1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,920 Speaker 1: Pat Flight Captain Tald Jaeger climbed down into the cockpit 2 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:11,920 Speaker 1: of the rocket craft. October fourteenth, nineteen forty seven. Edwards 3 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: Air Force based California. Captain Charles E. Yeager blew the 4 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 1: experimental X one and faster than a speat of sound 5 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 1: in level flight, the first man in the world to 6 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,479 Speaker 1: accomplish this beat. This spectacular flight was one of the 7 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: greatest achievements since the Wright Brothers at Keyhawk. HI. This 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,479 Speaker 1: is new due to the virus. I'm recording from home, 9 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: so you may notice a difference in audio quality. On 10 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: this episode of Netsworld, I'm going to talk about Chuck Yeager, 11 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: and we're going to listen to Chuck Yeager talk about himself. 12 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 1: He was a remarkable man and his passing was a 13 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: reminder that he was an example at a personal level 14 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: of what American exceptionalism is all about, because he was 15 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: a high school graduate from West Virginia who went on 16 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: from there to remarkable achievements, serving his country as a patriot, 17 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:15,680 Speaker 1: having unique physical talents that made him a remarkable pilot 18 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: with apparently spectacular eyesight, and at the same time somebody 19 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: who had both commitment to the professional flying and who 20 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 1: was eager to be fully involved in the development of 21 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: modern aviation. CON's estimated that in his lifetime he flew 22 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,759 Speaker 1: two hundred types of military aircraft. He had more than 23 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: fourteen thousand flying hours, with over thirteen thousand of those 24 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: in fighter aircraft. It all began at the beginning of 25 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: World War Two when he joined as an enlisted person 26 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: and then found himself in what was at the time 27 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: a program that you could get into as an enlisted person, 28 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,799 Speaker 1: and he became a pilot. He then got the equivalent 29 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: of being a warrant officer in modern drums, and there 30 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: was a very brief period where the Army Air Force 31 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: was willing to have people who were not college graduates. 32 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: I thought it was a great example of how America 33 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: has moved from achievement to certification that by the time 34 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: about a quarter century later, that he was extraordinarily skilled, 35 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: extraordinarily experienced, how the world record as the first person 36 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,079 Speaker 1: to fly faster than the speed of sound and level 37 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: flight with all of that going for it, by the 38 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: time we got to the Apollo program, if you didn't 39 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,079 Speaker 1: have a college degree, you couldn't be an astronaut. And 40 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: so he ended up training the astronauts that he was 41 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: not eligible to fly with. I just told you a 42 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 1: little bit about how America had moved away from pure 43 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: achievement and pure skill to an academic requirement. The mayor 44 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: may not be as relevant, frankly, so he'd give you 45 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: a flavor of how many things he did see. A 46 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 1: guy born a very small town in West Virginia in 47 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,400 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty three. He's the second or five children. He 48 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: grew up in Hamlet, which is the town of about 49 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: four hundred where his father drove for natural gas in 50 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: the coalfields. In nineteen forty he attends the Citizens Military 51 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: Training Camp at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, and in September twelfth, 52 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: nineteen forty one, and enlisted as a private in the 53 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: Army Air Corps. Now, he didn't think he was going 54 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: to become a pilot at that point. I thought it 55 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: was going to be a mechanic. But he saw a 56 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 1: notice on a board about a month after he enlisted. 57 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: They said they were looking for high school graduates who 58 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: could pass the physical for pilot try. He thought it 59 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: would be fun, and he decided to apply, and history 60 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: was changed. Listen to Chuck for a minute talking about 61 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: that whole experience of joining the army and becoming a potent. 62 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 1: Probably the recruiter was better than the Navy or or 63 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:17,840 Speaker 1: anyone else. And also I think there was a guy, 64 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,720 Speaker 1: one of the guys who went through pilot training about 65 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: the year that I graduated from high school. When he 66 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:26,919 Speaker 1: came home, he was a pretty neat guy, and he 67 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: said it was a fun job, but flying. To me, 68 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: I never associated myself with it, And when I enlisted 69 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,120 Speaker 1: in the Army, it was just to be a mechanic 70 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: and there was no intention to be a pilot or anything. Okay. 71 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,160 Speaker 1: In fact, when I got in in September nineteen forty one, 72 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: I was trained as a mechanic, which was easy. I'd 73 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:52,599 Speaker 1: had so much experience in mechanical things like engines and 74 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,159 Speaker 1: things that Dad exposed us to all the time, that 75 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: I would just trained and began working on airplanes as 76 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: cruc I serviced them, overhaul the engines and things like that. 77 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: And then finally and you got we call some time 78 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: around oh the latter part of November nineteen forty one. 79 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: I remember reading a notice on the Bolton board that 80 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: if you were were a high school graduate and eighteen 81 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: years of age and could pass a physical, then you 82 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: could apply for pilot training. Under the flying sergeant program. 83 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 1: You wouldn't be a cadet or make lieutenant or be 84 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: an officer when you graduated from play school, you'd be 85 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: a sergeant pilot. And it looked like pretty neat deals, 86 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 1: and I just did it just to be doing something. 87 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: So I put them an application, and I recall taking 88 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: my physical on December the fourth, nineteen forty one, and 89 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:49,280 Speaker 1: passing it and then this sweating it out for six months. 