In his illustrated talks, he offered a firsthand account of the real story behind its development. The Smithsonian Associates hosted this event. Lauren good evening. Im Lauren Rosenberg with the Smithsonian Associates. And id like to welcome you to this program. To members, im so glad that youre here. Its your support that makes events like this possible. And if youre joining for the first time, an equally warm welcome and invitation to explore the wide range of programs we offer. Now is your perfect time to talk off your cell phone or anything that might make noise during the program. Thank you for doing that. This past march marked the 50th anniversary of the u. S. Navy Fighter Weapons program. We welcome the programs founder, dan pederson. He entered the u. S. Navy in 1953 and went on to become the senior officer of nine men to form the legendary Top Gun Program at Naval Air Station miramar in march of 1969. He served in combat during the vietnam war with the flying crews on the uss