HAMLIN, W.Va. — Brigadier General Charles “Chuck” Yeager, a Lincoln County native and World War II flying ace who would become the first human to travel faster than the speed of sound, died at a hospital in Los Angeles, California on Dec. 7. He was 97-years-old.
Born February 13, 1923, in Myra, Yeager was the son of Susie Mae (nee Sizemore) and Albert Hal Yeager. He and his family moved to Hamlin when he was five years old. A formidable athlete — “I was trained in sports," Yeager told the Lincoln Journal in 1985. "Sports are a big part of your life training for adulthood,” — he played football and basketball at Hamlin High School. He would graduate from the school in 1941.
That same year, Yeager enlisted in the U.S. Army just months before the U.S. entered into World War II. He was assigned to the Army Air Corps. By 1943, Yeager was commissioned a reserve flight officer. He became a pilot in the fighter command of the Eighth Air Force stationed in England.
Yeager’s career fighting for the Allies during WWII would earn him the distinction of being an ace, having shot down at least five enemy aircraft.
On Oct. 12, 1944, Yeager’s plane was shot down over France. During his escape, he aided another airman, an act that would later earn Yeager a Bronze Star.
After the war, Yeager was relocated to California’s Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards Air Force Base) where he became a test pilot. In 1947, Yeager was selected to be the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound — a mission he’d accomplish on Oct. 14 of that same year. The Bell X-1 aircraft used by Yeager to break the sound barrier is now housed and displayed at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
The 1950s and 1960s would take Yeager through many war-ravaged nations as a commander. Along the way, he’d increase his military status from colonel to brigadier general. He retired from the military in 1975.
Yeager continued flying even after his retirement for several public and private entities, including, in some capacities, NASA.
In 1979, a book by author Tom Wolfe titled The Right Stuff featuring Yeager’s flight accomplishments was published. In 1983, a movie by the same name was released starring Sam Shepard as Yeager. Though Yeager had a small cameo in the film, playing a bartender, the movie had a much larger impact, propelling the aviator to household-name status.
Though much of Yeager’s adult life was spent outside of West Virginia and Lincoln County, he continued to have a fondness for his hometown even until late in life. But West Virginia also has a fondness for her native son.
In 1985, what was then called the Kanawha Airport, was renamed Yeager Airport in honor of Yeager’s accomplishments.
On Oct. 14, 1987 — 40 years after his historic supersonic flight — Yeager returned to his hometown of Hamlin to reveal a statue of himself, which remains in front of Hamlin Elementary.
A bridge in Kanawha County and part of U.S. 119 have also been named after Yeager.
Yeager is survived by his wife, Victoria, and four children Susan Yeager, Don Yeager, Michael Yeager and Sharon Yeager Flick. He was proceeded in death by his first wife, Glennis (nee Dickhouse) Yeager.
A memorial has been tentatively planned for noon on Friday, January 15, 2021, in Charleston. The service is expected to be open to the public and a subsequent live stream of the is also expected. More details on service and burial are expected to be released in the coming days.