Horses, not flying, were Jeana Yeager’s first love. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Jeana moved to Garland when she was four years old. That year, Jeana’s parents bought her the first of several horses. Jeana’s father worked for Ling-Temco-Vought, which...
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...
Colonel Raymond F. Toliver, test pilot and military historian, has flown over 225 types of aircraft and accumulated over 9,000 hours during 28 years of service to his country. Born in Fort Collins, Colorado, he attended Colorado State University before joining the US...
Donald K. “Deke” Slayton is one of America’s original seven astronauts. He was born in Sparta, Wisconsin, in 1924 and entered the Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet in 1942. He earned his wings and commission in April 1943 and was assigned to the...
“Born with aviation fuel in his body instead of blood” is how Richard G. “Dick” Rutan’s mother describes her eldest son who would later co-pilot the first aircraft to circumnavigate the globe non-stop, without refueling. Rutan was born in...
Ralph Sherman Parr is a jet fighter ace whose unique combination of flying ability, significant achievement, and heroic service span three wars and five combat tours. Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, on 1 July 1924, the son of a Navy pilot, he received his wings and was...
Destined to become the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, Thomas Moorer’s life was marked by success. At age 15 he was valedictorian of his high school class, and 2 years later entered Annapolis. Graduating in 1933, he served as a gunnery officer...
As one of the first Americans to see combat in World War II, Joseph H. Moore shot down two enemy aircraft on his first combat mission. Born in 1914, he left South Carolina in 1937 to enter the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet training program and earned his wings and...
The first American to fly the Harrier, Lieutenant General Thomas Miller earned his wings and commission in the US Marine Corps in March 1943. A native of San Antonio, Texas, he flew over 100 combat missions in the F4U Corsair during World War II. After a short tour as...
Anthony W. “Tony” LeVier is one of aviation’s greatest test pilots. Few can equal his active role in the advancement of aviation during a flying career that spans over 50 years. He began flying in 1928, at 15, and by 1932 had his commercial license....
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...
Holding pilot license #185, signed by Orville Wright, Brigadier General Robert D. Knapp has had a long and varied aviation career. He was born in Moreland, Georgia, but grew up in Auburn, Alabama. In 1917, 19-year-old Knapp was turned down for Army officer training...
David Lee “Tex” Hill was born on 13 July 1915, in Kwangju, Korea, the son of American missionaries. He grew up in Texas, but returned to the Far East years later as one of the first pilots in General Claire Chennault’s American Volunteer Group (AVG),...
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...
Colonel (ret.) Charles B. “Chuck” DeBellevue is America’s top ace of the Vietnam War and the last ace to serve on active duty in the United States Air Force. Colonel DeBellvue was first selected as an Eagle by Air Command and Staff College’s...
In May 1953, Dick Catledge formed the first official USAF aerobatic team. He put some of the Air Force’s best pilots into the F-84G, and organized a unit known as the ” Thunderbirds.” Born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Catledge grew up in Memphis, Tennessee,...
One of Britain’s most distinguished aviators, Roland P. “Bee” Beamont was commissioned in the Royal Air Force (RAF) just before World War II. He first saw combat as a Hurricane pilot in 87 Squadron during the German invasion of France. On 13 May...
William T. Badham is one of four Americans to earn the title of “Ace” as an observer during World War I. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on 27 September 1895. As a young boy in Blount Springs, Alabama, he learned about war from Mary Gordon Duffy, a...
