'America's greatest Pilot' Chuck Yeager, first person to break sound barrier, dies at 97
Category: News & Politics
Via: sister-mary-agnes-ample-bottom • 4 years ago • 13 commentsBy: Steve Kiggins (MSN)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
'America's greatest Pilot' Chuck Yeager, first person to break sound barrier, dies at 97
Chuck Yeager, the first person to break the sound barrier and one of the U.S. Air Force's most decorated test pilots, died Monday. He was 97.
Yeager's death was announced on his official Twitter account in a tweet attributed to his wife Victoria Scott D'Angelo.
"It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET," the tweet said. "An incredible life well lived, America's greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever."
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine called Yeager's death "a tremendous loss to our nation."
"Gen. Yeager's pioneering and innovative spirit advanced America's abilities in the sky and set our nation's dreams soaring into the jet age and the space age. He said, 'You don't concentrate on risks. You concentrate on results. No risk is too great to prevent the necessary job from getting done,'" Bridenstine said in a statement.
Born in West Virginia in 1923, Yeager rose to fame as a fighter pilot in World War II, where he was credited with shooting down at least a dozen enemy aircraft — including more than four planes twice in one day: Oct. 12 and Nov. 27, 1944, according to CNN editorial research.
He became a test pilot who broke numerous records for speed and altitude following WWII before returning to fly combat missions in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He retired from the military in 1975.
Yeager broke the sound barrier on Oct. 14, 1947, while flying over California's Mojave Desert. His X-1 aircraft was lifted to 25,000 feet and then released through the bomb bay of a B-29, soaring to 40,000 feet and exceeding 662 mph, the sound barrier at that altitude.
In 2012, on the 65th anniversary and at age 89, Yeager did it again as a passenger in an F-15 at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas.
"Living to a ripe old age is not an end in itself. The trick is to enjoy the years remaining," he said in "Yeager: An Autobiography."
"I haven't yet done everything, but by the time I'm finished, I won't have missed much," he wrote. "If I auger in (crash) tomorrow, it won't be with a frown on my face. I've had a ball."
Yeager was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. President Harry S. Truman awarded him the Collier air trophy in December 1948 for breaking the sound barrier, and President Ronald Reagan bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985.
His story was portrayed in the 1983 movie "The Right Stuff," with Sam Shepard playing the role of Yeager.
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'America's greatest Pilot' Chuck Yeager, first person to break sound barrier, dies at 97
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NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine called Yeager's death "a tremendous loss to our nation."
Chuck Yeager was my dad's hero.
Got a chuckle from one the comments in the video
"he barely can get into the cockpit, his steel balls block the way"...
RIP Chuck, you were one of a kind.
Definitely a bummer. At least he lived his life to it's fullest potential! Reading his quotes, he was plenty happy with what he'd experienced in his life.
You were one of my heroes, Sir. Rest in Peace, General
I never knew General Yeager was an AF pilot, I always thought he was a Marine pilot. But imagine to be the first human to ever fly that fast.
He was indeed. It was one of the reasons my dad, who also served in the Air Force, admired him. Most of the jets my dad designed, or had a part in designing, were utilized by the Navy, like the A-7, etc. I don't know if Chuck Yeager ever flew any of my dad's planes, but it would have twirled Pop's skirt up right over his head if he had.
My Father knew and was Friends with Chuck Yeager. My Father was in the Army Air Corps during WWII and stationed at Muroc Air Base, which is now Edwards Air Force Base. Muroc at the time was a dry lake bed, and before the the US was involved in the war my Father was with the CCC camp that was assigned to prepare the Muroc dry lake bed for the English RAF, that were already fighting in the war, to train their pilots.
Chuck Yeager was a Air Force pilot who was testing new planes at Muroc and he would often meet up with other pilots and soldiers from the Air Base at Pancho Barnes Happy Bottom Riding Club, where many of the soldiers and pilots from Muroc Air Base would meet up. That is where my Father met Chuck Yeager.
My Father continued to follow Chuck's progress in testing planes, and was really excited when he broke the sound barrier. Meeting and getting to know Chuck Yeager was one of my Fathers' favorite memories of his time spent at Muroc.
RIP Chuck, you and my Father can once again meet up and talk about the time you two spent together, and how proud of you he was.
What a great story! I bet your dad had some really good stories about General Yeager
Thanks Giggles. Indeed my Father loved telling the stories of the time he spent with Chuck Yeager. He learned a lot from Chuck during their time together, and My Father wanted to be a pilot. But, when the Army Air Corps was separated, my Father was assigned to the Army instead of the Air Force. When he asked why he had been assigned to the Army instead of the Air Force as he had requested, he was told that he was too tall to be a pilot. My Father was 6'5", and he was too tall to fit in the planes at the time. While he made Master Sergeant in the Army, he was still disappointed that he could not be a pilot.
RIP Chuck
His wife broke the sad news:
"It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET. An incredible life well lived, America's greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever."
Definitively... the right stuff!
One of my dad's personal heroes! He lived an amazing life and a long one at that, too. RIP Chuck. You will be remembered forever.