Inspired by a red thread and a certain lurking former poster, I thought we should tell our true stories and stop being shy about it.
I haven't talked much about it since, but if Yeager had been in the habit of actually following orders like the rest of us did and hadn't dodged the doctor that day it would have be me that flew that profile in the X-1 to break Mach 1.0. As it was I flew chase. The S.O.B. never mentioned us in his book or the movie. That's what following the rules get you.
The General hisself called me into his office and apologized for the raw deal and assured me in no uncertain terms my contribution would be in the official report. Of course then they made all of that Ultra Top Secret. The U.S. Air Force was brand new that year and we shouldda known we couldn't count on anything being the way it was in the Air Corps.
I learned that lesson again when I was temporarily assigned to instruct with the Alabama National Guard when Lt. Bush was there, but that's another story.
I haven't talked much about it since, but if Yeager had been in the habit of actually following orders like the rest of us did and hadn't dodged the doctor that day it would have be me that flew that profile in the X-1 to break Mach 1.0. As it was I flew chase. The S.O.B. never mentioned us in his book or the movie. That's what following the rules get you.
The General hisself called me into his office and apologized for the raw deal and assured me in no uncertain terms my contribution would be in the official report. Of course then they made all of that Ultra Top Secret. The U.S. Air Force was brand new that year and we shouldda known we couldn't count on anything being the way it was in the Air Corps.
I learned that lesson again when I was temporarily assigned to instruct with the Alabama National Guard when Lt. Bush was there, but that's another story.
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