In 2011, Yeager told NPR that the lack of publicity never much mattered to him. From his family's words . The induction ceremony was on December 1, 2009, in Sacramento, California. He was 97. Yeager was the first confirmed to break the sound barrier, and the first by any measure to do it in level flight. IE 11 is not supported. James Yeager, RIP - The Truth About Guns You don't do it to get your damn picture on the front page of the newspaper. And the X-1 buffeted like a bucking horse as it approached the speed of sound Mach 1 about 700 miles per hour at altitude. He had joined another evader, fellow P-51 pilot 1st Lt Fred Glover,[20] in speaking directly to the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, on June 12, 1944. 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. Yeager was not present in the aircraft. He was 97. Yeager ended his tour credited with shooting down 13 planes, including five victories in one mission. A tweet posted on the former U.S. Air Force pilot's official Twitter account and attributed to his wife, Victoria Yeager, confirmed the World War II ace died just before 9 p.m. Monday. Aviation Remembers Chuck Yeager - AVweb Gen. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager prepares to board an F-15D Eagle from the 65th Aggressor Squadron at . General Yeager became a familiar face in commercials and made numerous public appearances. The pair started dating shortly thereafter, and married in August 2003. And Chuck Yeager was always sort of the cowboy of the airplane world. [118] Yeager's son Mickey (Michael) died unexpectedly in Oregon, on March 26, 2011. You can see the treetops in the bottom of the pictures., Yeager flew an F-80 under a Charleston bridge at 450 mph on Oct. 10, 1948, according to newspaper accounts. Yeager became the first person to break the . [27][28] During the mission briefing, he whispered to Major Donald H. Bochkay, "If we are going to do things like this, we sure as hell better make sure we are on the winning side". [90][g], Yeager, who never attended college and was often modest about his background, is considered by many, including Flying Magazine, the California Hall of Fame, the State of West Virginia, National Aviation Hall of Fame, a few U.S. presidents, and the United States Army Air Force, to be one of the greatest pilots of all time. Chuck Yeager Dead At 97 - AVweb When Yeager left Hamlin, he was already known as a daredevil. "[57][58] In his autobiography, Dwight details how Yeager's leadership led to discriminatory treatment throughout his training at Edwards Air Force Base. In 1974, Yeager received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. There he flew 127 missions. "An incredible life well lived, America's greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever," his wife wrote on Monday. [37], Yeager broke the sound barrier on October 14, 1947, in level flight while piloting the X-1 Glamorous Glennis at Mach 1.05 at an altitude of 45,000ft (13,700m)[38][d] over the Rogers Dry Lake of the Mojave Desert in California. Master Sgt. He enjoyed spins and dives and loved staging mock dogfights with his fellow trainees. Chuck Yeager, test pilot who broke sound barrier, dies at 97