 Remember a Hallmark card when you carry enough to send the very best. The makers of Hallmark cards bring you an unusual true story on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Here's our distinguished host, Mr. Lionel Barrymore. And welcome to the Hallmark Hall of Fame, where we offer you true stories about real people. Just a half a century ago, all the right completed the first successful flight in a powered aircraft. In his perilous gamble with the unknown, the dream of the ages became a reality. Man was no longer an earthbound creature. Tonight we herald the 50th anniversary of that event with the story of a conquest almost as momentous. The true dramatization of man's first flight faster than sound. As told you by the man who made that first flight, Major Charles Yeager, United States Air Force. And now, here is Frank Goss for the makers of Hallmark cards. Have you wondered why it's so easy to find a Hallmark card that says what you want to say just the way you want to say it? That's because the makers of Hallmark cards are aware of the important part greeting cards play in your social life. The links of friendship they represent. Every Hallmark card is designed to meet specific standards of quality and good taste. And because these standards have been maintained through the years, the Hallmark and Crown on the back of each card you mail means you'll carry enough to send the very best. Lionel Barrymore appears by arrangement with Metro Golden Mayor, producers of the Cole Porter musical Kiss Me Kate, starring Catherine Grayson, Howard Keel and Ann Miller. And now, Mr. Barrymore brings you tonight's transcribed exciting story on the Hallmark Hall of Faith. The same year the flight officer Charles Yeager was shot down and combat over France, aeronautical engineers at Buffalo, New York began work on a special project. And about the time that Lieutenant Yeager returned home at the war's end, the construction program was already underway. Two years later, Captain Yeager heard that the new X-1 rocket ship was ready for testing. And like the others in the air research and development program, he wondered if this time man would be able to break food sound barrier. In 1947, he was with the fighter section at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio when the commanding officer called his men together for an important announcement. A few weeks ago, it was rumored that the Air Force would take over the flight test work on the X-1. That's no longer a rumor. It's a certainty. The Air Force will test the X-1 and this fighter section has been picked for the job. One of you will fight it. Wait a minute, wait a minute. I know everybody wants to fly a brand new airplane, but before I take any names or recognize any hands, I want to get this much out. The objective in building the X-1 and in testing it is to get its speed above 0.99 Mach, faster than sound. Since no man has ever done that, we just don't know what will happen. I want each one of you to think about that. Any questions? If you want to volunteer, turn your name into my office before you leave the field today. That's all. Yeager. Somebody's got to find out. Yeah. The answer to that challenge has Major Charles Yeager himself tells it. That night Colonel Boyd had a lot of names to consider. We'd all read the publicity on the X-1 and heard something about what the airplane was supposed to do. Being fighter pilots, all of us were anxious to get a crack at it. Every man in the fighter section volunteered. The weakness of the X-1 will have to be ultimately determined in the flight under full power. Yes, sir. Still want to test it, Chuck? Yes, sir, I do. Bob? Not like nothing better, sir. Here's the way it'll be. Chuck, I want you to test the X-1. Sir? Bob, I want you to be the alternate pilot. I'd be glad to be alternate, sir. You'll go through all the necessary briefing with Chuck. Chuck, if you get sick or anything happens to you, Bob will be able to take over. There'll be a lot of new things to be learned. Some of them you'll get right here. Once you're organized, you can pick up the shipping buffalo and take it over to Muroc. Then you can learn some more things. Yes, sir. When you're ready there, you can start the flight tests. Only when you're ready, Chuck. Safety is the primary factor in this mission. In the end, you're going to be the guy who's sitting up there all alone, Chuck, with more power at your fingertips than any man has ever known. In that time comes, you better know what to do. That's right. One last thing. You volunteer for this job and you know our objective is to accomplish something that's never been done before. Captain Jack Ridley was put in charge of the unit. Engineers from Bell Aircraft and NACA, men associated with the plane, begin to brief us on the project. Before any of us ever saw the X-1, we were able to familiarize ourselves with many of its features. Liquid oxygen, we call it LOX. Liquid oxygen and alcohol provide the fuel for the rocket thrust. And there are four fuel chambers. It's estimated the ship can fly at full power approximately 2.5 minutes. Speed of sound changes gradually from 760 miles per hour at sea level to 660 at 40,000 feet. So instead of miles per hour, computations will be in the percentage of speed in relation to sound. In other