\u201cTop Gun\u201d is undoubtedly one of the most iconic military films in history. The 1986 blockbuster film starring Tom Cruise as Navy pilot Maverick is still beloved by both those who saw it in theaters more than 30 years ago or as recently as 30 days ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just ask actor Tom Skerritt, who played TOPGUN commanding officer<\/a> Cmdr. Mike \u201cViper\u201d Metcalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGeneration after generation have come to love that film and watch it with the same enthusiasm as the past ones,\u201d Skerritt said<\/a> in the Blu-Ray special edition of the film released in 2016 for the movie\u2019s 30th anniversary. \u201cThere\u2019s not a pilot in the world who hasn\u2019t seen Top Gun multiple times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if you\u2019ve seen it 20 times, there are some facts you still may not know about the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Call sign \u201cViper\u201d came from U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Pete Pettigrew<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n Retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Pete \u201cViper\u201d Pettigrew, a naval aviator and flight instructor at the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School that became known as TOPGUN. Pettigrew served as a technical advisor for the film and apparently provided the inspiration for the call sign \u201cViper\u201d in the \u201cTop Gun\u201d movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy claim to fame is I am actually, really the Viper…that was actually my real call sign many, many years ago,\u201d Pettigrew said in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n