Major General Fred J. Ascani was born in Beloit, Wisconsin on May 29, 1917. He was one of the "Men of Mach 1". As Executive of the Flight Test Division at Wright Field, Ohio, he helped select Chuck Yeager as the pilot to surpass Mach 1 in the Bell X-1.

Ascani earned his wings in 1942, and commanded the 816th Bombardment Squadron, completing 53 combat missions in the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. He arrived at Edwards AFB in 1950 and, as Director of Experimental Flight Test and Engineering as well as the first vice commander of the Air Force Flight test Center, he flew more than 50 experimental prototype and research aircraft including the XB-42, X-1, X-4, X-5 and XF-92A.

Ascani flew a North American F-86E Sabre at the National Air Races in Detroit, Michigan to establish a new world record of 635.686mph over a 100 kilometer closed course.

In 1961, as system program director for the XB-70, he led development of the Mach 3 bomber prototype. A 1946 graduate of the Flight Performance School, General Ascani has flown over 5,400 hours.

Among his military honors are two Distinguished Flying Crosses, five Air Medals and two Army Commendation Medals. He has been presented with the Thompson and the MacKay Trophies in 1951, the De La Vaulx Medal, the Croix de Guerre, the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit. 

Inducted into the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame in 1997, he was selected as an Eagle by the Flight Test Historical Foundation in 1997 and by the Gathering of Eagles International organization in 1998 and was named to the Aerospace Walk of Honor.

He died at the age of 92 March 28, 2010 in Alexandria, Virginia.