Originally Posted by
Drum
Having met both, I would say unequivocally R.A. "Bob" Hoover was probably one of the best ever. Not Yeager.
Hoover was a low key guy. He did some amazing things - you won't hear about most. Chuck was right place right time. Never going to take that mach 1.0 away from him though.
I am sure Yeager would not give .02 as to what some airline pilot thinks of his accomplishments. Remember, we are talking about a pilot shot down over enemy territory, escaping and then pleading with Eisenhower himself to allow him back into a cockpit to fly again. Yeager finished his career with 64 combat missions, 12 kills, including a jet ME-262. Then of course there are his accomplishments at Edwards over the years. I too am a Big Hoover fan. However, Hoover shot down 2 enemy planes and most of his stories are about escaping a POW camp. Again, I admire Hoover and watched his demonstrations many times, he is very talented. He just isn't one of the "force multipliers" I have ever read about.
When wars start, politics get set aside- especially when it looks like one could actually lose. People like Chesty Puller, Boyington, Paton, Halsey, Dick Best, Yeager and O'Kane are the ones that pull through and finish the fight. I have never read a book about any of these warriors being soft spoken or read anything written by them that starts off with two sentences of self-deprecation the modern influencer generation is accustomed to. Yeager, a nice guy? I think one's relationship with Yeager had to do with how much he respected you and surely it started with one respecting themselves.