Brigadier General (ret.) Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager was the first person to break the sound barrier and went on to become one of the most legendary figures in aeronautical history. Born in 1923 in Myra, West Virginia, Yeager joined the US Army Air Corps at...
In April 1924, 3 years before Lindbergh soloed across the Atlantic, Leigh Wade and seven other young courageous Army airmen took off on a 26,000-mile journey around the world. These men were the first to circumnavigate the earth by air, the first to fly across the...
George A. Vaughn, Jr. is the highest scoring American ace from World War I. Born in 1897, he grew up in Brooklyn, NY and enrolled in Princeton University in 1915. In February 1917, Vaughn signed up for the Princeton Aviation School. Concerned about passing the...
Paul W. Tibbets is a World War II bomber pilot of unparalleled fame. Born in 1915 in Quincy, Illinois, he had his first bombing experience at age 12 by dropping candy bars by parachute out of the back seat of a Waco 9 biplane over the Hialeah racetrack. He joined the...
The “Old Man” of MiG Killers over North Vietnam, Brigadier General Robin Olds is one of history’s most colorful aces. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1922, he is the son of Army Air Force Major General Robert Olds, a World War I combat pilot and aide to the...
Known as the “Dean of the Dustoff Pilots”, Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel, at age 48, earned the United States’ highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, by rescuing 29 soldiers during the Vietnam War. Born and raised in Etna, Pennsylvania, Novosel became...
Colonel John W. Mitchell planned and led one of the longest fighter interception missions of World War II. That mission resulted in the shooting down of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. After graduating from flying school in 1940, Colonel Mitchell was assigned to...
General Curtis E. LeMay was one of America’s greatest military commanders. Born in Columbus, Ohio, on 15 November 1906, LeMay was commissioned a second lieutenant when he completed flight training at Kelly Field, Texas, in October 1928. Assigned to pursuit...
Fighter pilot, test pilot, astronaut, and politician, William J. “Pete” Knight is holder of the world’s speed record for winged powered flight. Born in Nobelsville, Indiana, in 1929, he earned his commission and pilot wings through the Aviation Cadet...
Gail S. Halvorsen is best known as the “Berlin Candy Bomber,” “Uncle Wiggly Wings,” or “Der Schokoladen-flieger.” Born in 1920 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Halvorsen was always fascinated by flight. At 18, he soloed for the first time....
During the Battle of Midway, 15 torpedo bombers from Torpedo Squadron 8 were launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet and none of them returned. The only survivor was George Gay, a 25-year-old native of Waco, Texas. He had been shot down less than 1 year after...
Francis “Gabby” Gabreski, was a member of “The Inner Seven,” an elite group of pilots who achieved the status of “ace ” in both World War II and Korea. Born in Pennsylvania in 1919, he attended Notre Dame University where he learned...
Joe Foss “the Flying Marine” was truly a Proud American! Born near Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1915, he graduated from the University of South Dakota. He soon joined the Marine Corps, became a Naval Aviator and received his commission in March 1941. After a tour as...
Lt. Gen James H. Doolittle was first selected by Air Command and Staff College’s Gathering of Eagles in 1982 and subsequently honored in 1982. “Jimmy” Doolittle, born in 1896, has repeatedly pushed back the frontiers of aviation technology while making his...
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”, proclaimed Neil Armstrong on 20 July 1969 when he became the first person to step onto the moon. The road leading to that historic moon landing began in Wapakoneta, Ohio, where he was...
