An Interview With Chuck Yeager

I stumbled across this recent interview of Chuck Yeager on a PBS station
in West Virginia.

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIeiMNjv0BQ
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0tku2b-Xms

Not a good one for Yeager. He comes off as being quite arrogant and not
a little condescending. I'd heard rumblings from time to time that he's
sort of a prick, but until now had not seen or heard anything concrete.

I think it is sad.

"Snidely" wrote in message
...
I stumbled across this recent interview of Chuck Yeager on a PBS station in
West Virginia.

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIeiMNjv0BQ
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0tku2b-Xms

Not a good one for Yeager. He comes off as being quite arrogant and not a
little condescending. I'd heard rumblings from time to time that he's sort
of a prick, but until now had not seen or heard anything concrete.

I think it is sad.

Thanks for the links. I enjoyed the interview. I thought it wasn't as
bad as you perceived it to be. It might be that I've been around enough of
the no-nonsense, "this-is-just-the-way-it-is" types that the style or lack
of style doesn't always interfere with the message. I remember my Dad and
some of his kin sound like Yeager. They're from the area around 50 miles
S.E. of Hamlin. I think Yeager's delivery is typical.

--
Tom

"Snidely" wrote in message
...

Not a good one for Yeager. He comes off as being quite arrogant and not a
little condescending. I'd heard rumblings from time to time that he's sort
of a prick, but until now had not seen or heard anything concrete.

I think it is sad.


I've heard him described as an arrogant braggard, but I don't think he comes
off as bad as you think in this interview. His comments about Gabreski are
what raised my eyebrows. The interviewer said Gabreski shot down a lot of
airplanes, Yeager "corrected" him, stating that Gabreski destroyed a lot of
airplanes but many were on the gtound. I believe Gabreski is credited with
28 aerial victories and 2.5 aircraft destroyed on the ground in WWII, with
an additional 6.5 aerial victories in Korea. Yeager is credited with 11.5
victories.

There are those that we admire for their achievements, and those that we
admire for their personality. If those two come together in one person
that is a big plus. But none the less, having done it all very well and
masterly tends to lead to a no nonsense approach to life. That sometimes
comes off as arrogant when it is merely life at a higher plane of
accomplishment, one for which no apology is necessary.

Clark wrote:

George wrote in news:FKcYh.5915$rO7.3155
@newssvr25.news.prodigy.net:

There are those that we admire for their achievements, and those that we
admire for their personality. If those two come together in one person
that is a big plus. But none the less, having done it all very well and
masterly tends to lead to a no nonsense approach to life. That sometimes
comes off as arrogant when it is merely life at a higher plane of
accomplishment, one for which no apology is necessary.

That's one perspective. Never forget that it takes a team and frequently luck
is a factor. It's important enough that I'll type it again: it takes a team.

Yeager never mentioned the folks that made it possible. That is a serious
omission.

there may be no "i" in "team", but try spelling it without "me"......

redc1c4,
(and what got edited out of the interview before you saw it? %-)
--
"Enlisted men are stupid, but extremely cunning and sly, and bear
considerable watching."

Army Officer's Guide

redc1c4 wrote:


there may be no "i" in "team", but try spelling it without "me"......

redc1c4,
(and what got edited out of the interview before you saw it? %-)
--
"Enlisted men are stupid, but extremely cunning and sly, and bear
considerable watching."

Army Officer's Guide



This being a binary group, Gordon doesn't have ready access, but has sent
me these comments.




"We used to meet him several times per year. A group of us would run into
him and invariably, he would lash out at one or another of us - loyal camp
followers whose only crime was wanting to be close enough to hear a bit of
history from the lips of this larger than life belligerent. Once, I found
myself in a huge auditorium with just him and I - we looked around, waiting
for the inrush of American fighter aces and their throng of fans. He sized
me up for about the twentieth time, then made a disgusted snort and went to
sit down at his table. the guy that ran the reunion came in and offered me
a free Yeager poster for him to sign. He signed it crisp and clean but
couldn't help himself. "That f_____ will be on eBay before the ink is dry."
Another snort. This time, I was fed up. "General, I first met you on a
cross country flight 16 years ago - over the years, you have singed about
twenty things for me, and they make up the heart of my little kid's ace
collection. I've never sold anything you signed for us. Never will." With
that, I stomped off to be with some ace friends with a little less jackass
in them.

A couple days later, a large buffet table outside the winding down
conference. The last of the 'camp followers' sat around, trading stories of
Chuck's abuses over the years. All eight of us had at least a couple good
stories of being berated, insulted, belittled, etc, at the hands of the
master. At this moment, Chuck himself walks up to the table and looks at
all of us. We freeze. Here it comes boys. Steady, lads...

What followed was about a minute long thank you from Chuck. He salted it of
course, but the point was, he was grateful that we looked up to him and the
other aces. His peace stated, he turned an walked away, close on the 6 of a
passing lovely woman. Get'er Chuck! We sat at the table in total
disbelief. "Now where in the hell does THAT go in our anthology of Yeager
stories??" It was so out of character was all sat there laughing. Chuck
said something nice to us! I bet all eight of us from that table all
remember that particular moment, when we interacted with General Yeager and
he _didn't_ say something crass."




