Chuck Yeager 6185 225325942 2008-07-13T02:50:29Z Kumioko 4562410 copyedit, Replaced: [[second lieutenant]] → [[second lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{Infobox Military Person |name=Charles Yeager |born= {{birth date and age|1923|2|13}} |died= |image= [[Image:Charles Yeager photo portrait head on shoulders left side.jpg|200px]] |caption= |nickname=Chuck |placeofbirth=[[Lincoln County, West Virginia]] |placeofdeath= |allegiance= [[United States|United States of America]] |branch= [[United States Army Air Forces]] <br/>[[Image:Seal of the US Air Force.svg|25px]] [[United States Air Force]] |serviceyears= [[September 12]], [[1941]] - [[March 1]], [[1975]] |rank= [[Image:US-O7 insignia.svg|20px]] [[Brigadier General#United States|Brigadier-general]] |unit= |commands= |battles=[[World War II]]<br/>[[Vietnam War]] |awards=[[Air Force Distinguished Service Medal|Distinguished Service Medal]] (2)<br/>[[Silver Star]] (2)<br/>[[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] (3)<br/>[[Legion of Merit]] (2)<br/>[[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]]<br/>[[Purple Heart]]<br/>[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]<br/>[[Congressional Silver Medal]] |relations= |laterwork= [[Flight instructor]] }} '''Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager''' (born [[February 13]], [[1923]]) is a retired [[Brigadier-General]] in the [[United States Air Force]] and a noted [[test pilot]]. In 1947, he became the first pilot (at age 24) to travel [[sound barrier|faster than sound]] in level flight and ascent. His career began in [[World War II]] as a private in the [[U.S. Army Air Forces]]. After serving as an aircraft mechanic, in September, 1942 he entered enlisted pilot training and upon graduation was promoted to the rank of [[Flight Officer]] (WW 2 [[U.S. Army Air Forces]] rank equivalent to [[Warrant Officer (United States)|Warrant Officer]]) and became a [[P-51 Mustang]] [[fighter pilot]]. After the war he became a [[test pilot]] of many kinds of aircraft and rocket planes. Yeager was the first man to break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947, flying the experimental [[Bell X-1]] at [[Mach]] 1 at an altitude of 13,700 m (45,000 [[foot (measurement)|ft]]). Although [[Albert Scott Crossfield|Scott Crossfield]] was the first man to fly faster than Mach 2 in 1953, Yeager shortly thereafter exceeded Mach 2.4.<ref name="yeagerbio_252">'''Yeager, Chuck''' and [[Leo Janos|Janos, Leo]]. ''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Page 252 (paperback). New York: Bantam Books, 1986. ISBN 0-553-25674-2.</ref> He later commanded fighter squadrons and wings in [[Germany]] and in [[Southeast Asia]] during the [[Vietnam War]], and in recognition of the outstanding performance ratings of those units he then was promoted to [[Brigadier-General]]. Yeager's flying career spans more than sixty years and has taken him to every corner of the globe, even into the [[Soviet Union]] during the height of the [[Cold War]]. ==Biography== Yeager was born to farming-parents Susie Mae and Albert Hal Yeager in Myra, [[West Virginia]] and graduated from high school in [[Hamlin, West Virginia]]. Yeager had two brothers, Roy and Hal, Jr., and two sisters, Doris Ann (accidentally killed by Roy with a shotgun while still an infant)<ref name="yeagerbio_6">''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Page 6 (paperback).</ref> and Pansy Lee. His first association with the military was as a participant in the [[Citizens Military Training Camp]] at [[Fort Benjamin Harrison]], [[Indianapolis, Indiana]], during both the summers of 1939 and 1940. On [[February 26]], [[1945]], Yeager married Glennis Dickhouse, and the couple had four children. Glennis Yeager died in 1990. Chuck Yeager is not related to [[Jeana Yeager]], one of the two pilots of the [[Rutan Voyager]] aircraft, which circled the world without landing or refueling. The name "Yeager" is an Anglicized form of the [[German language|German]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]] name, ''Jäger'' (German: "hunter") , and so is common among immigrants of those communities. He is the uncle of former baseball catcher [[Steve Yeager]]. ====World