George J . Marrett George J . Marrett ( born 1935 ) is a former United States Air Force officer , combat veteran , and test pilot . He is the author of many aviation - related books and articles . Early life . George Marrett was born in Grand Island , Nebraska in 1935 and graduated in 1957 from Iowa State College in Ames , Iowa with a bachelor ' s degree in Chemistry . He entered the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant from the Reserve Officers Training Corps . Marrett received pilot training at Webb Air Force Base in Texas where he flew the Lockheed T - 33 Shooting Star . After graduation in 1959 , he went to advanced flight training at Moody AFB in Georgia where he flew the North American F - 86 Sabre . Marrett spent four years in the 84th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Hamilton Air Force Base , California , flying the McDonnell F - 101 Voodoo . Test pilot and combat veteran . Marrett was selected to attend the Aerospace Research Pilot School ( ARPS ) , now called the U . S . Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base , California . While at the school , Marrett flew a variety of aircraft including the Northrop T - 38 Talon , Lockheed F - 104 Starfighter and General Dynamics F - 106 Delta Dart . After graduating with Class 64A , he was assigned to the Fighter Test Branch of Flight Test Operations at Edwards and completed three years flight - testing the McDonnell F - 4C Phantom , Northrop F - 5 A Freedom Fighter , and General Dynamics F - 111 A Aardvark . Marrett flew during the heyday of flight test when many aviation record were set , such as Colonel Robert ' Silver Fox ' Stephens ' world speed record in the YF - 12 . From 1968 to 1969 , Marrett flew the Douglas A - 1 Skyraider as a “ Sandy ” rescue pilot in the 602d Fighter Squadron ( C ) , C for Commando , from Udorn and Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Bases , Thailand . He completed 188 combat missions with over 600 combat hours and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Cluster s and the Air Medal with eight Oak Leaf Clusters . He was also awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for flight test at Edwards AFB . In 1969 , Marrett returned from Vietnam and joined Hughes Aircraft Company as an experimental test pilot . For the next twenty years , he flew test programs which helped develop attack radar and missile in the Grumman F - 14 Tomcat , F - 15 Eagle , F - 16 Fighting Falcon , F - 18 Hornet , and an early version of the B - 2 Stealth bomber . Marrett has flown over 40 types of military aircraft and logged over 9 , 500 hours . Sock It To ' Em . Marrett ' s personal aircraft while serving with the 602d was an A - 1J Skyraider , serial number 142029 , maintained by crew chief Joseph Toback . The aircraft was named " Sock It To ' Em " after the popular 1960s comedy television program , " Rowan & Martin ' s Laugh - In " . Three weeks after Marrett and Tobak returned home , " Sock It To ' Em " was shot down by ground fire killing the pilot , Major James East , Jr . Forty - one years later , Marrett and Tobak were reunited at the Estrella Warbird Museum where they flew in Marrett ' s 1945 Stinson L - 5 Sentinel that is also named " Sock It To ' Em " . The A - 1 Skyraider , " Sock It To ' Em " , was memorialized as a plastic model by the Tamiya Corporation and a die - cast metal model by Hobby Master Limited . Later years . Marrett retired from Hughes Aircraft in 1989 and lives in Atascadero , California . He is one of the founders of the Estrella Warbird Museum at the Paso Robles airport , where he enjoys flying his privately owned plane , a 1945 Stinson L - 5E Sentinel and 1946 Aeronca L - 16 Champ . He is the chief pilot for D . P . Industries flying their Beechcraft King Air C - 90 and has been on the Board of Trustees of the National Test Pilot School in Mojave , California since 1983 . Marrett has been married to his Nebraskan wife , Jan , for 55 years . They have one son who is a Professor of Geology at the University of Texas at Austin and another son who is a marketing director in the automotive field in southern California . They have four grandchildren Tyler Marrett , Zachary Marrett , Cali Marrett , and Casey Marrett . Publications . Marrett started his career as an aviation author by sending short stories to magazines . He has had nineteen articles published in aviation magazines about military flight test and his experiences in Vietnam . The following is an incomplete list of his works : Honors . Marrett was inducted in the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame on January 26 , 2006 in Kearney , Nebraska . He was elected to the Grand Island , Nebraska High School Wall of Honor and inducted in October 2007 . Marrett joined the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1967 , upgraded to Associate Fellow in 1981 and was elected a Fellow in 2011 .