He was already a hero in WW2, before all the other stuff:
Its incredible that with all the danger he faced he lived to be 97.he totaled 12.5 aerial victories and shot down 13 German planes on 64 missions during World War II, "including five Me109s on 12 October and four FW 190s on 27 November,"
...″Little did I realize when I left this town to join the Army Air Corps in September 1941 ... that I would come back here to see a statue of myself in front of Hamlin High School, where I spent so many wicked days,″ said Yeager.