Chuck Yeager's accomplishments as an ace in WWII have been overshadowed by his achievements as a test pilot, but his fighter pilot experiences were remarkable on their own. An eighteen-year old West Virgina country boy, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force in 1941 and shot down eleven (and a half!) German planes, including two Me-262 jets. He was also shot down over France, evaded, joined the Maquis, and made his way back to England via Spain. Somehow he persuaded the brass to let him continue flying fighter missions in Europe, contrary to policy. All of this by the age of twenty-two.
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