Without an Abort – Mission to South Korea – Pueblo Flap

December 22, 2013/Victoria Yeager
From General Chuck Yeager: After the US Navy ship, the Pueblo, was taken by the North Koreans in 1968, we took off from South Carolina and 17 hours later, my whole wing was in South Korea without an abort. That mission led to my becoming a General.
On the way, we hit the tankers off of Hawaii and they weren’t going to re-fuel us, said they wanted extra reserves.

We couldn’t get anywhere to land safely without it – so I told the tanker pilot:

“Do you see my weapons? They are hot. You will give us fuel or I will blow you out of the sky.”

We got our fuel.

I heard later, the tanker pilot complained to General LeMay.

And General LeMay’s response was: Yeager doesn’t kid around. Good thing you gave him the fuel.

c. GCYI.

Posted in ,