Chuck YeagerVerified account

Mine too.

I learned about them as a teenager in Civil Air Patrol

Well, sir, Philippe Gavet was in Marblehead, MA > a century before that! All so I could sit here pretending I'm not French

I teach AFJROTC and we are going through this in our history of flight class right now.

Happy Anniversary, General to the United States Air Force.

Really? That’s amazing. Thanks!

And I have a feeling that you had been a young man in 1783, you would have been at the front of the line to be the first person to fly the balloon!

That was a good year. That was the year that Britain signed a peace treaty with the newly formed nation of the United States. My father’s family (at least part of it) was in what is now Eastern Tennessee at that time. Most of my mother’s side was still in Scotland and Norway.

Charlie West!!

Gen. Yeager, my compliments and I hope you are well. A fascinating story. Just two weeks after the Treaty of Paris, France found its next triumph. We are fortunate they first helped the American eagle take flight, n’est pas? I remain, your humble servant, GW.