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“The huge ship rolled smoothly forward,
then rapidly gathered speed. The vibrations of
wheels against concrete increased as we
roared toward the end of the runway. At break-
ground speed— 150 miles per hour— the
Stratojet settled slightly, then its nose tilted
upward and began rapidly lifting through
a glass-smooth sea of air.
“Over the hollow thunder of the engines,
I could hear the servos whining as the four big
tandem wheels rose slowly, and thumped
into the ship’s belly. “As we streaked upward,
the speed jumped sharply, 180 . . . 220
. . . 250 . . . From the wingtips occasional streams
of vapor trailed behind to make white
gashes across the sky.
“At close to seven miles we leveled off
for the high altitude tests. The hands of the air
speed indicator climbed to 575 miles per
hour, then held steady . . .”
Lee enlisted in the Air Force in 1941,
and was stationed in Italy, then Czechoslovakia.
On Dec. 2, 1944, during his 49th mission,
he was shot down over Germany, where he
was captured and held prisoner for six
months.
After liberation by General Patton’s army,
he was hospitalized, and then returned to his
home in Belgrade.
He was married in 1946, and moved with
his bride to Great Falls, where he served as
captain in Montana National Guard.
In May, 1951, when the Guard was activated
into the Army, Lee was transferred to
Valdosta, Ga., and went from there to
Wichita, Kansas. His most recent move was to
Smyrna, Ga., where he became test pilot
for Lockheed.
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