90 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: Finally they called me up for a pilot training. But 91 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: that's you know, it's just a matter of being at 92 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,360 Speaker 1: the right place the right time. A few months later, 93 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: on December seventh, nineteen forty one, States entered World War 94 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: Two because the Japanese attacked US on Sunday morning at 95 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: Pearl Harbor. Yeager at that point was transferred to the 96 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:11,159 Speaker 1: Victorville Air Base, which was now the Georgian Air Force 97 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 1: Base in California. He worked on a training aircraft at 98 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: eleven Aircraft. He received promotions to private first class and 99 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: the corporal. In the spring of forty two, he got 100 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: in an airplane for the very first time. He was 101 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 1: the crew chief of eleven, an officer said, would like 102 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 1: to join him on a test flight. Yeager got sick 103 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: during the flight and said, boy, that was really uncomfortable. 104 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: This was the only time he was in an airplane 105 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 1: before he started pilot training, most famous pilot of his generation, 106 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: and here's his first experience. My first ride in an 107 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: airplane wasn't any fun, as I recalled. The spring of 108 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:53,640 Speaker 1: forty two, and I was a Victorville and a crew 109 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 1: chief on a eight eleven, which was a twin engineer 110 00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:00,479 Speaker 1: twin engined Vomarder training airplane, and I had whul one 111 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:02,360 Speaker 1: of the engines, and the engineering officer had to take 112 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: the airplane up and check it out and asked me 113 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: if I wanted to go along. And I'd never been 114 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,160 Speaker 1: in an airplane before, and I said, yeah, I'd like too. 115 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: So I got in and set down the seat and 116 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,280 Speaker 1: fastened the city belt and he took off and anyone 117 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: over to one of the dry lakes down are very 118 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:21,119 Speaker 1: near Edwards between Edwards and Victorville, and started shooting touching 119 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: god landings, and it was rough and turboine. Pretty soon 120 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: I got sick and threw up on my airplane, and 121 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: to me, it was a very uncomfortable situation, so I 122 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: didn't take the care for it. But I'd already applied 123 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: for pilot training in so yeah, I went up. I 124 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: think that's the only time I went up in airplane, 125 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: and that was it until they called me up for 126 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: pilot training. July nineteen forty two, the United States is 127 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: deeply in the war and Yeager goes to pilot training. 128 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: Well Marshal forty three, he gets his pilot wings. He 129 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: trained at various places in the US and then went 130 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:58,240 Speaker 1: to England in November nineteen forty three. In an interview, 131 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: he m actually learned how to fly up fifty one 132 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: on one flight from the assembly base to their base. 133 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:08,600 Speaker 1: The next day he took the airplane into combat. Listen 134 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,920 Speaker 1: to truck talking about what it was like to train 135 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: for World War Two. We trained in the United States 136 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:16,400 Speaker 1: before we went to England. We trained in P thirty 137 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: nine Little Belle Air Coobers and it was all dog fighting, 138 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: aera grand gunnery, die bombing, skip bombing, buzzing, and you know, 139 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: really learning to fly a fighter. We're training to go 140 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 1: overseas and and being the maintenance officer. I also had 141 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: a lot of fun. You know, just running testtops on 142 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: the airplanes when they came out of the maintenance. Yes, 143 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:42,079 Speaker 1: I was. I was no better than the rest of 144 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: the fighter pilots. I had very good eyes, as a 145 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: lot of the guys did, and also could dog fight. 146 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:51,320 Speaker 1: It's a matter of experience. And and then when we 147 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: went to England in November forty three and we got 148 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 1: the first P fifty ones in eighth Air Force, it's, 149 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:01,559 Speaker 1: as I recall, he picked up a P fifty one, 150 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:04,439 Speaker 1: I'd never been in one before and flew it from 151 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: this assembly base down to our base and licensed and 152 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 1: the next day we're setting over the middle of Germany 153 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: fighting in them. So you have to learn real quick. 154 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: And that's the way our pilots were. And as I recall, 155 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: on my seventh mission, I shot down to one on 156 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: nine was my first airplane that I shot down. We're 157 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:28,320 Speaker 1: on a raid to over Berlin the first day bombing 158 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,199 Speaker 1: raid over Berlin, and I came home, I saw one 159 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: on nine and I nailed him. And to me, it 160 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 1: was a lot easier than I thought it would be, 161 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 1: because you know, we were a little bit apprehensive about 162 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:42,560 Speaker 1: dog fighting the Germans in their fighters, and they had 163 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: a lot of experienced dog fighting, and we didn't, and 164 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 1: so I nailed the guy. But the next day I 165 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: got shot down. In March fifth, nineteen forty four, his 166 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: life was changed because his plane was shot down by 167 00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 1: Germans well flying over France. The French Marquis, the French, 168 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: who were active in the underground resistance, helped him escape 169 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 1: to neutral Spain, and while he was escaping, he helped 170 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: another airman who had lost part of his leg get 171 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: across the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain, and as a result, 172 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: Yeager received a Bronze Star for heroism. But listen to 173 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 1: his own description of being shot down, and again, remember 174 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: this is a guy who goes on to become the 175 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: most famous pilot of the world. I was in a 176 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 1: dogfight with three one nineties and I got hit head 177 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: on with twenty moment, your cannon and prop came off 178 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: the airplane, part of the wing and a canopy and 179 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 1: it caught on fire. So me and the airplane party company. 