Wordless Wednesday

Angela

Welcome to Lincoln County, West Virginia!

 Veterans Day I decided to take a little road trip with my Little Man to see a few sights and do a little shopping.  We stopped off on the side of the road to take a few picture of the Chuck Yeager Monument that is located along Corridor G in the Yawkey, West Virginia area. 

 I see this monument all the time and I have taken a few pictures, but this was the first time I pulled over to let my Little Man out to let him get a closer look at it.

General Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager; born February 13, 1923 is a retired brigadier general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. In 1947, he became the first pilot to (officially) travel faster than sound.

Yeager's career began in World War II as a private in the United States Army Air Forces. After serving as an aircraft mechanic, in September 1942 he entered enlisted pilot training and upon graduation was promoted to the rank of flight officer (the World War II USAAF equivalent to warrant officer) and became a North American P-51 Mustang fighter pilot.

After the war, Yeager became a test pilot of many types of aircraft including experimental rocket-powered aircraft. As the first human to break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947, he flew the experimental Bell X-1 at Mach 1 at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m). Although Scott Crossfield was the first to fly faster than Mach 2 in 1953, Yeager shortly thereafter set a new record of Mach 2.44.

Yeager later commanded fighter squadrons and wings in Germany and in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and in recognition of the outstanding performance ratings of those units he then was promoted to brigadier general. Yeager's flying career spans more than 60 years and has taken him to every corner of the globe, including the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War.

 He was born to farming parents Susie Mae and Albert Hal Yeager in Myra, West Virginia, and graduated from high school in Hamlin, West Virginia which is in Lincoln County, West Virginia. 

 

It was a beautiful day and I had a great time hanging out with my Little Man that day.

Angela