Yeager joined the Army Reserves in 1941 and received his wings in March 1943, joining the 357th FG with whom he went to England, scoring his first victory on 4th. March 1944. The following day he was shot down over France but evaded capture and escaped to Spain. Normally he would have been returned to the U.S. to avoid compromising his escape route if captured, but by appealing directly to Gen. Eisenhower he was allowed to remain with the 357th. Yeager became one of the group's leading Aces with 11½ victories, including on 12th Oct., 5 Me109s in one day, and scored his last victories when he shot down four Fw190s on 27th. November.
On October 14th 1947 he became the first man to break the sound barrier, flying the Bell X-1 from Edwards AFB California.

Bud' Anderson went to England with the 357th Fighter Group in 1943, the first 8th Air Force group to be equipped with Mustangs. On 29th June 1944, leading his squadron on a mission to Leipzig, they ran into a formation of Fw190s. In the ensuing battle Anderson shot down the leader, and two others. After a short rest in the US he returned for a second tour, arriving back just in time for the 357th's big day on 28th November. With the 353rd they took on a huge formation of some 200 enemy fighters, Anderson adding three more to his score. His final victory came in another fierce contest west of Berlin, and he finished the war with 16 air victories.

Harvey Mace arrived in England at the end of 1943 to join the 357th Fighter Group, stationed at Raydon. He flew all his 59 combat missions in the P-51 with 362nd. Fighter Squadron, notching up three victories over Me109s along the way. Flying primarily on B-17 escort missions, Harvey went to nearly all the major strategic bombing targets in Europe, including the shuttle mission from England to Russia, Italy and back again. Towards the end of his tour he was appointed Squadron Operations Officer, and then assigned as Fighter Controller of the 3rd. Bomb Group.

Jim McLane joined the 357th Fighter Group on 24th. March 1945,the day that the group was celebrating it's last really big day, havingshot down 16 enemy aircraft while on patrol. Assigned to the 362nd. Fighter Squadron flying P-51Ds, Jim managed to get into the action for the final weeks of the war, getting his first combat mission on 17th. April escorting 8th Air Force heavy bombers on a 1000 plane mission to the Aussig chemical works.

Born in 1923 in DetroitMich., Charles Weaver joined the Army Reserves and was rated a pilot in February 1944. He transferred to the 357th Fighter Group in August 1944, joining the 362nd, Squadron initially flying a P-51B. He soon got into the thick of the action, scoring his first victory against an Me109 over the Zuider Zee on 19th. September. Two victories in the space of a minute on 14th. January 1945 just north of Berlin took his score past Ace status to 6, and his final victory on 18th April, over an Me262 jet near Prague, took his final tally of aerial victories to 8.