R. I. P. Chuck Yeager

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     On October 14, 1947, U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles Elwood 'Chuck' Yeager became the first
 human to fly faster than the speed of sound, piloting the Bell X-1. Yeager named the airplane “Glamorous Glennis” in tribute to his wife, Glennis Yeager.  He aced with 11 1/2 victories in WWII, including a ME-262 and damaging two others.  He shot down 5 enemy fighter on one sortie. 'Yeager' is German for 'Hunter', most apropos-

     At 18,000 feet above Bordeaux, three Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw-190 fighters attacked Yeager’s P-51. Yeager maneuvered expertly in his P-51 according to accounts, trying to convert his tactical situation after being ambushed in flight, but the German advantage of opening the engagement along with 3 to 1 numerical superiority was unbeatable. Yeager was shot down. He survived parachuting to the ground with wounds on his feet, hands and lower leg. He landed near the town of Angouleme, the target of that day’s allied bomber airstrike.  After surviving his aircraft bail-out, Yeager was found by the French Resistance. He went on to recover from his injuries and help partisans fight the Nazis during their underground guerrilla campaign by making improvised explosive devices. The French underground united him with other downed pilots and a legendary escape and evasion ordeal began over the rugged Pyrenees Mountains south to Spain.  On March 30, 1944 Yeager’s ordeal as a downed pilot ended when he was recovered in Spain by a member of the U.S. Consul. He had crossed the Pyrenees mountains on foot while carrying a wounded fellow airman. He was also credited with performing emergency surgery on the man in the alpine wilderness, saving his life according to accounts.

Yaeger flew 127 combat missions in Vietnam, and in 1986 drove the pace car for the Indianapolis 500.  He was a high school graduate private soldier who became a Brigadier General.

February 13, 1923 – December 7, 2020)

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