance forged between Castro and Nikita Khrushchev brought arms and ammunition to the island so close to US shores. John F. Kennedy, sworn into office as the 35th president when critical actions required attention, did not immediately approve the plan without considerable evaluation. The Agency hierarchy enjoyed power and influence and at times withheld critical pieces of the plan. The CIA hatched a plan to have Castro removed and enlist the Cuban exiles to be trained by US agents and invade the island to establish a new government. The operation, an invasion at the Bay of Pigs, or Bahia de Cochinos, began during the administration of President Eisenhower with participation from all departments of government up to the Oval Office. Brigade 2506 - as the exile force called themselves - was trained in Guatemala and Nicaragua by Agency representatives. With patched up B-26s from the "boneyard" in Tucson, Arizona and commercial vessels leased from an exile in New York, the Brigade had an active military force. Former military pilots, students, farmers, lawyers and doctors comprised the group who opposed Castro and wanted to be part of his takedown. Three days after the invasion at the beach, all hell broke loose.