Backroads: Real Christmas trees could make a positive impact on tough year kdhnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kdhnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A hero in the desert: Remembering Chuck Yeager’s Victor Valley days [Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.]
Dec. 14 For one man, the recent death of retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Yeager evoked memories of a time when the legendary pilot worked, lived and played in the Victor Valley.
The decorated hero whose accomplishments include shooting down 13 German planes during World War II, breaking the sound barrier in 1947 and instructing aerospace pilots commanded at George Air Force Base in Victorville.
“Back in the day, people who knew of Col. Yeager treated him like royalty,” said Tom Umphries.
The 74-year-old Umphries was a friend and neighbor when the Yeager family lived near Del Rey Elementary School in Victorville in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
A hero in the desert: Remembering Chuck Yeager s Victor Valley days
Victorville Daily Press
For one man, the recent death of retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Yeager evoked memories of a time when the legendary pilot worked, lived and played in the Victor Valley.
The decorated hero whose accomplishments include shooting down 13 German planes during World War II, breaking the sound barrier in 1947 and instructing aerospace pilots commanded at George Air Force Base in Victorville.
“Back in the day, people who knew of Col. Yeager treated him like royalty,” said Tom Umphries.
The 74-year-old Umphries was a friend and neighbor when the Yeager family lived near Del Rey Elementary School in Victorville in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Wreaths placed on local veterans’ graves
Staff Reports
Each year on Dec. 19, there are wreath-laying ceremonies for National Wreaths Across America Day.
The ceremonies take place at Arlington National Cemetery and at more than 2,100 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states.
Sponsored wreaths are placed at the gravesite of veterans to remember, honor and teach.
Story continues below gallery
1 of 4
A wreath is placed next to the grave of a veteran at Riverview Cemetery in Seymour. Submitted photo
Wreaths recently were placed next to the graves of veterans at St. Joseph s Cemetery in the Four Corners area of Jennings County. Submitted photo
CROWN POINT â Neither inclement weather nor a pandemic stopped city residents giving Roland âBubâ Wise a very public sendoff Saturday.
Mourners stood outside in a blustery rain along the funeral procession route, which drove past the fire station where he was chief 17 years, the courthouse square and the Lake County Fairgrounds, where he served many years as fair board president and grandstands superintendent.
More than a dozen, holding signs celebrating Wise as a âHero,â stood beside two aerial ladder trucks supporting a large American flag the procession passed under on its way for burial at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery.
âHe was a wonderful man and this is a tremendous tribute and support for his family,â said Brad Hendrickson, a mourner who joined others at the Lake County Fairgrounds.Â