War II==== Yeager enlisted as a private in the [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) on [[September 12]], [[1941]], and became an aircraft mechanic at [[George Air Force Base]], [[Victorville, California]]. He displayed natural talent as a pilot, receiving his wings and a promotion to [[Warrant Officer (United States)|Flight Officer]] at [[Luke Air Force Base|Luke Field]], [[Arizona]], on [[March 10]], [[1943]]. Assigned to the [[357th Fighter Group]] at [[Tonopah, Nevada]], he initially trained as a fighter pilot flying [[P-39 Airacobra]]s and went overseas with the group on [[November 23]], [[1943]]. Stationed in the [[United Kingdom]] at [[RAF Leiston]], Yeager flew [[P-51 Mustang]]s in combat (he named his aircraft ''Glamorous Glen''<ref>http://www.cebudanderson.com/357profileglamorousglend.htm</ref> after his girlfriend, Glennis Faye Dickhouse, who became his wife in February 1945) with the 363rd Fighter Squadron. He had gained one victory before he was shot down over [[France]] on his eighth mission, on [[March 5]], [[1944]].<ref name=EscapeEvasion>[http://narademo.umiacs.umd.edu/cgi-bin/isadg/viewitem.pl?item=105467 Escape and Evasion Case File for Flight Officer Charles (Chuck) E. Yeager]</ref> He escaped to [[Spain]] on [[March 30]] with the help of the [[Maquis (World War II)|''Maquis'']] (French Resistance) and returned to England on [[May 15]], [[1944]]. During his stay with the ''Maquis'', Yeager assisted the guerrillas in duties that did not involve direct combat, though he did help to construct bombs for the group, a skill that he had learned from his father.<ref name="yeagerbio_45">''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Page 45 (paperback).</ref> He was awarded the [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] for helping another airman, who lost part of his leg during the escape attempt, to cross the [[Pyrenees]]. Despite a regulation that "evaders" (escaped pilots) could not fly over enemy territory again to avoid compromising Resistance allies, Yeager was reinstated to flying combat. Yeager had joined a bomber pilot evader, Capt. Fred Glover, in speaking directly to the Allied Supreme Commander, General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], on [[June 12]], [[1944]]. With Glover pleading their case, arguing that because the Allies had invaded France, the ''Maquis'' resistance movement was by then openly fighting the Nazis alongside, so there was little or nothing they could reveal if shot down again to expose those who had helped them evade capture. Eisenhower, after gaining permission from the War Department to decide the requests, concurred with Yeager and Glover. Yeager later credited his postwar success in the Air Force to this decision, saying that his test pilot career followed naturally from being a decorated combat ace with a good kill record, along with being an airplane maintenance man prior to attending pilot school. In part because of his maintenance background, Yeager frequently served in his flying units as a "maintenance officer," the liaison between pilots and mechanics. Yeager possessed outstanding eyesight (rated as 20/10, once enabling him to shoot a deer at {{convert|600|yd}}<ref name="yeagerbio_297">''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Page 297 (paperback).</ref>), flying skills, and combat leadership; he distinguished himself by becoming the first [[aviator|pilot]] in his group to make "[[ace in a day]]": he shot down five enemy aircraft in one mission, finishing the war with 11.5 official victories, including one of the first air-to-air victories over a jet fighter (a German [[Messerschmitt Me 262|Me-262]]). Two of his "ace in a day" kills were scored without firing a single shot; he flew into firing position against an [[Messerschmitt Bf 109|Me-109]] and the pilot of the aircraft panicked, breaking to starboard and colliding with his wingman; Yeager later reported both pilots bailed out. An additional victory that was not officially counted for him came during the period before his combat status was reinstated: during a training flight in his P-51 over the [[North Sea]], he happened on a German [[Junkers Ju 88|Ju-88]] attacking a downed [[B-17 Flying Fortress]] crew. Yeager's quick thinking and reflexes saved the B-17 crew, but because he was not yet cleared for flying combat again, his gun camera film and credit for the kill were given to his wingman, Eddie Simpson. (Yeager later mistakenly recalled that the credit had given Simpson his fifth kill). Yeager, after being turned down three times by a promotion board because of a court-martial on his enlisted record{{Fact|date=May 2008}}, was commissioned a [[second lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] while at Leiston and was promoted to [[Captain (United States)|captain]] before the end of his tour. He flew his sixty-first and final mission on [[January 15]], [[1945]], and returned to the United States in early February. As an evader, he received his choice of assignments and because his new wife was pregnant, chose [[Wright Field]] to be near his home in West Virginia. His high flight hours and maintenance experience qualified him to become a functional test pilot of repaired aircraft, which brought him under the command of Colonel [[Albert Boyd]], head of the Aeronautical Systems Flight Test Division.<ref name="yeagerbio_60">''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Page 60 (paperback).</ref> ====Post-War==== Yeager remained in the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] after the war, becoming a test pilot at [[Edwards Air Force Base|Muroc Army Air Field]] (now [[Edwards Air Force Base]]) and eventually being selected to fly the rocket-powered [[Bell X-1]] in a [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics|NACA]] program to research high-speed flight, after [[Bell Aircraft]] test pilot [[Chalmers Goodlin|"Slick" Goodlin]] demanded $150,000 to break the sound "barrier."<ref name="yeagerbio_121">''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Page 121 (paperback).</ref><ref name="right_stuff_52-53">[[Tom Wolfe|Wolfe, Tom]]. ''[[The Right Stuff (book)|The Right Stuff]]''. Pages 52-53 (hardcover). [[Farrar, Straus and Giroux|Farrar-Straus-Giroux]], [[New York City|New York]]. 1979. ISBN 0-374-25033-2.</ref> Such was the difficulty in this task that the answer to many of the inherent challenges were along the lines of "Yeager better have paid-up insurance."<ref name="yeagerbio_157">''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Page 157 (paperback).</ref> Yeager broke the [[sound barrier]] on [[October 14]], [[1947]], flying the experimental X-1 at [[Mach number|Mach]] 1 at an altitude of 45,000 feet (13,700&nbsp;m). Two nights before the scheduled date for the flight, he broke two ribs while riding a horse. He was so afraid of being removed from the mission that he went to a veterinarian in a nearby town for treatment and told only his wife, as well as friend and fellow project pilot [[Jack Ridley]] about it. [[Image:Chuck Yeager.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Yeager in front of the [[Bell X-1]], which, as with all of the aircraft assigned to him, he named ''Glamorous Glennis'' (or some variation thereof), after his wife.]] On the day of the flight, Yeager was in such pain that he could not seal the airplane's hatch by himself. Ridley rigged up a device (really just the end of a broom handle, used as an extra lever) to allow Yeager to seal the hatch of the airplane. Yeager's flight recorded Mach 1.07. However, Yeager was always quick to point out that the public paid attention to whole numbers and that the next milestone would be exceeding Mach 2. Yeager's X-1 is on display at the [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian Institution's]] [[National Air and Space Museum]]. Yeager was awarded the [[Mackay Trophy|MacKay]] and [[Collier Trophy|Collier Trophies]] in 1948 for his mach-transcending flight, and the [[Harmon Trophy|Harmon International Trophy]] in 1954. Some aviation historians contend that American pilot [[George Welch (pilot)|George Welch]] broke the sound barrier before Yeager, once while diving an [[F-86 Sabre|XP-86 Sabre]] on October 14, 1947, and again just 30 minutes before Yeager's X-1 flight.