The Second Man to Break the Sound Barrier

The Second Man to Break the Sound Barrier

Lt. James "Jim" Thomas Fitzgerald, Jr., a veteran of the 82nd fighter Squadron was the second man to break the sound barrier behind Chuck Yeager. He achieved his historic flight on February 24, 1948.

James Thomas Fitz-Gerald, Jr. was born July 13, 1920, the second child and first son of James Thomas and Alice Elizabeth Jones Fitz-Gerald. During his boyhood Jim's main interest were working on model airplanes and scouting. In 1938, he graduated from South Pittsburg High School as Vice-President of his class, and that same year he became a Life Scout, which was of great importance to him. In 1940, while he was a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, his Eagle Scout Award was sent to his Commandant to be presented to him.

Many happy hours of his young life were spent working on his model airplanes, taking them to the local golf course to test them for defects. He excitedly looked forward to the N.A.A. Model Airplane meets in Nashville, in which he and the members of the "Air Dusters" Club competed with other Tennessee Aviation enthusiasts. Few were the times when he failed to come back with at least one trophy, medal, loving cup, or perhaps a new model kit. Jim loved his model planes, continuing this hobby in his leisure time through all his high school years and even when home on leave after he began his military career.

As his high school graduation neared, Jim began to concentrate on getting an appointment to a military school, preferably West Point. He went for a six-week training course at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and took a post-graduate course at the high school. He won a fifty-hour flying scholarship for an air school in Chattanooga and leaped at the chance to fly immediately, but determined to continue on his long-range plans, entering West Point's Preparatory School at Fort McPherson, Georgia. He then received his appointment to West Point and was sworn in as a cadet by...