180 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,280 Speaker 1: That's that's the way it happened. You bail out, you 181 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: get you free fall in your parachute, and then when 182 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: you get down to within three or four thousand feet 183 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:46,959 Speaker 1: the ground and you pull the rip cord and the 184 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,240 Speaker 1: parachute pops and you land, and that's that's about the 185 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: way it happens. I picked up a few wounds. I 186 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: had a couple of slugs at one of my leg 187 00:10:55,600 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: and I had some twenty milimeter fragments in my hands 188 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:04,439 Speaker 1: and a couple cuts on my head, But that's they 189 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:06,959 Speaker 1: were minors, so it didn't make much different. When I 190 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,560 Speaker 1: landed in my prayachute, we were in occupied France, and 191 00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: they were quite a few Germans around. Obviously, you've got 192 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 1: to hide or they'll pick you up. And as I 193 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,840 Speaker 1: recall I did, I got into the woods as deep 194 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 1: as I could and head and and then never caught me. 195 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: And I hung around or laid out there for a 196 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 1: day and tell things quiet and down. And then contacted 197 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,839 Speaker 1: a French farmer or a woodcutter. And I couldn't speak French, 198 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:36,360 Speaker 1: but he could see I was an American flower called. 199 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 1: They had my flying flying gear on a leather jacket 200 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 1: and flying suiting, and and he knew it I needed 201 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:46,080 Speaker 1: some kind of help, and he fortunately he went to 202 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: the right people instead of turning me in, and got 203 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 1: me with the defense or the resistance forcers. The Maqui, 204 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: who in turn took me in and under the wing 205 00:11:57,520 --> 00:11:59,320 Speaker 1: for the next month, and I worked my way through 206 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:02,480 Speaker 1: on down through France and finally went through the Pyrenees 207 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:06,040 Speaker 1: and went into Spain in a neutral country. So I 208 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,679 Speaker 1: was interned in a town of Lerida, and then the 209 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,960 Speaker 1: American councilate came up and talked to us and made 210 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,840 Speaker 1: sure we were an American and then put us up 211 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: in the hotel and gave us a money, and we 212 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:22,760 Speaker 1: just bummed around there for about a month. And finally 213 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: during that period of time of May nineteen forty four, 214 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: we were beginning to help Spain who was running out 215 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: of gasoline because he didn't have any petroleum products. And 216 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 1: we were then begin trading gasoline for American pilots that 217 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: were in Spain. You know, there was something like twenty 218 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:48,680 Speaker 1: six hundred airmen in turned in Spain who either you know, 219 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:50,760 Speaker 1: had made it through the Pyrenees or took their airplanes 220 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 1: there and jumped out of them. And the way we 221 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:57,079 Speaker 1: got out was it the Spanish took us down to 222 00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:59,840 Speaker 1: Gibraltar and turned us over the British on the all 223 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: of Gibraltar, and then finally the British were you flying 224 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 1: airplanes from Gibraltar, around the tip of Spain and Portugal 225 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:13,080 Speaker 1: up to England, and I bummed a ride up on 226 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 1: one of the airplanes and then went back to my squadron. Now, 227 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:19,560 Speaker 1: when he returns to England, having gotten through Spain on 228 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 1: a program that was really a constant line of pilots, 229 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,680 Speaker 1: super been shot down getting back to England. The Army 230 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:28,720 Speaker 1: did not want to let him go back into combat 231 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:33,400 Speaker 1: because when he escaped in France he would have learned 232 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,880 Speaker 1: things about the French resistance, and they didn't want to 233 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:40,080 Speaker 1: risk him getting shot down and tortured by the Germans 234 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 1: and giving up important information about the resistance. But Yager 235 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: was determined to get back into combat, so he took 236 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 1: another friend of his bomber pilot, Captain Fred glub Well. 237 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: I think about this. Here are these two guys appealing 238 00:13:54,760 --> 00:14:00,720 Speaker 1: directly to the supreme Allied commander, General Eisenhower, and they argued, look, 239 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:05,640 Speaker 1: the Allies have invaded France. The resistance movements now out 240 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: in the open. If they were shot down, there was 241 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:10,559 Speaker 1: a little nothing they could do to reveal to the enemy. 242 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: And so he goes back into combat with the personal 243 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 1: intervention of Eisenhower, who, by the way, had to appeal 244 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 1: back to Marshall and Washington to make sure that he 245 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 1: had the authority to waive the requirement. So I waived 246 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: the requirement. Yeager's back flying, and on the twelfth of 247 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 1: October nineteen forty four, he gets to be the first 248 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: pilot in his group to make ACE in a day. 249 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: He had to be an ACE by shooting down five aircraft. 250 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 1: So he shot down five enemy aircraft in one mission. 251 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 1: Now two of his ACE in a day kills. He 252 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: scored without firing a shot because when he got into 253 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: position against the messagement BF one O nine, the pilot 254 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 1: of the airplane panicked, broke to starboard and collided with 255 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 1: his wingmen, So without having fire to shot, he'd taken 256 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 1: down two enemy planes. But listen to Yeager's own description 257 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,760 Speaker 1: of what it was like to become an ACE shooting 258 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:10,040 Speaker 1: down five planes in one day. I was leading the 259 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 1: whole fighter group, which means three squadrons, and we only 260 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,000 Speaker 1: had We had two boxes of bombers to escort our 261 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: fighter group did. So what I did. I stuck the 262 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,040 Speaker 1: other two squadrons, one on each box of bombers, and 263 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:25,280 Speaker 1: took my squadron and ranged about eighty miles out in 264 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: front of the bomber stream and I spotted twenty two 265 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: Emmy one on nine's in a formation climbing up out 266 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: in front of the bombers out eighty to one hundred 267 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,440 Speaker 1: miles to make a head on passing. I stayed up 268 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,120 Speaker 1: sun where they couldn't see. I spotted just they were 269 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 1: little specks. I had excellent eyes. I could watch things 270 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 1: without them seeing me. And I kept up sun from 271 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 1: them with my squadron of sixteen P fifty one. And 272 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 1: finally when they leveled out and headed over towards the 273 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: bod just moved in behind them down sun, and I 274 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: got within two hundred yards behind and and I wouldn't 275 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:09,080 Speaker 1: even let my pilots, you know, they kind of spread out. 276 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 1: We still had a drop tanks on because we wanted 277 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: to keep as much fuel as we could. And I 278 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: shot down the first two without him dropping my tanks. 