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It was Oct. 25, 1962, and the U.S. Air Force captain was piloting a U-2 spy plane on the edge of Earth’s atmosphere, taking high-resolution images of nuclear missile sites on the island nation about 100 miles from Florida. The world teetered toward total destruction as tensions escalated between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cuban missile crisis 60 years ago this week. As McIlmoyle snapped photos, a flash of light caught his eye. The Soviet and Cuban militaries had launched a pair of surface-to-air missiles. Thankfully, a course correction he’d made moments earlier caused the missiles to miss his plane.