Air Force General Chuck Yeager, known as “America’s greatest pilot” and the first man to exceed the speed of sound in flight, has passed away at age 97, according to his wife Victoria.
“It is with profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET,” Yeager’s wife said in a tweet on the famed brigadier general’s Twitter page on Monday night.
An incredible life well lived, America’s greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever.
Fr @VictoriaYeage11 It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET. An incredible life well lived, America’s greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever.
— Chuck Yeager (@GenChuckYeager) December 8, 2020
A career combat ace through World War II, Yeager began his time in the service as a humble mechanic, working his way up to enlisted pilot training and eventually promoted to flight officer. As a P-15 Mustang fighter pilot during the Second World War, he shot down more than 11 enemy craft over the Western Front.
A behind the scenes pic from one my favorite movies – the late Sam Shepard as Chuck Yeager and the man himself, who of course had a cameo role as well.
He was the first to break the sound barrier, through which they said no man could ever pass. He did, and then lived to 97. pic.twitter.com/p1r9YxqNGE
— Spenser Hickey (@SpenserHickey) December 8, 2020
General Chuck Yeager (1923-2020)
America's Greatest Pilot #RIP
WWII fighter ace, legendary test pilot that broke the sound barrier in 1947 and flew all the aerobatics in Howard Hughes' feature film JET PILOT (1957).#myhero #respect pic.twitter.com/OGxjiqV02Y— Vashi Nedomansky, ACE (@vashikoo) December 8, 2020
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
Source: RT