Military Figure, Test Pilot. He gained recognition as a U.S. Air Force General and a trailblazing aerial figure. Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947. He accomplished this historic feat as a test pilot for the Bell X-1 rocket engine aircraft when he reached the speed of 700 mph. Raised in Hamlin, West Virginia, he played football and basketball during his years at Hamlin High School, and enlisted with the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) following graduation. After pilot training, the USAAC assigned him to the Eighth Air Force in England and during this period credited him with downing an estimated eleven German aircraft. His plane was shot down over France; however, Yeager avoided capture and escaped to Spain. General Dwight D. Eisenhower Granted his request to return to combat. Yeager went on to shoot down five German planes in one day, and had more than sixty aerial assignments during World War II. In 1947, Yeager received the Mackay Trophy from the United States Air Force and shared the Collier Trophy awarded by President Harry S. Truman. He later appeared on the cover of Time Magazine on April 18, 1949. In 1953, Yeager again made history when he became the first American to pilot a Russian MiG. That same year, he set a speed record of 1,650 miles per hour in the Bell X 1A and President Eisenhower awarded him the Harmon International Trophy at a White House ceremony. In 1954, he served in Europe as commander of the 417th Fighter Bomber Squadron and later returned to the United States to command the 1st Fighter Day Squadron at George Air Force Base. During the 1960s, Yeager was placed in charge of the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School which trained astronauts. During the Vietnam War, he returned to a combat assignment as commander of the 405th Fighter Wing which was stationed in the Philippines. After rising to the rank of brigadier general, he served as vice commander of the 17th Air Force in Germany. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973 and retired from the Air Force in 1975. Author Tom Wolfe's 1979 book "The Right Stuff" and its 1983 film adaptation further enhanced Yeager's legendary status .Yeager's military decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.