Bob Breault was one of the first Air Force Pilots tasked with undertaking the very dangerous “Wild Weasel” missions in Vietnam. The way he describes it, they would go up and do a “dance in the sky” daring the enemy to shoot at them, thus allowing other pilots to attack the SAM missile sites. Breault flew 9 combat missions over North Vietnam and 280 over South Vietnam, earning the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross and multiple Air Medals.
He was always fascinated by flight and would build his own rockets as a child. He made his own rocket fuel in his cellar and says he is shocked he never burned his house down. Breault was such a mischievous child that his mother enrolled him in school at the age of three and a half.
He describes one of the most “interesting” moments of his life. Breault was four feet off the runway when his engine exploded. He was too low for a safe ejection, so he put the plane back down, deployed the drag chute and dropped his arrestor hook. Beyond the end of the runway was a mine field and he said he kept thinking “Did I catch the arrestor cable or am I hamburger?” He got right back in the saddle and flew another mission later that same day.
The fact that Breault was granted flight lead status while only a Lieutenant caused some tension in his squadron. In one case he confronted a superior officer by marching him into the command center and forcing him to read his file.
Following his Air Force career, Breault pursued his education and would become a global leader in the optics industry. His name is on many of famous projects like the Hubble telescope.
TAKEAWAY: “I didn’t become a recognized scientist and optics expert because I was smarter than everyone else. But I had a plan, was prepared, persistent and patient through success and failure.”