The Right Stuff

[noharleyyet]

"Everybody that I've ever seen that enjoyed their job was very good at it."

Chuck Yeager RIP

Chuck Yeager, Test Pilot Who Broke the Sound Barrier, Is Dead at 97 (Published 2020)

A World War II fighter ace and Air Force general, he was, according to Tom Wolfe, “the most righteous of all the possessors of the right stuff.”

www.nytimes.com

 

[Mkamman]

Not enough of them left
RIP hero

 

[Nameless Range]

"The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down."

RIP

 

[David58]

A real life hero, a true stud.

 

[JMG]

A BIG thanks to Chuck and the men and women who helped make his achievement possible. Back in the day … these folks never considered themselves "heros", because they were "just doing their jobs".

Unlike today … where everyone who does there job is referred to as a "hero".

 

[MarvB]

National icon....RIP

 

[Straight Arrow]

And not to forget that Chuck Yeager was a hunter and outdoorsman. If around today, it's sure he would be sharing a lot of 'right stuff' on Hunt Talk ... and likely be lobbying for a hunt trip with the Big Fin.

RIP Chuck Yeager.

 

[Sytes]

A mentor to many. RIP.

 

[brymoore]

I read his book in high school. I still think about it.

He was shot down over France. The French underground got him to Spain border with another US guy. Germans jumped them crossing and shot at them. Other guy is hit in the knee. Yeager saw it was only attached by a tendon, cut it off with his pocket knife. He threw the guy over his shoulder and ran into Spain.

Pilots rescued by the French underground were not allowed to go back into combat. The fear was they’d get shot down again and would reveal information under German interrogation. Yeager had to appeal to Eisenhower to get approval to return to combat.

He also talked about the wrath of total war. He mentioned killing an old farmer and his horse plowing a potato field because their deaths would mean less food for Germany. I think it haunted him.