(Dubois, WY) – Brigadier General Chuck Yeager, the greatest test pilot of them all, the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound and the World War II flying ace who shot down a Messerschmitt jet with a prop-driven P-51 will be remembered by his wife Victoria Yeager on Saturday, Oct. 1, 1 p.m., at The National Museum of Military Vehicles near Dubois, Wyo.
Victoria’s presentation, “Chuck Yeager and the 75th Anniversary of Breaking the Sound Barrier,” will recount stories of one of America’s great heroes. She will also discuss and have available General Chuck Yeager’s and Victoria’s newest book, “101 Chuck YEAGER-isms: Wit & Wisdom from America’s Hero.”
“Those who knew him, loved and were greatly inspired by his wit and wisdom shared in this book,” Victoria said.
Following her presentation, Victoria will answer questions from the audience and will have her book available for purchase.
Chuck Yeager enlisted as a private in the Air Force in Sept. 1941 and became an aircraft mechanic at George Airforce Base in Victorville, California. Originally, Yeager was not eligible for flight training because of his age and educational background, but the USAAF altered their standards and allowed Yeager, who had unusually sharp visual acuity (he rated 20/7), to learn to fly.
Prior to serving in Europe in World War II, then Flight Officer Chuck Yeager completed his final two months of training at the Casper Air Base in Casper, Wyoming.
Yeager, a highly decorated Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, became a test pilot after WWII, flying the experimental Bell X-1 at an altitude of 45,000 feet, risking his life to become the first person to break the sound barrier.
Yeager was foremost a fighter pilot and later commanded fighter squadrons in Germany and Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1969. Yeager retired on March 1, 1975.
On October 14, 2012, on the 65th anniversary of breaking the sound barrier, Yeager did it again at 89, flying as co-pilot in a McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle piloted by Captain David Vincent out of Nellis Air Force Base.
Guests wishing to attend the event with Victoria Yeager will be subject to normal admission charges at the museum, and can tour the museum either before or after the author’s presentation.