Retired Brigadier General and West Virginia native Chuck Yeager turned 95 on Tuesday. The general tweeted the milestone.
You won’t believe it. I don’t believe it myself…but I turn 95 years old today. Enjoyed visiting with @oakridgeboys & my cousin Dodger great Steve Yeager. Oak @oakridgeboys sang beautifully as always & heard It Takes a Little Rain twice! Great song. Great day. #birthdaygift
— Chuck Yeager (@GenChuckYeager) February 13, 2018
Seems it meant as much to the band as it did to the general.
The General will be with us for 3 days next week celebrating his 95th birthday… Yes Sir we can sing It Takes A Little Rain at every show….. @GenChuckYeager
— The Oak Ridge Boys (@oakridgeboys) February 1, 2018
Yeager was born in Myra, West Virginia before his family moved to Hamlin where he grew up. He graduated from Hamlin High School. Yeager referred to his upbringing as normal. He played sports and was in the band–like everybody else.
I just found out @RandyMoss was born on my birthday. I have 54 years on him tho’. I played football in h.s. – we all did, barely had enough boys in the school to field a team. He also went to @marshallu where the Yeager Scholars program is. #WestVirginia @NFL https://t.co/0INdKH9Sl8
— Chuck Yeager (@GenChuckYeager) February 8, 2018
Yeager left home for World War II and ended up in the Army Air Corps originally as a mechanic.
“I don’t know why I chose the Army over the Navy or the Marines,” Yeager once noted in an interview with MetroNews. “I guess the Army recruiter did a better job.”
He started out working on planes and was proficient in the job because of his experience working with his father on pumps in the West Virginia oil and natural gas fields. Eventually though, he wanted to fly and when he got his chance, he made the most of it.
Q: Why did you choose aviation as military career & why @usairforce? A: Duty. WWII. Army Air Corps chose me. I had learned engines as a kid so Army put me in aviation maintenance. Pilots had pretty girls on their arms & clean fingernails so I applied 4 pilot training.
— Chuck Yeager (@GenChuckYeager) November 17, 2017
He would go on to be an Ace fighter pilot in Word War II. He then became a career military man with the U.S. Air Force which formed after the war. He worked as a test pilot and would become a household name when he became the first man to break the sound barrier in 1947 piloting the Bell X-1 nicknamed “Glamorous Glennis.” The plane was named after his late wife.
Today, Yeager makes his home in California not far from Edwards Air Force Base. He has developed quite a following on Twitter with no-nonsense replies to most questions.
Q: General, have you ever been in a race car going fast or driving one?
A: Yes. I drove the rocket car and just edged up close to MACH 1, near to 700 mph— Chuck Yeager (@GenChuckYeager) February 12, 2018
Q: Did you every have your instruments go out and had to make it back to base on your own instincts General Yeager? A: HAHAHAHA What instruments?
— Chuck Yeager (@GenChuckYeager) January 26, 2018
If you’re wondering about his exploits, the General’s standard answer is to read his autobiography, “Yeager.”
Read Yeager – asked & answered
— Chuck Yeager (@GenChuckYeager) February 12, 2018