Post's renaming 'means the world' to aviation icon's widow

The suggestion of renaming American Legion Post 111 in Hamlin, W.Va. – and the namesake being suggested – didn’t require much debate by the post’s membership. It’s not surprising, considering whose name was going to be a part of Post 111’s identity going forward.

On Oct. 27, Post 111 was officially renamed Gen. Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager Post 111 in a ceremony attended by around 100 people. Yeager, best known for being the first pilot to break the sound barrier in 1947, was a native of Hamlin and member of the post for 42 years. He passed away in December 2020 at age 97.

“I’ve been a member here for 27 years, and I was always told we were going to rename the post after Gen. Yeager,” Post 111 Vice Commander Matthew Burton said. “It had to be after he passed, due to (American Legion) rules and regulations. And I didn’t have to twist anybody’s arm (at the post) on this. I think everybody was excited about doing it. It was an easy sell.”

Burton said he followed Chuck Yeager’s Facebook page and initially reached out to the page two years ago about the possibility of renaming the post in Yeager’s honor in the future. After Yeager passed away, Burton got with Yeager’s widow Victoria to sort out the details and get her permission in writing.

“He’d been a member of the post, and he always came back and visited,” Bennett said. “And (Victoria) could see on our Facebook page that we help the community. She mentioned to me, ‘you guys really do a lot of great things here for the community.’”

Victoria said her late husband’s reaction to being honored by Post 111 would have been similar to his response to requests while he was still alive. “When they wanted to name a road for him … he said ‘why?’” she said. “He really was a very humble guy. He did what he did. It was duty.

“So, he would have said ‘why?’ And then I would have tried to explain it to him. And he still would have looked at me quizzically. But then he would have been honored.”

Prior to his sound barrier milestone, Yeager was a U.S. Army Air Forces pilot in World War II, shooting down at least 12 German planes and surviving being shot down himself and ending up in occupied France. With help from the French resistance, he was able to avoid being captured and made his way to Spain and then England.

He went on to become an Air Force test pilot, and on Oct. 14, 1947, he piloted the Bell X-1 experimental craft to nearly 700 miles per hour over the Mojave Desert to break the sound barrier.

During the dedication ceremony, Victoria spoke about how instrumental the community of Lincoln County was in her husband’s upbringing and how he never forgot that.  

Bennett said during Victoria’s speech “there wasn’t a dry eye in the place when she talked about Gen. Yeager’s upbringing, being shot down in occupied France. She started to tear up, and I looked around and a lot of the people there were starting to tear up.”

The ceremony also included a video message from U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, in which he said “I am incredibly proud of the work The American Legion has accomplished for our home state and nation. Like Chuck, you selflessly stepped forward when our nation called. It is my greatest honor to say thank you for your service.”

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito had a staffer, Alex Vaughn, read a letter from her during the ceremony, while Gen. David Allvin, vice chief of staff of the Air Force, released a statement to honor the occasion while highlighting all of Yeager’s achievements.  

But the real honor, Victoria said, came from members of the community where her husband grew up. “I feel it’s my honor and my job to keep his legacy alive, and to find people who will also help me do that. Having the hometown where he grew up – and they love him and appreciate him, and he’s one of them – to have them show their appreciation, and keep his name and legacy alive, means the world to me,” she said. “Who he is and who he became started in Lincoln County.”