279 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,800 Speaker 1: And when, of course the explosions, when the airplane blew up, 280 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: then they all broke and at that point we punched 281 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:26,880 Speaker 1: their tanks off. And if the whole squadron broke up 282 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:30,040 Speaker 1: into you know, and the elements, you know, wing wing 283 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 1: man and his leaders to support each other, and we 284 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:34,840 Speaker 1: got in a big old hairy dog fight and I 285 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:39,520 Speaker 1: shot down I don't know, another guy. I was hammered 286 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:41,440 Speaker 1: him and a guy his wing man cut the power 287 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:43,800 Speaker 1: and dropped behind me. This one blew up and I 288 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: broke into him, pulled out, looked like about fifty feet 289 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,240 Speaker 1: before I hit him, and then another guy followed him 290 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:58,480 Speaker 1: the deck and got him down low and then it's 291 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: all over with. You know, you've left the fight falling 292 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 1: the guy down. He come back and you look around 293 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:06,840 Speaker 1: and my wingman was still with me, and then I 294 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:10,160 Speaker 1: picked up a couple more guys, you know, flying out 295 00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: and try to orient yourself and then kind of fly 296 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,120 Speaker 1: around and pick up the bombers again and stay with him. 297 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:22,440 Speaker 1: So that's that's where combat is. You know, a lot 298 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:24,080 Speaker 1: of a lot of shooting, a lot of high gis, 299 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:25,840 Speaker 1: a lot of turns, and you got to watch what 300 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:47,960 Speaker 1: you're doing. So it's it's exciting. Now. After the war, 301 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:52,679 Speaker 1: he stays in and he decides to keep learning. So 302 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,280 Speaker 1: he goes to the Test Pilot School in nineteen forty 303 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:58,240 Speaker 1: six and he was chosen for what was called the 304 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 1: X one program. Summer of nineteen forty seven, and it's 305 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:04,720 Speaker 1: very funny and tell us a little bit about the 306 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: US Air Force in the modern world. The commercial test pilots, 307 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 1: who were being paid to do this for a living, 308 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:15,480 Speaker 1: wanted a lot more money, and they didn't want to 309 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: fly these very new, very different aircraft because these were 310 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 1: aircraft designed to break the sound barrier. They were designed 311 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: to do things no one had ever done before, and 312 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,000 Speaker 1: that's why they were called an X program for experiment. 313 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:34,760 Speaker 1: And so the pilots refused without higher pay. So the 314 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,640 Speaker 1: Air Force said fine and brought in regular Air Force 315 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,080 Speaker 1: officers who didn't get anything extra, and said, here, you 316 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:43,159 Speaker 1: have a chance to do something really cool. And you 317 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,119 Speaker 1: might listen to a little bit about Yeager's description of 318 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:48,760 Speaker 1: how he ended up in the X one program. He 319 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 1: said this when he was on David Letterman back in 320 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty two. I was a fighter pilot in World 321 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 1: War two and mustangs. I came back in nineteen forty 322 00:18:57,080 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: five in the war and was assigned to right Field 323 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 1: as the maintenance officer in the Fighter test section. And 324 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 1: I went through the test Boscole in eighteen forty six, 325 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: and then I was selected for the X one program. 326 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:08,800 Speaker 1: In the summer forty seven, after the bail test, pilots 327 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: had gotten into a hassle on bonus money, and probably 328 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,040 Speaker 1: because of my maintenance background and the air shows I 329 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,920 Speaker 1: used to put on. On October fourteenth, nineteen forty seven, 330 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: he flew the Excess one past the Soundburger. Now this 331 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:30,919 Speaker 1: at the time was enormous impact worldwide news. He became 332 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:35,120 Speaker 1: the world's first supersonic pilot in level flight. What made 333 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:38,679 Speaker 1: it kind of instant tells you about Yeager's toughness and 334 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:42,199 Speaker 1: his dedication, is that a couple of days before he 335 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,160 Speaker 1: was supposed to fly, he had knocked off his horse 336 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:49,159 Speaker 1: and he broke several ribs, and in fact, he was 337 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: in so much pain. First of all, he went to 338 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,400 Speaker 1: a civilian doctor, not the military doctor, because he knew 339 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,160 Speaker 1: the military doctor would ground it and not allow him 340 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: to fly. And he literally couldn't reach up and close 341 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 1: the door once he got in the airplane. So front 342 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:08,880 Speaker 1: of his rigged a broomstick so that when he got 343 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,000 Speaker 1: in he could use the broomstick to close the door. 344 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:15,159 Speaker 1: Because his friend understood how much painting was in. So 345 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:17,760 Speaker 1: imagine this moment and tells you when I talk about 346 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: American exceptionalism, the toughness, the determination, the continuous pursuit of excellence, 347 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: and listen to Chucks on the description of this, which 348 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 1: I think is just astonishing, and it just so happens. 349 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 1: That particular flight, I think was on a Tuesday. On 350 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:38,080 Speaker 1: the weekends there it d at Mire Rock, it was called. 351 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:42,600 Speaker 1: Then we used to go out to Poncho Barnes or 352 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 1: sort of a She had a rodeo grounds and a 353 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 1: swimming pool and motel and a good restaurant. Go out 354 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,919 Speaker 1: there and unwined, and I took Glennis out there, I 355 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 1: think on a Saturday night, and we loved the ride horses. 