--

Cheers

Dave Kearton

I have had several one-on-one conversations with him, and can report that
you are incorrect. He is not "sort of a prick." He is 100% prick.

As another poster noted, he gives no credit to anyone other than himself,
with the possible exception of recognizing Bob Hoover as a good test pilot.


BJC


"Snidely" wrote in message
...
I stumbled across this recent interview of Chuck Yeager on a PBS station in
West Virginia.

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIeiMNjv0BQ
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0tku2b-Xms

Not a good one for Yeager. He comes off as being quite arrogant and not a
little condescending. I'd heard rumblings from time to time that he's sort
of a prick, but until now had not seen or heard anything concrete.

I think it is sad.

On 27-Apr-2007, "Byron Covey" wrote:

He is not "sort of a prick." He is 100% prick.



And he's a bigot. It's a shame to see that someone who was promoted up to
Brigadier General in the USAF could still hold such attitudes. Two years ago
at EAA/Oshkosh, my wife and I went to see him give a talk titled "Best of
the Best", expecting it to be a motivational speech. He spent the first 10
minutes in a racist rant justifying locking up Japanese-Americans in
concentration camps during WW2. We were more than a little bit offended.
Several people of apparent Japanese descent got up and left. When he
finished this rant, we were disappointed that a number of people applauded
Yeager. We stayed awhile longer, and he began telling war stories about
being shot down and evading capture during the war. His language was foul,
and he came across as an arrogant asshole to us. We got up and left a few
minutes later. I won't bother seeing him speak again.
Scott Wilson

We were absolutely justified in locking up Japanese during the war, to
suggest otherwise is retarded. Unlike the so-called "wars" the US has
been in since then, WWII was a fight to the death. When up against a
capable and ruthless opponent that thinks of all others as sub-human,
there is no room for any PC bull****. Those that applauded that day
understand this.

Any Japanese (or anybody else) that are offended by this need to read
some history about how they (the Japanese) waged war at that time. Our
locking up a few people was absolutely harmless in every imaginable
respect in comparison. Don't believe it? Start reading. As good a place
to start as any is what is now called "the rape of Nanking".



wrote:
And he's a bigot. It's a shame to see that someone who was promoted up to
Brigadier General in the USAF could still hold such attitudes. Two years ago
at EAA/Oshkosh, my wife and I went to see him give a talk titled "Best of
the Best", expecting it to be a motivational speech. He spent the first 10
minutes in a racist rant justifying locking up Japanese-Americans in
concentration camps during WW2. We were more than a little bit offended.
Several people of apparent Japanese descent got up and left. When he
finished this rant, we were disappointed that a number of people applauded
Yeager. We stayed awhile longer, and he began telling war stories about
being shot down and evading capture during the war. His language was foul,
and he came across as an arrogant asshole to us. We got up and left a few
minutes later. I won't bother seeing him speak again.
Scott Wilson

On his way to my killfile, "Snidely" trolled:

We were absolutely justified in locking up Japanese during the war, to
suggest otherwise is retarded. Unlike the so-called "wars" the US has been
in since then, WWII was a fight to the death. When up against a capable
and ruthless opponent that thinks of all others as sub-human, there is no
room for any PC bull****. Those that applauded that day understand this.

Any Japanese (or anybody else) that are offended by this need to read some
history about how they (the Japanese) waged war at that time. Our locking
up a few people was absolutely harmless in every imaginable respect in
comparison. Don't believe it? Start reading. As good a place to start as
any is what is now called "the rape of Nanking".

1: There is a considerable difference between "Japanese citizens living
in US territory" and "American citrizens of Japanese ancestry." Interning
foreign nationals during time of war is legal, and obviously a good idea.
Detaining American citizens on the basis of their ancestry is neither
legal nor a good idea. (And I don't recall that any of my Prussian
ancestors were locked up during either of the World Wars.)

2: Even at the time the internment was condemned by various American
citizens, as both unconstitutional and a waste of resources. That includes
military commanders, who didn't want to tie up soldiers in guarding
American citizens, didn't want to spend the war twiddling their thumbs
as prison guards, and remembered that they'd taken oaths to defend
the Constitution.

3: Exactly how many of the internees were involved in the Rape of Nanking,
the Bataan Death March, the wholesale murder of Chinese citizens after
the Doolittle raid, or any other atrocity? For that matter, do you know
how many Japanese-American internees were locked up?

4: You *do* realize that the concept of collective guilt is one which was
embraced by the Axis powers when they executed innocent people in reprisals?
And that the US specifically rejected that concept when we signed the
Geneva conventions?

5: "PC bull****"? Idiots like you always whine about "political
correctness"
when they're tagged as the ignorant bigots they are.

--Bill Thompson