Col. George French of Venice, Fla. helped Jackie Cochran recapture her world speed flying record | War Tales

Col. George E. French of Venice, Fla. Golf & Country Club retired from the Air Force in 1966 after serving in World War II as a B-24 “Liberator” bomber pilot in the Pacific. His final post in his 24-year military career may have been one of his most interesting.He worked for Eugene Zuckert, secretary of the Air Force and Gen. Curtis LeMay, chief of staff of the Air Force in the 1960s before he retired. He headed the F-104G “Starfighter” jet fighter program from the Pentagon.“As the head of the F-104G fighter program I was attending a management team meeting in Paris. At this meeting Madam Jacqueline Auriol, a French lady pilot, just broken Jackie Cochran’s Woman’s World Speed Record in a “Mirage “ fighter jet flying 1,266 mph.”Cochran, who was also at the Paris meeting, told Madam Auriol, ‘I’m going to get that speed record back,” French recalled more than four decades later.“When I got back to the States a few weeks later, I received a call from Gen. LeMay. He said, ‘George we understand that Jackie Cochran would like to…

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