356 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 1: So we went out after the riding horses and chasing 357 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,199 Speaker 1: each other. Coming back, somebody closed the gate and it 358 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:06,119 Speaker 1: was dark. I didn't see it, so my horse hit 359 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:08,480 Speaker 1: the fence and flipped me and I broke a couple 360 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:11,479 Speaker 1: of ribs. And that was on a Saturday night. Sunday 361 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 1: I moped around and then Monday I had to go 362 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:19,199 Speaker 1: into the basin and I went to a local doctor 363 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 1: there and he said, we've got two two busted ribs, 364 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,800 Speaker 1: I'll tape you up, and and it really didn't make 365 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,959 Speaker 1: that much difference in flying the airplane because it's not 366 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: strenuous other than handling it with your hands and feet 367 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 1: on the rudder pedals and control surfaces and loading pressure 368 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:41,480 Speaker 1: domes and turning switches on things like that. So my 369 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: only problem was it was painful to get into the 370 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: airplane because you had to come down the ladder and 371 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:49,560 Speaker 1: go through a little hole on the right side. But 372 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,359 Speaker 1: then the hard part was closing the door. Once old 373 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:54,639 Speaker 1: Jack Ridley came down the ladder and held the door 374 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,160 Speaker 1: against the right side, had a lever, it was really 375 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: tough to and it took both hands all you could do. 376 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 1: And I couldn't handle it with my right side because handle. 377 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: So he made me about a ten long broomstick and 378 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:08,000 Speaker 1: I could stick in the end the door handle gave 379 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:10,640 Speaker 1: me that mechanical advantage. And that's the way we saw 380 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 1: the problems. That really didn't make much difference. To show 381 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 1: you the sort of instinctive, adventurous spirit that Yeager had, 382 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 1: having a now already proven that he could fly faster 383 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:28,879 Speaker 1: than sound. In nineteen forty eight, he becomes the first 384 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: American to make a ground take off in a rocket 385 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:37,840 Speaker 1: powered aircraft. Again another experimental program. It's just remarkable to 386 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,639 Speaker 1: watch what they were doing and how they were doing it. 387 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:45,680 Speaker 1: The Navy also had a program involving what was called 388 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:49,679 Speaker 1: the Skyrocket, the five fifty eight two, and it's pilot, 389 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:53,320 Speaker 1: Scott Crossfield, became the first team to reach twice the 390 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:56,200 Speaker 1: speed of sound. Now, Yeager had already become famous reaching 391 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:58,200 Speaker 1: the speed of sound, and he'd gotten up to about 392 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:00,800 Speaker 1: a thousand miles an hour, but they actually got faster. 393 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: At that point, Ridley and Yeager decided they would beat 394 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 1: crossfield speed record in a series of test flights that 395 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:13,320 Speaker 1: they dubbed Operation Knacho Weep. Not only did they beat Crossfield, 396 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 1: but they did it in time to spoil a celebration 397 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:19,800 Speaker 1: planned for the fiftieth anniversary of flight in which Crossfield 398 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:24,159 Speaker 1: was to be called the fastest man Alive. Well, Yeager 399 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 1: decided to no, he was the fastest man alive. However, 400 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: in December of that year he almost had a disaster. 401 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:36,120 Speaker 1: He was flying the Bell X one a sixteen hundred 402 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:39,520 Speaker 1: and fifty miles per hour, and he became the first 403 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: man to fly two and a half times a speed 404 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:46,880 Speaker 1: of sound, but had about mocked two point four at 405 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:51,480 Speaker 1: eighty thousand feet. The planes spun out of control and 406 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 1: was coming down rapidly, spinning on all three axes. He 407 00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:01,359 Speaker 1: dropped fifty one thousand feet and fifty one seconds. First 408 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:02,679 Speaker 1: of all, it's a good thing. He was up at 409 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 1: eighty thousand feet when it's started, but he dropped think 410 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,800 Speaker 1: about this, thousand feet a second for fifty one seconds. 411 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,600 Speaker 1: He stayed very calm. He regained control of twenty five 412 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 1: thousand feet. Anyone onto the land, the aircraft got any 413 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,200 Speaker 1: more instance and just choked it off as part of 414 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 1: the deal. Nineteen fifty four, he gets the Harmon Trophy 415 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:46,639 Speaker 1: Award from President Eisenhower for flying the X one A. 416 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:51,719 Speaker 1: Then he becomes a regular Air Force bay May fifty 417 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 1: five to July fifty seven, he commands the F eighty 418 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:58,560 Speaker 1: six Saber equipped four hundred and seventeenth Fighter Bomber Squadron 419 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:02,760 Speaker 1: at Han Air Force Base in Germany. From fifty seven 420 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 1: to sixty he commands the F one hundred Super Saber 421 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:11,320 Speaker 1: equipped First Fighter Day Squadron at George Air Force Base, California. 422 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:13,680 Speaker 1: To member is the place he originally went two years 423 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:17,240 Speaker 1: and years before, and they also served at Moron Air 424 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,720 Speaker 1: Base in Spain. In nineteen sixty one, he finally moved 425 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 1: on from being a high school graduate. He graduated from 426 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:27,000 Speaker 1: the Air War College of Maxwell Air Force Base in June. 427 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:30,399 Speaker 1: At sixty one, he became the first commandant of the 428 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 1: US Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School, which produced astronauts 429 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,920 Speaker 1: for NASA and the US Air Force, and in December 430 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:43,240 Speaker 1: sixty three to January sixty four he completed five flights 431 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,520 Speaker 1: in the NASA M two f one lifting body so 432 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:50,120 Speaker 1: is an experimental aircraft. An accident during a test fight 433 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 1: and one of the schools n F one oh fours 434 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 1: put an end to his record attempts. In December sixty three, 435 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:00,800 Speaker 1: while testing the experimental Lockheed Starfighter n F one oh 436 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 1: four rocket augment and Inferspace Trainer at over twice his 437 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:08,040 Speaker 1: b to sound, his aircraft went out of control at 438 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,639 Speaker 1: one hundred and eight thousand feet nearly twenty one miles 439 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: up and crashed. He became the first pilot to make 440 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,520 Speaker 1: an emergency ejection in the full pressure suit needed for 441 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:22,440 