<Ref> {{cite web |url = http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/history/q0113.shtml |title = First Supersonic Jet |accessdate = 2006-11-23 |accessmonthday = |accessyear = |author = |last = |first = |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = |year = |month = |format = |work = |publisher = Aerospaceweb.org |pages = |language = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote = The capabilities of the Sabre were finally released in June 1948 when the Air Force and North American announced that the XP-86, piloted by George Welch, had broken the sound barrier in a dive. However, the date of Welch's achievement was given as 26 April 1948 with no mention made of his earlier flights. }}</Ref><Ref> {{cite web |url = http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/pdf/SabreMk6.pdf |title = CANADA AVIATION MUSEUM AIRCRAFT CANADAIR F-86 SABRE MK.6 |accessdate = 2006-11-23 |accessmonthday = |accessyear = |author = |last = |first = |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = |year = |month = |format = |work = |publisher = |pages = |language = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote = The maximum speed listed at 606 mph (975 km/h) is in level flight, however, the SABRE could exceed the speed of sound (760 mph [1,224 km/h] at sea level and 660 mph [1,061 km/h] at 36,000 ft). This was accomplished by flying to an altitude of approximately 45,000 ft (13,720 m) and with full power applied accelerating to the maximum level flight speed. The aircraft would then be rolled to inverted flight and pulled down until it was pointing straight down at the ground at full power and allowed to accelerate until it was supersonic (Mach 1). Minor buffeting would occur and supersonic flight would be momentarily achieved at approximately 35,000 ft (10,670 m). }}</Ref> There was also a disputed claim by German pilot [[Hans Guido Mutke]] that he was the first person to break the [[sound barrier]], on [[April 9]], [[1945]], in a [[Messerschmitt]] [[Messerschmitt Me 262|Me.262]]. Postwar testing, however, determined that the Me-262 would go out of control and break apart well short of Mach 1.<Ref> {{cite web |url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Guido_Mutke#The_Claims |title = Hans Guido Mutke - The claims |accessdate = 2006-11-23 |accessmonthday = |accessyear = |author = |last = |first = |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = |year = |month = |format = |work = |publisher = Wikipedia |pages = |language = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote = In a series of carefully controlled flight tests conducted in World War II by Messerschmitt, it was established that the Me 262 was out of control in a dive at Mach 0.86, and that higher Mach numbers would lead to a nose-down trim that could not be counter-acted by the pilot. The resulting steepening of the dive would lead to even higher speeds and self-destruction of the airframe due to excessive negative G loads. Postwar testing by the British government confirmed Messerschmidt's results. }}</Ref> Yeager went on to break many other speed and altitude records. He also was one of the first American pilots to fly a [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15|MiG-15 'Fagot']] after its pilot defected to [[South Korea]] with it. During the latter half of 1953, Yeager was involved with the USAF team that was working on the X-1A, an aircraft designed to surpass Mach 2 in level flight. That year, he flew a [[chase plane]] for the female civilian pilot [[Jacqueline Cochran|Jackie Cochran]], a close friend, as she became the first woman to fly faster than sound. However, on [[November 20]], [[1953]], the NACA's [[Douglas Skyrocket|D-558-II Skyrocket]] and its pilot, [[Albert Scott Crossfield|Scott Crossfield]], became the first team to reach twice the speed of sound. After they were bested, Ridley and Yeager decided to beat rival Crossfield's speed record in a flight series that they dubbed "Operation NACA Weep." Not only did they beat Crossfield, but they did it in time to spoil a celebration planned for the [[Wright brothers|50th anniversary of flight]] in which Crossfield was to be called "the fastest man alive." The Ridley/Yeager USAF team achieved Mach 2.44 on [[December 12]], [[1953]]. Shortly after reaching Mach 2.44, due to a loss of aerodynamic control at approximately {{convert|80000|ft|m|abbr=on}}., Yeager lost control of the X-1A. With the aircraft out of control, simultaneously rolling, pitching and yawing out of the sky Yeager dropped {{convert|51000|ft|m}} in 51 seconds until regaining control of the aircraft at approximately {{convert|29000|ft|m}}. He was able to land the aircraft without further incident.