Posted by Dean H Jones on January 5, 2011:

I recently learned of the death of Joe Yeager, and was sorry to hear of his tough times after leaving the Air Force Academy. He deserved much better, and I can truly say that he was one of those few people that changed my life forever. I am a 1961 graduate of the Air Force Academy, due in no small part to an early meeting with then-Lieutenant Joe Yeager. My twin brother, Wayne, and I were freshmen at Washburn University, Topeka, KS, in 1955, and were enrolled in their AFROTC program. Joe was flying B-47s at Forbes AFB, and had been selected as part of the initial training cadre at the new AFA at Lowry AFB. He came in to Washburn to discuss the new school with ROTC cadets, and we asked him to come by our fraternity that evening to learn more about AFA. The rest, as they say, is history. Joe could sell ice cream to eskimos, and after a couple of hours of his high-octane briefing/sales pitch, we were ready to sign up. To say he was charismatic understates the case. As we learned later in his bayonet course at AFA, he would inspire you to do more than you ever thought possible. Although the Kansas quota for AFA's Class of 1961 was only four, Wayne and I, at Joe's urging, took the tests and got accepted as the first twins at AFA. My first day on the quadrangle at Lowry, Lt. Yeager came up and unmercifully chewed me out for unpolished shoes, "cables (threads) on uniform", and general sloppiness. But as he departed, he grinned and said, "Good to see you here, Jones!". Joe Yeager was a true leader who tackled all his jobs at AFA with gusto and enthusiasm. He was so inspirational, that we had him come back later for pep rallies before big football games. He was one of a kind, and I'll never forget him.

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