Speaker 1: high altitude flights. So imagine that you're twenty one miles 442 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,800 Speaker 1: above the Earth. Your plane is in a crisis. You're 443 00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:29,520 Speaker 1: going to crash. They have to stay very calm and 444 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,640 Speaker 1: very cool because that's why you're wearing the full pressure 445 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,879 Speaker 1: suit for precisely this kind of an emergency. But you 446 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: are shooting yourself out of the plane at a really 447 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:45,200 Speaker 1: high speed at a really high altitude. Once again, the 448 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,720 Speaker 1: lands goes on with business as usual. I flew a 449 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 1: flight in the morning with a pressure shoot on and 450 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 1: thinking one hundred and eight thousand feet, and we measured 451 00:26:56,560 --> 00:27:00,800 Speaker 1: the rotation and I landed, and I wanted to make 452 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,439 Speaker 1: another flight after lunch. I didn't get out of my 453 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:05,439 Speaker 1: pressure soup because if you get out of it, it's 454 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,480 Speaker 1: wet and you can't get back in. And made another 455 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:11,720 Speaker 1: flight at about one thirty in the afternoon at a 456 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 1: one hundred and four thousand feet and for some reason 457 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:18,280 Speaker 1: we had dual thrusters on the bottom of the nose 458 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:21,679 Speaker 1: and dual thrusters on the top. Now we don't know, 459 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,119 Speaker 1: we may have had one thruster failed. But at one 460 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:25,919 Speaker 1: hundred and four thousand feet when I came into the 461 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:30,399 Speaker 1: atmosphere at fifty threes angle attack, I couldn't get the 462 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,160 Speaker 1: nose down on the airplane. And see you far as 463 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:35,840 Speaker 1: shut your engine down way down here, but the engine 464 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 1: still wind milling as it goes across the top, and 465 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,720 Speaker 1: that's where you get the hydraulic pressure that runs the 466 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: flight control systems, your horizontal stabilizer, yelerons, and the rudder. 467 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,919 Speaker 1: When you come up with the top, obviously the engine 468 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:54,720 Speaker 1: is wind milling and it's gradually slowing down, but engine 469 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:58,159 Speaker 1: is still turning over giving a hydraulic pressure which runs 470 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:01,680 Speaker 1: a horizontal stabilizer for pitch control, and the ailerons and 471 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:08,200 Speaker 1: the rudder, and basically what happened on previous flights when 472 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 1: you re enter and force the nose down with hiders 473 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:16,240 Speaker 1: and peroxide thrusters attitude controllers, then you come back into 474 00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:19,399 Speaker 1: the atmosphere and knows first. Then you start getting air 475 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:23,840 Speaker 1: through the intake ducts of your airplane, and that keeps 476 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:26,680 Speaker 1: the engine windmilling, and you bring the airplane on down 477 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 1: to about forty thousand feet and level out and hit 478 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:33,040 Speaker 1: the igniter and then come out of idol with your 479 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,639 Speaker 1: out of stopcock with your throttle into idol and that 480 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:38,120 Speaker 1: gives you fuel and igniter work and then it starts 481 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,560 Speaker 1: your engine up again. But if it doesn't work, then 482 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:44,560 Speaker 1: you're going down dead stick into Roger's dry Lake, which 483 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 1: I did three or four time. But on what happens 484 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:52,400 Speaker 1: on What happened on this flight was that when the 485 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,640 Speaker 1: airplane came into the atmosphere about a fifty degree angle attack, 486 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:59,480 Speaker 1: and I couldn't get the nose down, the airplane pitched 487 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 1: up and went into a flat spin. And what you 488 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:07,760 Speaker 1: realize now is the airplane's in a flat spin and 489 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:10,760 Speaker 1: the engine RPM because there's no air going through the 490 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:15,640 Speaker 1: intake ducks. The engine stops. And when that stopped, then 491 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,960 Speaker 1: you no longer have hydraulic pressure to run the wars 492 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:22,440 Speaker 1: on a stabilizer, the ill run or rudder, so there's 493 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:25,400 Speaker 1: no You're in a no win situation. That's exactly what 494 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:27,960 Speaker 1: it is. You sat there and said, you get, but 495 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:33,240 Speaker 1: you have one other alternative that's eject. Well. Uh. I 496 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: also had a drag shoot on the airplane that we 497 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: used for landing. And when I went through, the airplane 498 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 1: was in a very flat, slow spin, and I have 499 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:44,440 Speaker 1: my pressure suit on, it was inflated. And I was 500 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:47,440 Speaker 1: sat there and watch and and I was talking to 501 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:50,200 Speaker 1: Bud Anderson was chasing me in a T thirty three. 502 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 1: He was down way down a little looking at me coming. 503 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 1: I was talking to the Space Position branch, the guys 504 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 1: are recording data and said, you know, I got a 505 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 1: I got a real problem, just no way of getting 506 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,920 Speaker 1: this thing out of a spin. And so as I 507 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 1: went through thirty thousand feet I went, I deployed the 508 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:11,120 Speaker 1: drag SHOOTE which you normally deployed for lay. Well, when 509 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:14,200 Speaker 1: I did, the drag shoot comes out and it popped 510 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:18,320 Speaker 1: the nose down on the airplane. But there's a link 511 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:21,320 Speaker 1: that the drag shoots hooked to the airplane with that's 512 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: designed to share at one hundred and eighty miles an hour, 513 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:27,200 Speaker 1: and that's in case the drag shoot comes out accidentally 514 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:30,680 Speaker 1: while you're flying, it won't stop the airplane. Well, it 515 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 1: just so happened when a nose went down, you know, 516 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:35,640 Speaker 1: as I went through a one hundred and eighty miles 517 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:39,320 Speaker 1: an hour, the drag shoot shared and the parachute released 518 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:43,040 Speaker 1: and the airplane pitched back flat. Because there's you know, 519 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:44,680 Speaker 1: one hundred and eighty mile an hour going through the 520 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:46,800 Speaker 1: intake decks. Now I'm going to give you engine rpm, 521 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,800 Speaker 1: it takes about three hundred mile an hour. When it's happened, 522 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 1: the airplane flipped back flat, and I don't think it turned, 523 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,800 Speaker 1: It just fell at one hundred miles an hour. Now 524 00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:59,480 Speaker 1: you've got you've got the egress systems. You know, you 525 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,320 