<ref name="yeagerbio_252" /> Yeager was foremost a fighter pilot and held several squadron and wing commands. From May 1955 to July 1957 he commanded the [[F-86|F-86H Sabre]]-equipped 417th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (50th Fighter-Bomber Wing) at [[Frankfurt-Hahn Airport|Hahn AB]], [[Germany]], and [[Toul-Rosieres Air Base]], [[France]]; and from 1957 to 1960 the [[F-100 Super Sabre|F-100D]]-equipped [[1st Fighter Squadron (United States)|1st Fighter Day Squadron]] (later, while still under Yeager's command, re-designated the 306th Tactical Fighter Squadron) at [[George Air Force Base]], California, and [[Morón Air Base]], [[Spain]]. In 1962, after completion of a year's studies at the [[Air War College]], he was the first commandant of the [[U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School|USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School]], which produced astronauts for [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]] and the USAF, after its redesignation from the USAF Flight Test Pilot School. It was a [http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/NF-104A_crash_site.htm flying accident during a test flight] in one of the school's [[Lockheed NF-104A|NF-104s]] that put an end to his record attempts. Between December 1963 and January 1964,<ref name=Crash> [http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/NF-104A_crash_site.htm The Crash of Chuck Yeager's NF-104A], [[December 10]], [[1963]]</ref> Yeager completed five flights in the [[NASA M2-F1]] [[lifting body]]. In 1966 he took command of the 405th Tactical Fighter Wing at [[Clark Air Base]], the [[Philippines]], whose squadrons were deployed on rotational temporary duty (TDY) in [[South Vietnam]] and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. There he accrued another 414 hours of combat time in 127 missions, mostly in a [[B-57 Canberra|Martin B-57]] light bomber. In February 1968, he was assigned command of the [[4th Fighter Wing|4th Tactical Fighter Wing]] at [[Seymour Johnson Air Force Base]], [[North Carolina]], and led the [[F-4 Phantom II|F-4 Phantom]] wing in [[South Korea]] during the [[USS Pueblo (AGER-2)|''Pueblo'' crisis]]. On [[June 22]], [[1969]], he was promoted to [[Brigadier-General]], and was assigned in July as the vice-commander of the [[Seventeenth Air Force]]. In 1971, Yeager was assigned to [[Pakistan]] to advise the [[Pakistan Air Force]] at the behest of [[Ambassador|then-Ambassador]] Joe Farland.<ref name="yeagerbio_391">''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Page 391 (paperback).</ref> During the [[Bangladesh War]] his twin-engined Beechcraft was destroyed in an Indian air raid on the [[Chaklala]] air base - he was reportedly incensed and demanded US retaliation.<Ref> {{cite web |title=How I crossed swords with Chuck Yeager |author=Admiral Arun Prakash |url = http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1971War/ArunPrakash.html}}</ref> ====Merits==== [[Image:Commandpilotbadge.jpg|80px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[USAF Aeronautical Ratings#Pilot ratings|Command pilot]] {|class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"; margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; |[[Image:Air Force Distinguished Service ribbon.svg|80px]] |[[Air Force Distinguished Service Medal]] |- |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Silver Star ribbon.svg|width=80}} |[[Silver Star]], for shooting down five Me-109s in one day,<ref name="yeagerbio_73">''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Page 73 (paperback).</ref> with one [[oak leaf cluster]] |- |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=80}} |[[Legion of Merit]] with one oak leaf cluster |- |{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|ribbon=Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon.svg|width=80}} |[[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]], for an Me-262 kill,<ref name="yeagerbio_76">''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Page 76 (paperback).