Pioneers in Blue
In 1955, retired Lt. Dick Uyehara, a Korean War veteran, was forced to eject from a B-57, like the one he's sitting on here, at 600 miles per hour, losing both his legs. He had to struggle free from a malfunctioning ejection seat only to have the vertical stabilizer hit him during the bailout, severing one leg and mangling the other. Teri, his wife said, he never let it beat him, although he was in great pain. After release, he never used a wheelchair, preferring to walk, unaided, on prosthetic legs. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lance Cheung)