Colonel Merryl Tengesdal, born in the Bronx, New York, in 1971 was the first and only African American woman to fly the United States Air Force’s U-2 spy plane, the unique and famous aircraft used to spy and reconnaissance flown in the Cold War over the Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, and Cuba. Merryl overcame and broke down barriers in more ways than one. She has accomplished what seemed like a mission impossible, to be in Air force being a pilot working for the spy missions and risky operations overseas.