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Chuck Yeager
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For many people, Chuck Yeager is a true hero in the strictest definition
of the word. Throughout his career, Yeager displayed distinguished
courage and performed several extraordinarily brave deeds, although he
only considered such acts as following his duty. Many people recognize
Yeager as the first person to break the sound barrier, but that feat is
only one of his many important achievements. Without a doubt, Yeager is
the world's most famous test pilot not only because of the records he
set, but also because of his determination, his ability to remain calm
in difficult situations, and his ability to quickly analyze problems and
find a solution. He is one of the "toughest" pilots, both mentally and
physically, in aviation history, and few have ever matched his piloting
skills.
Charles "Chuck" E. Yeager was born on February 13, 1923, in
Yeager had no real interest in learning to fly when he first joined the
Air Forces. He simply wanted to be a mechanic. The main reason he
enlisted in the Army was because the Army recruiter was more persuasive
than the Navy spokesperson. Furthermore, unlike many famous aviators,
Chuck's first encounter with an airplane had left him unimpressed. When
Yeager was a teenager, a plane made an emergency landing near his house.
Although Chuck dashed over to look at the aircraft, he was unmoved by
the experience.
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When Yeager entered the Army Air Forces, he seemed unlikely to become
one of history's legendary pilots. But, in the summer of 1942, he began
showing an interest in becoming an aviator, thanks to the Air Forces
"Flying Sergeant Program," which trained enlisted men to fly. Yeager
enrolled in the program because he wanted a change of pace, not to
mention a promotion and a pay raise.
Yeager earned his wings in early 1943. After a brief assignment
stateside, he transferred to
On March 5, 1944, his eighth mission, Yeager had to bail out over
occupied |
In 1954, Yeager left Edwards and accepted a series of command positions.
His first stop was
Despite his workload as the commander of the
Yeager returned to military combat in July 1966 when he assumed command
of the 405th Fighter Wing at Clark Air Base in the
In February 1968, Yeager entered the final phase of his military career
when he began commanding the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing. The following
year, he received a promotion to brigadier general and became the vice
commander of the 17th Air Force. Yeager had become one of only a handful
of men who had started as an enlisted man and risen all the way to the
rank of an Air Force general.
Yeager formally retired from the Air Force in March 1975. During the
1970s and 1980s, he received a string of honors. In 1976, he received
the Congressional Medal of Honor for his first supersonic flight. Then,
in 1985, President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Presidential Medal of
Freedom. These two medals are the highest honors an individual can
receive for outstanding service and achievement. Yeager also obtained
several other prestigious awards during his career, including the 1948
Collier Trophy, and the 1958 Harmon International Trophy, as well as
numerous military citations.
On October 14, 1997, the 50th anniversary of Yeager's first Mach One
flight, Yeager broke the sound barrier once again, this time in an F-15.
That flight was his last official flight in an Air Force plane.
Yeager traveled a long and challenging path from his |
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