To paraphrase writer Tom Wolfe, if you flew on a commercial airline flight in the 1950s and 60s, the pilots all sounded like they were from the hollers of West Virginia. Same in military aviation. Why? Because everyone wanted to sound like the King Hot Badass Pilot of all time, the man who broke the sound barrier. That stick and rudder man was Chuck Yeager.
The news of his passing on Monday, Pearl Harbor Day, hit us like a ton of bricks, hence the day delay in the obit. Why? Because General Chuck Yeager was the icon of all icons to many of us young boys who grew up in the Cold War 60s. He was the model, the template, for cool as a cucumber heroism and stands in stark contrast to the soy boy masculine template of today popular with leftist men and other timid women.
No one was more daring than Yeager, none more professional or more courageous. From his days as an ace fighter pilot, he achieved 5 kills and ace status his first day in aerial combat, to breaking the sound barrier, he defined masculine valor. His type is still with us in uniform, thank God. But Chuck Yeager will never come again.
FNC: “Chuck Yeager, the historic test pilot portrayed in the movie ‘The Right Stuff,’ is dead at the age of 97, according to a tweet posted on his account late Monday.”
“It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET,” said in the tweet, attributed to his wife, actress Victoria Scott D’Angelo. “An incredible life well lived, America’s greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever.”
Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, had this to say in eulogy, “West Virginia’s native son was larger than life and an inspiration for generations of Americans. He bravely served our nation as a pilot for more than 30 years in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and Vietnam. When Chuck Yeager became the first pilot to break the sound barrier he challenged each of us to test the limits of what’s possible. I am grateful to have gotten to know this legendary West Virginian and to call him my dear friend.”
.@GenChuckYeager [1] was an American hero. West Virginia’s native son was larger than life and an inspiration for generations of Americans. He bravely served our nation as a pilot for more than 30 years in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and Vietnam. pic.twitter.com/lz4YaQY8Fg [2]
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) December 8, 2020 [3]
Wrote Yeager, “I was the 1st Commandant of ARPS 1st school for training 1st astronauts. I am fully aware of US goals: Presidents Eisenhower, JFK, Johnson & Nixon: US will get to the moon 1st. & we did. 1st step was getting above MACH 1. We did that 1st, too.”
NASA Chief Jim Bridenstine called his 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. ‘You don’t concentrate on risks. You concentrate on results. No risk is too great to prevent the necessary job from getting done.’ ”
Blessed with the virtual vision of an eagle, he downed 13 German planes on 64 missions during World War II, “including five Me109s on 12 October and four FW 190s on 27 November,”
“That day was a fighter pilot’s dream. In the midst of a wild sky, I knew that dogfighting was what I was born to do,” Yeager said. And he went out the way he lived, a hero.
“I haven’t yet done everything, but by the time I’m finished, I won’t have missed much,” Yeager wrote. “If I auger in (crash) tomorrow, it won’t be with a frown on my face. I’ve had a ball.”
This piece was written by David Kamioner on December 9, 2020. It originally appeared in DrewBerquist.com [4] and is used by permission.
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