Bill Text: WV HCR81 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Erecting a statue of Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager on the State Capitol Complex grounds

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-03-02 - To Rules [HCR81 Detail]

Download: West_Virginia-2019-HCR81-Introduced.html

---

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 81

(By Delegates Maynard, Robinson, Capito, Angelucci, Atkinson, Azinger, Barrett, Bibby, Boggs, N. Brown, S. Brown, Butler, Byrd, Campbell, Canestraro, Cooper, Criss, Dean, Diserio, Doyle, Ellington, Estep-Burton, Evans, Fast, Fleischauer, Fluharty, Graves, Hamrick, Hanna, Hansen, Harshbarger, Hartman, Hicks, Hill, Hollen, Hornbuckle, Hott, Howell, D. Jeffries, J. Jeffries, Jennings, J. Kelly, Kessinger, Kump, Lavender-Bowe, Linville, Longstreth, Malcolm, C. Martin, Miley, Miller, Pack, Paynter, Pethtel, Phillips, Porterfield, Pyles, Queen, Rodighiero, Rohrbach, Rowan, Rowe, Shott, Skaff, Sponaugle, Staggers, Steele, Storch, Swartzmiller, Sypolt, C. Thompson, R. Thompson, Tomblin, Toney, Walker, Waxman, Westfall, Williams, Wilson, Worrell and Zukoff)

[Introduced February 26, 2019]

 

Requesting the Capitol Building Commission to create a subcommittee to raise private funds sufficient to erect a statue of Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager on the State Capitol Complex grounds wherein the end of Washington Street East intersects California Avenue.

Whereas, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager was born February 13, 1923, in Myra, West Virginia to Albert Hal and Susie Mae Yeager; and

Whereas, From a young age, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager would assist his father in repairing and troubleshooting natural gas drilling equipment and his father’s trucks; and

Whereas, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager’s interest and skill in machinery work grew rapidly as he became a teenager; and

Whereas, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager graduated from Hamlin High School in Hamlin, West Virginia in June 1941; and

Whereas, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager enlisted in the Army Air Corps in September 1941 at the age of eighteen; and

Whereas, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager earned his pilot’s wings with Class 43-C on March 10, 1943, and shortly thereafter joined the 363^rd Fighter Squadron, 357^th Fighter Group; and

Whereas, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager flew several successful missions before being shot down on March 5, 1944; and

Whereas, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager evaded capture with the help of the French underground and reunited with his unit in England; and

Whereas, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager completed his final flight on January 15, 1945, totaling 64 combat missions during his career; and

Whereas, In January 1946, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager was handpicked by Colonel Albert Boyd to attend the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB; and

Whereas, Colonel Albert Boyd selected Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager to be the first person to surpass the speed of sound; and

Whereas, On October 14, 1947, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound with a top speed of Mach 1.06; and

Whereas, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager continued to test planes until 1954 when he took over command of the 417^th Fighter Bomber Squadron, and later took command of the 1^st Fighter Day Squadron at George AFB in 1957; and

Whereas, After being promoted to Colonel, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager took command of the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School; and

Whereas, on February 25, 1975, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager retired from active duty; and

Whereas, Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager has remained a beloved figure nationally, but holds a special place in the heart of West Virginians; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Capitol Building Commission is hereby requested to create a subcommittee of five members to design and raise private funds sufficient to erect a statue of Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager on the State Capitol Complex grounds wherein the end of Washington Street East intersects California Avenue; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the subcommittee report its progress in raising private funds to the Regular Session of the Legislature annually on February 13^th until sufficient funds are raised.