MURFREESBORO — An MTSU alumnus who flew into World War II and Cold War aviation
history will discuss his adventures in a free public lecture on campus
Thursday, April 2.
Retired U.S. Air Force Col. William
J. “Greg” Gregory is set to speak at 5:30 p.m. April 2 on “Leading and Living
in Turbulent Times: The Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, and the Development of
Aviation.”
His talk is set in Room 204 of
MTSU’s Todd Hall, and a free public reception will follow. A searchable campus
map with parking details is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParking14-15.
Gregory
flew his first airplane as an MTSU student in 1940 and went on to fly missions
over North Africa and Europe in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
When the
U.S. Air Force was created, he served as the commander of the high-altitude
reconnaissance U-2 squadron, which first identified the Soviet arms build-up
during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and the mounting tensions in Vietnam.
The experiences gave him a unique and personal perspective on leading and
living in the turbulent decades of the 1960s and 1970s.
Gregory
served for more than 30 years in the U.S. Air Force as a commander and pilot.
He did not earn his degree from MTSU because he left school as a junior to join
the military, but he’s kept close ties to the university, even creating a
scholarship for students from Trousdale and Macon counties.
He
retired from active duty in 1975 and worked for 15 years as assistant director
of workers’ compensation in the Texas attorney general’s office. Now, at age
93, Gregory is an avid cyclist and world traveler as well as a self-described
“devoted grandfather.”
Gregory’s
visit is part of the College of Liberal Arts Military Lecture Series. For more
information, contact Connie Huddleston at connie.huddleston@mtsu.edu.
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