November 23, 2004

LIKE GRANDFATHER, LIKE GRANDSON! THE YEAGERS--"STILL THE BEST. PERIOD"

Legendary Chuck Yeager as described by his friend, Col. C.E. 'Bud' Anderson:
“...As a fighter pilot, Chuck had the rare ability to concentrate totally on the task at hand. In combat, he could block out fatigue, fear, or any other distraction. His confidence grew with his successes and this bolstered his already strong physical courage. Right from the beginning and without his knowing it, Chuck had the ideal profile as a leader. I mean, he was always calm, poised, and never flustered in the air. He never complained or griped when things were grim, setting the example for the rest of us, even those who outranked him . . . He was aggressive and competitive, but awfully skillful, too. In combat, he didn’t charge blindly into a gaggle of Germans but, with the advantage of sharp eyes that could see forever, he set up his attack to take them by surprise, when the odds were in his favor. And, when Yeager attacked, he was ferocious. But he was also a superb team player; he saw everything taking place around him and, in his calm and confident manner, helped a lot of guys out of tough moments. There wasn’t a pilot in the squadron, including a few who didn’t like him, who didn’t want Yeager close by in a dangerous mission . . . Yeager was the best. Period.”

A Marine in Fallujah, describes heroism in combat. They still have 'the right stuff'.:

"...His name is Corporal Yeager (Chuck Yeager's grandson). As the Marines cleared an apartment building, they got to the top floor and the point man kicked in the door. As he did so, an enemy grenade and a burst of gunfire came out. The explosion and enemy fire took off the point man's leg. He was then immediately shot in the arm as he lay in the doorway. Corporal Yeager tossed a grenade in the room and ran into the doorway and into the enemy fire in order to pull his buddy back to cover. As he was dragging the wounded Marine to cover, his own grenade came back through the doorway. Without pausing, he reached down and threw the grenade back through the door while he heaved his buddy to safety. The grenade went off inside the room and Cpl Yeager threw another in. He immediately entered the room following the second explosion. He gunned down three enemy all within three feet of where he stood and then let fly a third grenade as he backed out of the room to complete the evacuation of the wounded Marine. You have to understand that a grenade goes off within 5 seconds of having the pin pulled. Marines usually let them "cook off" for a second or two before tossing them in. Therefore, this entire episode took place in less than 30 seconds..." See the rest here.