words, marks. One mark being equal to the speed of sound. Don't mind that. I want to know one thing. What are you doing here in the BLQ? It's a good place to live, sir. He's a bachelor, officer's quarters captain. You're a married man. Don't tell me your wife's sharing him with you? Yes, sir. I mean, Mrs. Yeager and the boys are back home. Little town, West Virginia. You never heard of it, sir. Hamlin, West Virginia, sir. The boys? Yes, sir. Two of them. Maybe you'd like to send for your family and ask them to join you here. Oh, no, sir. When I get to New York in a couple of days, I'm going to meet them there. And then we're going to take housing. You're wrong. You aren't going to New York. You're going to stay right here. But, sir, we're all set to take off in the morning and pick up the ship. Yeager, this is an extremely hazardous job. I'm a single man for it. Someone without family responsibilities. Up until 15 minutes ago, I thought you were single. Why didn't you tell me you were married? I guess because you didn't ask me, sir. Oh, this time I assumed because you were living here. No, I'm sorry, sir. I mean, no, I'm not that I'm married. But that doesn't make any difference, sir. I can still do the job. Well, the unmarried man in this section... Sir, I want to fly that X1 more than anything I've ever wanted to do in my life. And I'm almost ready to do it now. As far as the responsibility of a wife and family goes, that's all more reason for me to want to do a good job. Be careful and not take any chances. Honest, Colonel. Being married is sort of... sort of an advantage if you look at it that way. Don't you think so? Okay, Yeager. Leave for Buffalo tomorrow. You've gone this far. You might as well go all the way. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Good night. All the stage was set. But let Major Yeager tell it himself. We'd been studying her and talking about her and dreaming about her. We saw her for the first time at the Bell Aircraft Plant in Buffalo, New York. Seemed just to be made for a pilot, bolted to the floor with cables, as though she might try to take off during the ground runs. Which one is Yeager? I am. Oh, over here. Need to check the locks, Chambers. You like to do it? I'll be working with you on this. Sure. But she's all loaded. Come in. Turn to the second act of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Have you ever felt in the hustle and bustle of shopping for the holidays, we sometimes lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas Day, the peace and beauty of the Holy Season, the joyous promise that began with the guiding star of Bethlehem? To bring a tangible reminder of this promise into your home and the homes of your friends, here's a suggestion I think you'll appreciate. Go to a store where Hallmark cards are sold and see the new Hallmark Nativity Scenes, the three-dimensional reproductions of the manger scene. You'll find the nativity cards come flat for mailing and will be cherished all through the Yule time season. Your friends will enjoy placing a nativity scene on a mantle or table or under the Christmas tree. You can choose from two different sizes, priced at just 50 cents or $1 each with mailing envelopes. And while you're making your selections, remember to see the popular Hallmark Christmas cards that are made to hold all the other cards your friends receive. The Hallmark Christmas stagecoach, the Hallmark train, or the Hallmark sleigh. These two are both a greeting and a decoration. And of course, each has that Hallmark and crown, which always means you'll carry enough to send the very best. And now Lionel Barrymore brings you the second act of our true story of Major Charles Jager. You were listening to the true story of Charles Jager and man's first flight through the sound barrier as told you by the man who lived that story. And now here is Major Jager. Any man who's ever been engaged in experimental flying knows what it is to be scared. Even with all the preparation, the data on estimated performance, the calculations of the aerodynamic engineers, preliminary tests, the safety devices, a guy still gets scared. He hopes everything will go just the way it's supposed to, but he doesn't know for sure until he climbs into his ship and tries it. You'll carry it in the B-29. That's right, we just tuck it in under the bomb bay, latch it on, fly it on over. When they were test pilots for a Messerschmitt and company around here at one time, we flew some of their high-speed ships. Yes, nothing quite as ambitious as your project. You know what their maximum was? One man in vertical flight, leveled off at .9 mark, 90% of the speed of sound. Almost got there. Almost. When the ship took the severe buffeting, there was an extreme vibration. The instrument shattered. You think you might have made it? Club sound? Well, if he had, I'm sure the craft would have disintegrated. Our unit moved into the Air Force base at Mirok and continued to make preparations to fly the X-1. We made daily reports to Colonel Boyd at Wright Field, who was still the responsible head of the mission. Request permission to proceed with flight. B-29 will deliver you in bomb bay to 25,000 feet. You will be released for glide flight. Landing pattern and landing characteristics must be known before power flight. Proceed