</ref> with two oak leaf clusters, including first to break the sound barrier |- |{{ribbon devices|number=0|other_device=v|ribbon=Bronze Star ribbon.svg|width=80}} |[[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] , for helping rescue a fellow airman from Occupied France,<ref name="yeagerbio_45" /> with “V” device |- |[[Image:Purple Heart BAR.svg|80px]] |[[Purple Heart]] |- |{{ribbon devices|number=10|type=oak|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=80}} |[[Air Medal]] with 10 oak leaf clusters |- |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=80}} |[[Distinguished Unit Citation]] Emblem with oak leaf cluster |- |[[Image:Outstanding Unit ribbon.svg|80px]] |[[Air Force Outstanding Unit Award]] |- |[[Image:Air Force Commendation ribbon.svg|80px]] |[[Air Force Commendation Medal]] |- |[[Image:American Defense Service ribbon.svg|80px]] |[[American Defense Service Medal]] |- |[[Image:American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|80px]] |[[American Campaign Medal]] |- |{{ribbon devices|number=8|type=service-star|ribbon=European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg|width=80}} |[[European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]] (8 battle stars) |- |[[Image:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|80px]] |[[World War II Victory Medal]] |- |[[Image:PresFree.gif|80px]] |[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] |} *[[Congressional Silver Medal]] (1976), for breaking the sound barrier for the first time.<ref name="yeagerbio_413-414">''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Pages 413-414 (paperback).</ref><ref name="yeager_csmoh">[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1142 "Presentation of a Special Congressional Silver Medal to Brigadier-General Charles E. Yeager, United States Air Force (Retired)"], National Museum of the United States Air Force.</ref> *[[Collier Trophy]] and [[Mackay Trophy]], for breaking the sound barrier for the first time. ===Post-retirement history=== On [[March 1]], [[1975]], following assignments in Germany and Pakistan, he retired from the Air Force at [[Norton Air Force Base]], but still occasionally flew for the USAF and NASA as a consulting test pilot at Edwards AFB. For his consultant work to the Test Pilot School Commander at Edwards Air Force Base, Yeager is paid one dollar annually, along with all the flying time he wants. The $1 allows him to be covered by workers compensation. For several years<!-- What years? -->, Yeager was the public face of [[AC Delco]], the automotive parts division of [[General Motors]]. Because of this, AC Delco experienced a sales surge.<!-- anyone have figures? --><ref name="yeagerbio_418">''Yeager: An Autobiography''. Page 418 (paperback).</ref> Through the years, Yeager delivered a number of aviation and test pilot related speeches to a variety of groups ranging from test pilots, [[Air Force Association]] banquets, Civil Air Patrol, Experimental Aircraft Association, and even the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) National Meeting entitled "Breaking Barriers" in Honolulu in October 1995. Yeager easily adapted his talk to a given audience on the importance of [[stabilator]]s and their role in giving America air combat supremacy. Yeager was enshrined in the [[National Aviation Hall of Fame]] in 1973, and in 1990, included with the first class of inductees into the [[Aerospace Walk of Honor]]. In the late 80s and early 90s, Yeager set a number of light, general aircraft performance records for speed, range, and endurance. Most notable were flights conducted on behalf of [[Piper Aircraft]]. On one such flight, Yeager did an emergency landing as a result of fuel exhaustion. On [[October 14]], [[1997]], on the 50th anniversary of his historic flight past Mach 1, he flew a new ''Glamorous Glennis III'', an [[F-15 Eagle|F-15D Eagle]], past Mach 1, with Lt. Col. Troy Fontaine as co-pilot. The [[chase plane]] for the flight was an [[F-16 Fighting