Speaker 1: know them intimately a lot, and it pays off because 526 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: a lot of times you have to use them in 527 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:08,320 Speaker 1: a semiconscious state. And I knew my rocket seat that 528 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:10,840 Speaker 1: I was right. I knew it's capability, so I wrote 529 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:14,240 Speaker 1: it down to about six thousand feet, which is not low, 530 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:18,840 Speaker 1: and went ahead and ejected, Well, the rocket seat blows 531 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:20,479 Speaker 1: you out of the airplane and gives you about one 532 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 1: hundred mile an hour velocity away from the airplane. Well, 533 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 1: it's just so happened that the airplane is falling at 534 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:30,080 Speaker 1: about one hundred miles an hour. So when I used 535 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:32,480 Speaker 1: a seat, the airplane just fell away from the seat. 536 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:36,840 Speaker 1: Obviously the seat set there, and then two seconds after 537 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:40,600 Speaker 1: you leave the airplane, the lap belt blows open on 538 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:43,440 Speaker 1: the seat, which is what holds you in the seat. 539 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 1: You've got leg restrainers, cables that hold your heels into 540 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:51,760 Speaker 1: the seat for flailing when you come out at high speed, 541 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:56,640 Speaker 1: and a lot of things happen. So when this I 542 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:59,520 Speaker 1: sat and watched the seat go through a sequencing you 543 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:03,080 Speaker 1: know when it was going to happen. And finally the 544 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: lap belt popped open, and there's a butt kicker that 545 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:09,280 Speaker 1: kicks you out of the seat. I felt that going 546 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 1: and also my cable cutters cut my leg restrainer cables 547 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:18,560 Speaker 1: and I fell through when this happened. Then your F 548 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:22,480 Speaker 1: five release on your parachute is armed, and if as 549 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 1: you fall through fourteen thousand feet, the shoote will open. Well, 550 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:28,960 Speaker 1: I was blow fourteen thousand feet obviously, so the shoote 551 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:33,640 Speaker 1: opened the minute that the the F five release said 552 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:36,640 Speaker 1: to open, and it did. But the problem was I 553 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: didn't have enough velocity through the air. See I was 554 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:43,600 Speaker 1: just starting to fall again to pull that quarterbag which 555 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:45,800 Speaker 1: is on the canopy of your parachute. And the reason 556 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,280 Speaker 1: that bag is on the canopy is that when you 557 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:52,480 Speaker 1: ejected high speeds four or five miles an hour, it 558 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:56,280 Speaker 1: keeps your canopy on the parachute from popping immediately it 559 00:32:56,360 --> 00:33:01,720 Speaker 1: pulls off and lets it reef slowly. Well, that little 560 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 1: pilot shoot on that quarterback needs about sixty mile an 561 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:08,320 Speaker 1: hour to pull it off the quarterback. And this is 562 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:10,560 Speaker 1: you know, I don't know anything like this is going. 563 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:13,760 Speaker 1: All I know is that I'm free five. My shoot 564 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:17,120 Speaker 1: has released, but I haven't got a canopy slowing me down. 565 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:20,880 Speaker 1: I can feel it flopping in the breeze. Well by 566 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 1: the time, at about this time the seat you know, 567 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:27,600 Speaker 1: which kicked me out up here, it also is falling 568 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,720 Speaker 1: and it became entangled in the shroud lines of the parachute. 569 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,719 Speaker 1: I don't know this either, but this is where it happened. 570 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:39,080 Speaker 1: And when finally I picked up enough speed sixty or 571 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:42,480 Speaker 1: seventy miles an hour falling with the canopy up there. 572 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:45,800 Speaker 1: Following that that quarterback came off, the canopy popped and went. 573 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:49,680 Speaker 1: It popped. Damned seat that's entangled in the shroud lines. 574 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:52,680 Speaker 1: I'm falling about like this and it flopped me up 575 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:54,560 Speaker 1: like this. Will a seat hit me in the face 576 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:57,479 Speaker 1: piece of my pressure suit And what hit me was 577 00:33:57,560 --> 00:33:59,720 Speaker 1: the rocket. The butt end of the rocket on the 578 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:03,240 Speaker 1: seat would still had glowing propellant burning. And when this happened, 579 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:07,600 Speaker 1: it popped glowing propellant onto the rubber seals of my 580 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 1: pressure suit and you're in one hundred percent oxygen, and 581 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:13,880 Speaker 1: when it did, it ignited, and then you're feeding one 582 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:17,040 Speaker 1: hundred percent oxygen and it's just like a blowtorch. And 583 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:23,160 Speaker 1: fortunately when this happened, the visor on my pressure suit 584 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:26,520 Speaker 1: was busted and fragment cut my eye down and my 585 00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:28,640 Speaker 1: sockuld filled with blood, so it didn't hurt my eyeball 586 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:30,920 Speaker 1: the flame, but I got burned pretty bad on my 587 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:34,880 Speaker 1: neck and shoulder and in its very difficult to breathe, 588 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 1: and the only thing that I knew I was stunned 589 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:41,960 Speaker 1: from the blow. I knew I had to get the 590 00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:44,319 Speaker 1: visor up on my pressure suit. How which ware. He's 591 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:46,960 Speaker 1: a button on the rights you push it and then 592 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:49,400 Speaker 1: you raise the visors where you get your visor up 593 00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:52,319 Speaker 1: on most pressure suit. I knew I had to get 594 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:55,239 Speaker 1: it up off, get that visor up to shut the 595 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:58,319 Speaker 1: oxygen flow from my kit that was in the back 596 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:01,640 Speaker 1: of my pressure suit, to get all this fire out, 597 00:35:01,719 --> 00:35:05,560 Speaker 1: And so I did that. When this happened, then I 598 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:07,240 Speaker 1: swung a couple of times and I hit the ground. 