Oswald L. Fayard North Bay Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6731

10/23/2026

10/22/2026

And now you know...

Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager was born on February 13, 1923, in West Virginia. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1941 and started as an aircraft mechanic. He later entered pilot training and was promoted to flight officer.

He became a P-51 Mustang pilot in Europe. On March 5, 1944, on only his eighth combat mission, he was shot down over German-occupied France. He was seriously injured and spent days on foot in the mountains. He was helped by members of the French resistance and crossed into Spain on March 30, 1944. He helped a navigator, Omar “Pat” Patterson, who had been wounded, make the same mountain crossing. Yeager received the Bronze Star for that rescue.

Under US policy at the time, evaders were not supposed to return to combat in the same theater, because that could endanger escape networks. Yeager refused to go home. On June 12, 1944, he and another evader, Fred Glover, took their case directly to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Eisenhower allowed them back into combat.

On October 12, 1944, Yeager led a flight of P-51s on an es**rt mission over Germany. He shot down five Messerschmitt Bf 109s in one mission, becoming an “ace in a day.” Two of those kills came without him firing a shot. One Bf 109 collided with its wingman, and both pilots bailed out. He was awarded the Silver Star.

On November 6, 1944, he shot down a Messerschmitt Me 262, one of Germany’s first jet fighters, as it approached an airfield to land. He finished the war with 11.5 official victories.

After the war, Yeager became a test pilot. On October 14, 1947, he flew the Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” to Mach 1.05, becoming the first person to break the sound barrier in level flight. The flight came nearly three years after his first headlines.

He continued to fly and test aircraft for years. He later became a brigadier general, and he retired in 1975. He died on December 7, 2020, at age 97.

Yeager’s story is one of persistence. He was shot down, escaped, and refused to sit out the war. He became a fighter ace in a single mission, then pushed the limits of flight into the supersonic age.

10/22/2026

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10/21/2026

Friday, Oct 23rd is Spaghetti night at the VFW. Dinners are served from 5:30 - 7:30 and are only $10 a plate; eat-in or carry outs welcomed. Come out and grab a fork full! See ya' at YOUR post.

10/21/2026

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10/21/2026

If you know, you know.

10/21/2026

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10/21/2026