[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 132 (Wednesday, October 9, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1809]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF BRIGADIER GENERAL CHARLES E. ``CHUCK'' 
                                 YEAGER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. WILLIAM M. THOMAS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 9, 2002

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Brigadier General 
Charles E. ``Chuck'' Yeager. I congratulate him on his pioneering work 
in the field of aeronautics and thank him for his many contributions to 
our country over the past 60 years.
  Brig. Gen. Yeager became the first man to ever break the sound 
barrier on October 14, 1947. This feat was accomplished in the 
experimental Bell X-1, called ``Glamorous Glennis,'' which is now on 
display at the Smithsonian Institution. He was able to successfully 
pilot his aircraft above the speed of sound, thereby proving the 
feasibility of manned supersonic flight. General Yeager also set 
another aviation record six years later by flying to Mach 2.44 in the 
X-IA. He continued to test experimental aircraft at Muroc Air Force 
Base (now Edwards Air Force Base) until 1954. These noteworthy acts, as 
well as his testing of hundreds of different aircraft during his 
career, are well worth our praise and accolades.
  Brig. Gen. Yeager not only set records, but he also helped establish 
a unique program at Edwards Air Force Base to train military test 
pilots as astronauts. In 1962, he was selected as the commandant of the 
new U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School (now the U.S. Air 
Force Test Pilot School), serving at this post until 1966. Despite his 
retirement from the military in March of 1975, Brig. Gen. Yeager has 
continued to fly in the annual Edwards Air Force Base Open House and 
Air Show and serve the U.S. Air Force as a flight test consultant. He 
will be taking to the skies again this year for the show, just like he 
always has, in what will be his last flight as pilot of an Air Force 
aircraft.
  In addition to his accomplishments as a test pilot and mentor, he is 
also a decorated combat veteran. After being shot down during World War 
II over occupied France on his eighth mission, he returned to fly 56 
more combat missions and total 12.5 aerial victories. His heroics in 
WWII, his achievements in flight testing, and his service as a combat 
commander during the Vietnam War earned him a Presidential Medal of 
Freedom and a special peacetime Medal of Honor. On the occasion of 
Brig. Gen. Yeager's last military flight, I ask that you join me in 
saluting one of our nation's greatest aviation pioneers.

                          ____________________