Falcon]] piloted by [[Bob Hoover]], a famous air-show pilot, and his wingman for the first supersonic flight. Had Yeager gone to the flight surgeon with his broken ribs before the X-1 flight, he would have been grounded and Hoover would have flown the supersonic flight test, with Bud Anderson flying chase. This was Yeager's last official flight with the Air Force. At the end of his speech to the crowd he concluded, "All that I am... I owe to the Air Force." In 2004, Congress voted to authorize the President to promote Brig. Gen Yeager to the rank of [[Major General (United States)|Major General]] on the retired list. In 2005, President [[George W. Bush]] granted the promotion of both Yeager and (posthumously) air-power pioneer [[Billy Mitchell]] to Major General. Few Presidents have authorized retirement promotions: Mitchell was first posthumously reinstated as a brigadier general by President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], and Academy Award winning actor/Air Force Reservist [[James Stewart (actor)|Jimmy Stewart]] was promoted in retirement from Brigadier General to Major General by [[Ronald Reagan|President Ronald Reagan]]. <!--See Public Law 108-375 sec 563--> [[Image:ChuckYeager.jpeg|thumb|right|Brigadier-General Yeager]] Yeager, who never attended college and was often modest about his background, is considered by some to be one of the greatest pilots of all time. Despite his lack of higher education, he has been honored in his home state. [[Marshall University]] has named its highest academic scholarship, the [[Society of Yeager Scholars]], in his honor. Additionally, [[Yeager Airport]] in [[Charleston, West Virginia]], is named after him. The [[Interstate 64]]/[[Interstate 77]] bridge over the [[Kanawha River]] in Charleston is named for Yeager. He was the chairman of [[Experimental Aircraft Association]]'s [[Experimental Aircraft Association#Young Eagles|Young Eagle Program]]. The state of [[West Virginia]] honored Yeager with a marker along [[Corridor G (Appalachian Development Highway System)|Corridor G]] (part of [[U.S. Route 119|U.S. 119]]) in his home Lincoln County on [[October 19]], [[2006]], as well as renamed part of the highway the ''Yeager Highway''.<ref name=YeagerComesHome> [http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=15274 Yeager Comes Home], [[WOWK-TV]], [[August 19]], [[2006]]</ref> Yeager is now fully retired from military test flight, after having maintained that status for three decades after his official retirement from the Air Force. Yeager served on the presidential commission that investigated the explosion of the [[Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'']] on [[STS-51-L]]. The Sacramento ABC affiliate sent a crew to Yeager's home, a few miles northeast of the city, following the Challenger disaster that was aired on [[Nightline (US news program)|Nightline]]. Yeager provided a voice of calm, confidence, and understanding during the interview. Most notable was his quote: "They (NASA) have all the telemetry data available to understand what happened, and it will be just a matter of time to analyze it". Yeager did admit that there is a risk in any aeronautical flight test of which the Space Shuttle fits, that crews accept that risk, and these same crews understand the consequences of that risk better than anyone else. But they believe in what they are doing and would not do any other type of work. In 2000, Yeager met actress Victoria Scott D'Angelo on a hiking trail in Nevada County. Despite their 36 year age difference, they started dating shortly thereafter.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0195306/ Victoria D'Angelo listing at IMDB]</ref> The pair married in August 2003.<ref name=TheAge040831> [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/30/1093852177165.html?from=storyrhs The Right Stuff at war], ''[[The Age]]'', [[August 31]] [[2004]]</ref> Three of Yeager's children are currently suing for control of his holdings, claiming that D'Angelo married him for his fortune. Yeager contends they simply want more money.