599 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,000 Speaker 1: When it happened, I couldn't see too much, and it 600 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:13,680 Speaker 1: was having trouble breathing because a lot of smoking fire. 601 00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:19,000 Speaker 1: But as it worked out, I was, you know, didn't 602 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:21,600 Speaker 1: the way you look at either do or you don't, 603 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:26,799 Speaker 1: and I don't didn't get killed in the flap. So 604 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:30,040 Speaker 1: I stood up and Andy buzzed me. But a helicopter 605 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:32,279 Speaker 1: since I've been talking to him on the way down. 606 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:37,839 Speaker 1: Took four minutes from the first spin to impact, and 607 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:40,200 Speaker 1: they had a helicopter off the ground with the flight 608 00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:44,359 Speaker 1: surgeon aboard, doctor at Edwards, and he got out there. Well, 609 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:46,840 Speaker 1: we'll probably within five minutes from the time I landed 610 00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:49,840 Speaker 1: and picked me up and gave me a shot of 611 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:53,840 Speaker 1: boorphine and took me back to hospital and worked on 612 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:58,399 Speaker 1: me and cut my pressure sit off. That's that's about it. 613 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:02,360 Speaker 1: In July, I said, he becomes a four colonel, commands 614 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,239 Speaker 1: the four hundred and fifth Fighter Wing in the Philippines, 615 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:08,160 Speaker 1: flew one hundred and twenty seven air support missions and 616 00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:13,120 Speaker 1: trained bomb repolits. In February sixty eight, he's assigned commander 617 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:16,279 Speaker 1: of the fourth Tactical Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air 618 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:19,160 Speaker 1: Force Base in North Carolina, and he led the McDonnell 619 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:22,719 Speaker 1: Douglas f for Phantom two Wing in South Korea during 620 00:36:22,719 --> 00:36:26,880 Speaker 1: the Public Crisis. June nineteen sixty nine, Yeager's promoted to 621 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:30,399 Speaker 1: brigadier general and was assigned in July as the vice 622 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:33,799 Speaker 1: commander of the seventeenth Air Force. I'll think about this, 623 00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:37,200 Speaker 1: here's a guy who enlisted as a high school graduate, 624 00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:41,480 Speaker 1: serves this country very eably for a period of twenty 625 00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:46,400 Speaker 1: nine years, ends up as a brigadier general as the 626 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:50,759 Speaker 1: vice commander of an entire air force, and then moves 627 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:54,320 Speaker 1: on becomes an advisor to the Pakistani Air Force on 628 00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:57,919 Speaker 1: behalf of the US government, and in seventy three he's 629 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:01,160 Speaker 1: elected to the Aviation Hall of Fame. Now this is 630 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:04,280 Speaker 1: a guy who's having just a heck of a career. 631 00:37:05,200 --> 00:37:08,000 Speaker 1: He continues to fly for the Air Force and to 632 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:11,520 Speaker 1: fly for NASA. He's a consulting test pilot at Edwards 633 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 1: Air Force Base. In seventy six, Congress catches up with 634 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:20,280 Speaker 1: him and they create a special Congressional Solver Medal for bravery. 635 00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:24,080 Speaker 1: He's the only American ever awarded the Congressional Medal for 636 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:28,160 Speaker 1: service in peacetime, and in the late eighties and nineties 637 00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:33,280 Speaker 1: set a number of light general aircraft performance records for speed, range, 638 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:35,400 Speaker 1: and endurance. Even though he even flying his whole life, 639 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:39,360 Speaker 1: he loved it. He continued flying. He conducted flights on 640 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:43,440 Speaker 1: behalf of Piper aircraft and a one flight yeager performed 641 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:47,400 Speaker 1: an emergency landing as a result of fuel exhaustion. On 642 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:51,920 Speaker 1: another he took the Piper's turboprops chayam four hundreds to 643 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:55,560 Speaker 1: a time. The hike record got to thirty five thousand 644 00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:59,719 Speaker 1: feet in sixteen minutes, which exceeded the client performance of 645 00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:03,840 Speaker 1: a ball thirty seven. He's moved from the fastest airplane 646 00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:07,960 Speaker 1: in the world, He's moved from great fighter aircraft, and 647 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:12,960 Speaker 1: now he's still staying active working on private planes. Nineteen 648 00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:18,000 Speaker 1: eighty five, President Reagan gives him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 649 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:31,640 Speaker 1: Chuck Yeager a hero in war and peace. Charles Yeager 650 00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:35,720 Speaker 1: has served his country with dedication and courage beyond ordinary measure. 651 00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:40,480 Speaker 1: On October fourteenth, nineteen forty seven, in a rocket plane 652 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:45,800 Speaker 1: which he named Glamorous Glennys after his wife, Chuck Yeager 653 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:49,080 Speaker 1: became the first human being to travel faster than the 654 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:52,000 Speaker 1: speed of sound, and in doing so showed to the 655 00:38:52,040 --> 00:39:06,680 Speaker 1: world the real meaning of the right stuff. Finally, on 656 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:12,919 Speaker 1: October fourteenth, nineteen ninety seven, the fiftieth anniversary of his 657 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:17,759 Speaker 1: historic flight past mark one, breaking the Soundburger, he flew 658 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:21,880 Speaker 1: a brand new Glamorous Glennus the third and f fifteen 659 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:26,120 Speaker 1: the eagle passed Mark one. So this is a guy 660 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:29,840 Speaker 1: who's had an amazing life, and finally this year he 661 00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:33,560 Speaker 1: passed away on December seventh. I just think that this 662 00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:38,840 Speaker 1: is one of the great examples of American exceptionalism. He 663 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:41,800 Speaker 1: kept growing, he kept learning, he kept pushing the margins, 664 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,040 Speaker 1: he never gave up, he never slowed down, and he 665 00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:49,320 Speaker 1: didn't worry much about status or much about academic achievement 666 00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:53,680 Speaker 1: or certification. He just went out and did things and 667 00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:57,719 Speaker 1: as a result, he made America a much more remarkable country. 668 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:01,520 Speaker 1: He served his country in a series of wars. Perfect 669 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:04,040 Speaker 1: person to introduce young people too, and say, you know, 670 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:07,040 Speaker 1: if you have the guts and you're willing to work hard, 671 00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:10,920 Speaker 1: it's amazing what you can achieve in Amernica. And that, 672 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:14,719 Speaker 1: I think is what we really owe Chuck Yeager more 673 00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:17,400 Speaker 1: than anything, not just for his service to the country, 674 00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:20,719 Speaker 1: but for the very model of freedom and of what 675 00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:24,080 Speaker 1: a courageous free person can do that anybody can learn, 676 00:40:24,440 --> 00:40:37,879 Speaker 1: that anybody can apply. Sir over there a man a right. 677 00:40:57,040 --> 00:41:00,160 Speaker 1: You can read more about Chuck Yeager's extraordinary life our 678 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:04,799 Speaker 1: showpage at Newtsworld dot com. News World is produced by 679 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:11,080 Speaker 1: Gingwich three sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is deVie Myers. 680 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:15,440 Speaker 1: Our producer is Garnsey Slow and our researchers Rachel Peterson. 681 00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:19,200 Speaker 1: The artwork for the show was created by Steve Penley. 682 00:41:19,640 --> 00:41:23,560 Speaker 1: Special thanks let's team at Gingwish three sixty. Please email 683 00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:26,560 Speaker 1: me with your questions at Gingwish three sixty dot com 684 00:41:26,600 --> 00:41:31,160 Speaker 1: slash questions. I'll answer a selection of questions in future episodes. 685 00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:34,360 Speaker 1: If you've been enjoying Newtworld, I hope you'll go to 686 00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:37,920 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts and both rate us with five stars and 687 00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:40,839 Speaker 1: give us a review so others can learn what it's 688 00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:44,800 Speaker 1: all about. I'm new Gangwish. This is new tool