as outlined. What's your altimeter reading? Must be checked out in flight. Do not exceed .82 mark. That's an order. Proceed as outlined. When I want that thing long, scare myself. I have to wear a check. I might keep you alive. We do know that at 63,000 feet, your blood will begin to boil unless you're wearing something like that suit. Anyway, you may just go a little higher than that, boy. Yeah, when? Tomorrow at 0-100. Huh? Just come through. Tomorrow you check her out on the place October the 4th, 1947. And Captain Yeager, now Major Yeager, achieved a speed of nearly a thousand miles an hour. An altitude of 70,140 feet. And here he is in person to tell you exactly what it was like. Major Charles Yeager, the first man to fly faster than sound. Well, Major, it took the world almost 50 years to find out. And now we know, thanks to you. Well, anybody could have done it. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I'd like to get in here for a question, Mr. Barrymore. What are you doing right now, Major? Well, right now, up at Edwards Air Force Base, we're doing a lot of different types of flying. Actually, we have a new ship up there now. They call it the X1A. It's a later version of the old X1 we flew, and we're in the process of testing it right now at the base. How fast do they expect to go on that ship? Well, it's designed for around 1,600 miles an hour. Maybe we'll make it. I'm sure we'll try. Thank you for being our guest, Major Charles Yeager, United States Air Force. Mr. Barrymore will return in just a moment. Of all the cards you receive at Christmas, which are the ones you cherish most? Aren't they the cards that have a special intimacy and warmth about them? The cards that seem to say, this is how I feel about Christmas. This is the memory I want to share with you. Well, tonight, I want to suggest that you see the Hallmark Christmas cards in boxes at your favorite store. You'll find they include every type of Christmas greeting imaginable, the one in particular that seems to express you best. You can choose cards by brilliant artists like Halder or Winston Churchill, Marcel Verté or Norman Rockwell, or charming traditional cards with holly or snow scenes or shining trees. Yes, and you can have your Hallmark boxed cards in assortments or in one design to a box. The prices are reasonable, as low as 25 cards for just $1. So why not get yours tomorrow? Remember, the Hallmark and Crown on the back of each card you select will tell your friends you'll carry enough to send the very best. And now here again is Lionel Barrymore. Frank, you know, I believe you hit on one of the secrets of a happy Christmas when you mentioned wanting to share a memory. In fact, one of the secrets of happiness any time of the year is this desire to share. And probably one of the reasons we all love Christmas so much is that it gives us so many excuses for sharing our feelings with everyone. Not only with people close to us, but also with friends everywhere, you know? Ones we don't see throughout the year. That's why cards are such an important part of Christmas. They let us share our feelings, our memories, our Christmas wishes with a great number of friends. Yes, sir, Christmas cards are part of the tradition and, speaking of traditions, I'm happy to tell you that again this year Hallmark cards will bring you that traditional Christmas classic Dickens Christmas Carol. And tomorrow they thought I'd be the right one to play the part of Scrooge. What do you suppose gave him that idea? Well, that's another Christmas tradition that I'm looking forward to. Coming into your homes in my favorite Christmas roll. This will make the 19th Christmas I've played Scrooge for the radio audience and I hope you'll be listening on December the 20th. Now, Frank, why don't you tell the folks what we'll have on Hallmark Hall of Fame next Sunday night? Next Sunday we honor Alfred Nobel, founder of the famous Nobel Prizes, and we will attempt to bring you direct from Oslo, Norway, portions of the actual Nobel Prize ceremonies. And remember, you're also invited to the Hallmark Hall of Fame on television every Sunday, starting Miss Sarah Churchill. Until next week then, this is Lionel Barrymore saying good night. Stores that have been carefully selected to give you expert and friendly service. Remember a Hallmark card and carry enough to send the very best. Our producer director is William Gay. Our script tonight was written by E. Jack Newman. Featured in our cast were Lamont Johnson, Raymond Burr, Jack Edwards, Sam Edwards, Byron Kane, Harry Bartel, and Lawrence Dubkin. We wish to thank the United States Air Force for helping make this transcribed broadcast possible. This is Frank Goss saying good night to you until next week at this same time. When we present our true story, about the founder of the famous peace awards, the Nobel and weather conditions permitting, we will take you to Oslo, Norway for dramatic highlights of the actual Nobel Prize ceremonies. And on December 20th, we'll again present Mr. Lionel Barrymore's traditional appearance as Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. And the following week, Mr. Edward Arnold will star in the role of Henry Berg on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. This is the CBS Radio Network. This is KMBC.