Posted by Robert W. Best, Jr. on December 12, 2010:

Upon reading the obituary of Joe Yeager these seventeen-years after his death, I am overcome by sadness. The circumstances of his latter life and death were not at all what one would have expected. For me, Joe Yeager will always stand with the tallest of the men who shaped my life. During the formulative years at the USAFA we had alumni of West Point and Annapolis who served as Air Training Officers (ATO) or for lack of a better description, surrogate upperclassmen. Lt. Joe Yeager served in that capacity during my 4th class (Doolie) summer of 1957. As fate would have it, my roommate left our little select group during the first week. They took him away in the middle of the night; sobbing I might add. For an eighteen year old boy from a small West Tennessee town on his first trip away from home, it was very traumatic. I spent many lonely nights. Two things kept me from quitting. One was the fact that it would have been an embarrassment to my family, and the second was that I was fortunate to have Joe Yeager across the hall. Many nights he came to sit and talk with me. To say the least, Joe Yeager could be intimidating, but I will always be humbled by the kindness and understanding he showed me. I was the recipient of many "private" motivational speeches that stay with me today. How often I have referred to that increment "X" that defines the difference between our desire and our ability! I can hear his words today in that sharp, precise command voice. And the hours of bayonet training where I first learned of true pain and the joy of perseverance! Now as I grow old, I hold those memories close to my heart. Joe Yeager left a lasting impression upon not only me, but the lives of all the cadets of the first three classes of the USAFA. He not only instilled values we still cling to, but a lasting appreciation for all the men of the "Long Grey Line." Robert W. Best, Jr. USAFA, Class of '61 December 12, 2010

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