Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the speed of sound, died Monday at the age of 97, NBC News reports.
Yeager started his long military career as an enlisted man who later became an aircraft mechanic during World War II. He was then enrolled in flight school with the US Army Air Force, ultimately reaching combat flying a P-51 on the Western Front in Europe.
During his eight mission, Yeager was shot down, but escaped to Spain thanks to members of the French resistance. Ultimately, Yeager became and “ace in a day,” recording five kills in one day, and finished the war with an official 11.5 confirmed kills.
After the war, he became a test pilot for the Air Force, and on October 14, 1947, he pilot a Bell X-1 past the sound barrier, becoming the first human to travel faster than Mach 1.
Yeager married his first wife, Glennis Faye Dickhouse, in February 1945, and they remained married until her death in 1990. They had four children together. In 2003, he married actress Victoria Scott D’Angelo.
“An incredible life well lived, America’s greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever,” Victoria Scott D’Angelo tweeted.