A hero in the desert: Remembering Chuck Yeager’s Victor Valley days [Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.]
Dec. 14 For one man, the recent death of retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Yeager evoked memories of a time when the legendary pilot worked, lived and played in the Victor Valley.
The decorated hero whose accomplishments include shooting down 13 German planes during World War II, breaking the sound barrier in 1947 and instructing aerospace pilots commanded at George Air Force Base in Victorville.
“Back in the day, people who knew of Col. Yeager treated him like royalty,” said Tom Umphries.
The 74-year-old Umphries was a friend and neighbor when the Yeager family lived near Del Rey Elementary School in Victorville in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
A hero in the desert: Remembering Chuck Yeager s Victor Valley days
Victorville Daily Press
For one man, the recent death of retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Yeager evoked memories of a time when the legendary pilot worked, lived and played in the Victor Valley.
The decorated hero whose accomplishments include shooting down 13 German planes during World War II, breaking the sound barrier in 1947 and instructing aerospace pilots commanded at George Air Force Base in Victorville.
“Back in the day, people who knew of Col. Yeager treated him like royalty,” said Tom Umphries.
The 74-year-old Umphries was a friend and neighbor when the Yeager family lived near Del Rey Elementary School in Victorville in the late 1950s and early 1960s.