Following a lackluster trek through high school, Yeager enlisted as an airplane mechanic with the United States Air Force {It was the Army Air Force until 1947} in the midst of World War II. He hoped his new path would take him to far away places that might hold the same magic as the West Virginia woods behind his home. He helped service planes before a newly formed Flying Sergeants program gave him the opportunity to attend flight training. Believe it or not, his first few flights were unauspicious, finding the typically resilient Yeager puking his brains out. But he quickly overcame his airsickness ("Mind over matter," Yeager might say) and began to set himself apart as the best flyer in the class