General Laurence Sherman Kuter (May 28, 1905 – November 30, 1979) was a Cold War-era U.S. Air Force general and former commander of NORAD. Kuter (pronounced COO-ter) was born in Rockford in 1905, and graduated from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York on June 14, 1927. He then was given a leading role in the operational development of the Boeing Y1B-9 twin engine bombers which pioneered high altitude bombing techniques and tactics in the U.S. Air Force.