Chuck YeagerVerified account

If you have grandparents that are still around and you are able to talk with them then you should do so. Don't take them or their time for granted. They have amazing stories to be heard. Sit down with them. I'm sure it will make their day and you'll learn something too.

I was just talking with my grandfather who used to be a truck driver in California. The subject had come up in passing and he told me about how he had all his hazmat certifications. Come to find out, he played a part, admittedly small part, in some American historical events.

He began telling me how he was there when the U.S. started testing rockets. At first he delivered the concrete they used to build the rocket pads. Then, once the pads were built, he delivered the rocket fuel. Each trip he made was 9,000 gallons and he did it regularly every day.

He was there at the air force base and got to witness some of the U.S. first tests of rocket engines. When he dropped off the fuel he was so close that everyone had to go into an underground bunker just in case the engine exploded.

He told me, "You could feel it going off, the whole place was shaking so hard you'd thought it'd come down. It was over in just a few seconds like it was nothing. Then one of the men turned to me and said, "There went that fuel you just brought us.""