When I was a kid growing up in St. Louis County in the 1950s, every kid's dad on our street was a veteran. Those of us whose dads were in the Airmy Air Corps knew the name Chuck Yeager and we knew he broke the sound barrier. For us 8, 9 and 10 year olds, Yeager was a mystical hero.
When I attended the first Gathering of Mustangs and Legends in Kissimmee, FL, in 1999, I wanted to finally meet General Yeager. When I arrived at Stallion 51, I saw General Yeager standing next to a P-51. The autograph line was maybe 200 people waiting for their chance to meet the man who first broke the sound barrier. I took a few photos of him with my telephoto lens then wandered off to see other stuff. I still have the image in my mind's eye of Yeager standing next to that Mustang, as fresh today as it was twenty years ago. I didn't take this picture, I found it on the interwebs. How many of these men to you recognize?