<ref name=Nyt060607> [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/us/07brfs-brief-006.html?ex=1155787200&en=95aaa879ddd4b2fa&ei=5070 Record-Setting Pilot Chuck Yeager Sues His Children], ''[[New York Times]]'', [[June 7]], [[2006]]</ref><ref>[http://www.newsthinking.com/story.cfm?SID=195 Bob Baker's Newsthinking<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> On November 20, 2006, Yeager endorsed [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] [[Duncan Hunter]] as a candidate for [[President of the United States]] and served as honorary chairman of Hunter's presidential campaign. ==References== {{reflist|2}} ---- {{cite web|accessdate=2007-09-22 |url=http://www.medalofhonor.com/ChuckYeager.htm |title=Chuck Yeager |publisher=MedalofHonor.com}} * Hallion, Richard P. ''Designers and Test Pilots''. New York: Time-Life Books, 1982. ISBN 0-8094-3316-8. * Pisano, Dominick A., van der Linden, R. Robert and Winter, Frank H. ''Chuck Yeager and the Bell X-1: Breaking the Soiund Barrier''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (in association with Abrams, New York): 2006. ISBN 0-8109-5535-0. * Yeager, Chuck, Cardenas, Bob, Hoover, Bob, Russell, Jack and Young, James. ''The Quest for Mach One: A First-Person Account of Breaking the Sound Barrier''. New York: Penguin Studio, 1997. ISBN 0-670-87460-4. * Yeager, Chuck and Leerhsen, Charles. ''Press on! Further Adventures in the Good Life''. New York: Bantam Books, 1988. ISBN 0-553-05333-7. ==External links== {{commonscat|Chuck Yeager}} *[http://www.chuckyeager.com Official Website] *[http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=177270074 General Yeager's MySpace Page] *[http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/yea0pro-1 Academy of Achievement Profile] *[http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/history/q0011a.shtml "Chuck Yeager & the Sound Barrier"] *[http://www.chuckyeager.org Fan website and original Yeager Website] *[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/x1/chuck.html Charles E. (Chuck) Yeager on the NASA web site.] *[http://www.edwards.af.mil/history/docs_html/people/yeager_biography.html Edwards AFB Bio on BG Yeager] [http://web.archive.org/web/20060502161501/http://www.edwards.af.mil/history/docs_html/people/yeager_biography.html Archive.org] *[http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/NF-104A_crash_site.htm The Crash of Yeager's NF-104] *[http://www.inl.net/hp/richieb/aces.html AcesWild: The Race to Mach 1 by Al Blackburn, SR Books 1999] *[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1971War/ArunPrakash.html ''How I crossed swords with Chuck Yeager''], Indian Navy Chief of Staff, Adm. Arun Prakash's article on strafing Yeager's aircraft during the '71 war. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yeager, Chuck}} [[Category:United States Air Force generals]] [[Category:American aviators]] [[Category:American World War II flying aces]] [[Category:Aviation pioneers]] [[Category:American military personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Test pilots]] [[Category:American military personnel of the Vietnam War]] [[Category:Shot-down aviators]] [[Category:Harmon Trophy winners]] [[Category:Collier Trophy recipients]] [[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]] [[Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients]] [[Category:Recipients of US Distinguished Service Cross]] [[Category:Recipients of the Silver Star medal]] [[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal]] [[Category:Recipients of US Distinguished Flying Cross]] [[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]] [[Category:Recipients of the Bronze Star medal]] [[Category:Recipients of the Purple Heart medal]] [[Category:People from Lincoln County, West Virginia]] [[Category:1923 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[ar:جارس يياغر]] [[ca:Chuck Yeager]] [[cs:Chuck Yeager]] [[da:Charles Elwood Yeager]] [[de:Chuck Yeager]] [[es:Chuck Yeager]] [[fr:Charles Elwood Yeager]] [[hr:Chuck Yeager]] [[it:Charles Elwood Yeager]] [[he:צ'אק ייגר]] [[lv:Čaks Jēgers]] [[hu:Chuck Yeager]] [[nl:Charles Elwood Yeager]] [[ja:チャック・イェーガー]] [[no:Chuck Yeager]] [[pl:Chuck Yeager]] [[pt:Charles Elwood Yeager]] [[ro:Chuck Yeager]] [[ru:Йегер, Чарльз Элвуд]] [[fi:Charles Yeager]] [[sv:Chuck Yeager]] [[tr:Chuck Yeager]] [[zh:查克·葉格]]