10 June 1969: The U.S. Air Force donated the first North American Aviation X-15, serial number 56-6670, to the Smithsonian Institution for display at the National Air and Space Museum. The first of three X-15A hypersonic research rocketplanes built by North American for the Air Force and the National Advisory Committee (NACA, the predecessor of NASA), 56-6670 made the first glide flight and
Throughout his colorful 33 year career as a fighter pilot, Gris amassed over 5000 mishap-free flight hours in tactical aircraft ranging from the F-86 Sabre to the F-15 Eagle. He completed 206 combat missions in Vietnam and was heavily involved in the initial testing and program development of both the F-15 and F-16 fighter programs.
As a graduate of the Air War College, he completed senior staff officer tours as the Director of Operations for the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base Korea; Chief, Operations Inspections, Pacific Air Forces Inspector General, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; and the Deputy Operations Officer for 12th Air Force, Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas.
Gris retired from the Air Force in 1984 and spent almost another decade of service as the General Manager of his community’s HOA before finally settling down to enjoy retired life as a doting husband, father, and grandfather. Gris was an active member in several Aircraft Societies and was a contributing writer to Sabre Jet Classics.
Source: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/austin-tx/col-edgar-grischkowsky-6465237
