Remembering Gen. Chuck Yeager

Dale Olson, Lt Col (Ret), USAF remembers Gen. Chuck Yeager

In my career as a USAF pilot I met with Brigadier General Charles “Chuck” Yeager on three occasions. Although I did not have a personal relationship with him I did interact with him on a professional level.

I first met General Yeager when I was an AFROTC cadet here at WVU. AFROTC has an “Honorary” body which is known as the “Arnold Air Society.” The chapter at WVU is known as the “Charles E. Yeager” Squadron. I was a member of this group and during my Junior or senior year, 1979 or 1980 General Yeager came to WVU and met with members of our squadron.

As a pledge to the Arnold Air Society I was required to learn about General Yeager and his AF career. In addition to his accomplishments as a test pilot,

 I also learned about his experiences in WW II. I knew about his achievement of shooting down five German aircraft in one day and that he is credited with being the first pilot to shoot down a jet aircraft (German Me-262) with a piston powered, propeller driven aircraft (P-51 Mustang)

General Yeager came to address the members of our Arnold Air Society in Stansbury Hall and after he had spoken to us for about 30 minutes he asked how many of us were designated to attend USAF pilot training after graduation. I and a few others raised our hands and General Yeager said that he would like to talk to the pilot candidates and dismissed the rest of the cadets. Of course, we were all in awe of our squadrons’ namesake and listened to him while he spoke to us about what we could expect in pilot training and then answered our questions. What I remember most about that talk was that he told us that in order to be successful in pilot training we would need to always be “thinking ahead of the aircraft, keep your head on a swivel and always be aggressive.” At the time I was not exactly sure what he meant by that but I eventually came to realize what good advice it was.

The next time I met General Yeager was in the summer of 1987 when I was attending the USAF Squadron Officers College at Maxwell AFB, AL. The highlight of this entire Professional Military Education course was a lecture series and luncheon known as the “Aces Symposium.” In addition to General Yeager who was credited with 12.5 kills in WW II the symposium included Colonel Ralph Parr who recorded 10 Mig kills during the Korean war and Brigadier General Steve Ritchie who shot down five Mig-21’s during the Vietnam war and was the only USAF pilot ace of the war.

During the symposium each of the aces spoke to us as a class about their combat experiences in a lecture hall. That portion of the program lasted for approximately three hours. Following the morning session we broke up into smaller groups and broke for lunch. During the luncheon each of the Aces joined one of the groups for more informal discussions and question and answer sessions. Each of the men spent about 20 minutes with each group and then rotated to a different group.

When General Yeager came to my group I introduced myself and told him that we had met at WVU while I was still an AFROTC cadet and thanked him for the advice that he had given to us during his visit. He pointed to my wings and said “Well, I see that you made it through pilot training. What are you flying”?

By this time I was Captain and was an experienced Instructor Pilot with about 2,000 hours of flying time. Within the pilot community General Yeager was a bit notorious for his strong opinions on the pilot hierarchy and the “pecking order” of pilots. In his opinion there was only one true type of pilot. If you were not a single seat, single engine fighter pilot you were a lesser type of aviator. In response to his question I told him that I was an HC-130 Instructor Pilot.

 I told General Yeager that this was my first choice out of pilot training and that I had always wanted to be a Combat Search and Rescue pilot and that I loved the type of flying that I was doing. The General was apparently not impressed and hinted that I had hurt my chances for a successful USAF career by not choosing to fly fighters.

We talked for a few more minutes and we discussed the so called “Fighter Mafia” that was entrenched in the senior leadership positions in the USAF in the 80’s and we eventually got around to talking about the self confidence that bordered on arrogance that seemed to be a hallmark of a successful fighter pilot. General Yeager agreed and said that you always have to believe that you are the toughest dog in the fight. If not, you will lose and you WILL die. He asked me how I got along with the fighter pilots at my base and I told him that we got along fine. I told him that the two F-15E test pilots that I had recently rescued from the Gulf of Mexico after they lost control of their aircraft and ended up in a spin had been very polite and almost contrite when they talked to me from their life rafts. He got a good laugh out of that and then said. “I bet they didn’t even say thank you or buy you a drink at the O’Club.” Just for the record, he was right. 

My last interaction with General Yeager was in about 2006 0r 2007. By this time I was a Lieutenant Colonel and had returned to WV as a member of the USAF Reserves. I was the WV Wing Reserve Director to the CAP-USAF program based in Charleston. As part of the annual “Wreaths Across America” program I had been asked to assist in the placement of a memorial wreath in the rotunda of the state capitol in Charleston. In addition to me General Yeager and Senator (then Governor) Joe Manchin would be laying the wreath. Before the ceremony I had a chance to talk to General Yeager again. I told him that it was an honor to be doing the wreath laying with him and asked him if he got to come back to WV often. He said that he really did not get back much and spent most of his time in California.

A few years before he had been doing some public relations work for Northrop Aircraft Company doing promotional spots for their F-20 Tigershark aircraft. The F-20 was a lightweight, economical fighter aircraft that was marketing itself as an economical alternative to the F-16. I had seen several full page ads in aviation magazines and even a promotional video for the F-20 that featured General Yeager. 

The F-20 was a derivative of the supersonic Northrop T-38 which I had flown when I was in pilot training. I asked him about the F-20 and we talked about the F-20 and the T-38 for a few minutes. After a few minutes General Yeager asked me if I was still flying and I told him that yes, I was still doing Search and Rescue work with the Civil Air Patrol and that I was a B-767 Captain for Delta Airlines. He congratulated me on a successful career and said that it was good that I got to come back to West Virginia.

Prior to the wreath laying ceremony one of the CAP public affairs picture took a picture of General Yeager and I. Following the ceremony General Yeager and Governor Manchin left and I proceeded out to a cemetery in Charleston to place more wreaths on the graves of veterans. That was my last interaction with General Charles E. Yeager. I was deeply saddened to learn of his death last night. He truly was a legend in the aviation community and I feel honored to have met him.

When a pilot passes away he is said to have “Flown West” This is a quote from a poem written by an anonymous author during WW I.

 “To fly west, my friend is a flight we must all take for a final check.”

RIP General Yeager. Fair skies and tailwinds my brother in arms.

Dale Olson, Lt Col (Ret), USAF