Hundreds in Lancaster Attend the Funeral of Sen. Pete Knight

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, test pilot Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager and astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin joined hundreds of mourners Thursday in Lancaster to honor state Sen. William J. “Pete” Knight, the storied military test pilot and salty-tongued veteran of California’s culture wars who died May 7 at age 74.

As a Republican legislator representing the Antelope Valley, Knight was best-known as the author of Proposition 22, the successful 2000 ballot initiative that defined marriage as strictly between a man and a woman.

The stance earned him the respect of conservatives and the wrath of gay-rights groups. It also resulted in a bitter public feud with his gay son, David, who did not attend Thursday’s service at Lancaster Baptist Church, according to David Orosco, the senator’s spokesman.

But as a number of speakers attested, Knight often enjoyed talking about flying more than politics. And with its precise and doleful military pageantry, the funeral placed a greater emphasis on Knight’s career in the U.S. Air Force -- a contribution that helped make the United States “the greatest air and space nation the world has ever known,” according to Air Force Lt. Gen. Dick Reynolds.

In 1967, Knight flew the experimental X-15 rocket plane to 6.7 times the speed of sound, setting a still unbroken record for a manned airplane flight and earning him the nickname “the fastest man alive.”

He flew 253 combat missions during the Vietnam War and later served as vice commander of the flight test center at Edwards Air Force Base until his retirement in 1982. By that time, he had flown more than 6,000 hours in about 100 planes, and earned his astronaut’s wings for an October 1967 flight that took him to 280,500 feet.

Maj. Gen. Doug Pearson, current commander of Edwards’ test center, said Knight was among a handful of daring test pilots who inspired a generation of children to dream of becoming pilots and astronauts.

“As a boy, those were my heroes,” Pearson said. “I got up each morning to get the paper.... I’d read about the antics of these great men, who did great things, and they inspired me.”

Schwarzenegger called Knight “a good friend and great partner,” and credited him with giving crucial support to his gubernatorial campaign and legislative agenda.

The governor also told a story that exemplified the conservative senator’s intensity -- and his occasionally gruff demeanor when he was making a point.

Knight visited Schwarzenegger’s office about two weeks after the new governor’s swearing in, and complained that the Christmas tree Schwarzenegger was about to light was officially called the “holiday tree” in Sacramento.

“We have to honor God with this Christmas tree!” Knight said with a curse.

“So that’s Pete Knight,” the governor continued, over the crowd’s roaring laugh of acknowledgment. “That’s the intensity of Pete Knight.”

Another of the senator’s sons, Stephen, said his father “lived his life with character” and was a role model for his children and grandchildren.

And Pastor Paul Chappell praised Knight for his “defense of the Biblical family.”

“In this era of tolerance, he could not let go of truth,” Chappell said.

Until being diagnosed with leukemia, Knight was serving out his final year in the Senate due to term limits. Orosco said Knight’s seat will remain vacant until the winner of the November election is sworn in. In the meantime, Orosco said, other lawmakers will shepherd Knight’s remaining bills through the Legislature.

Knight’s political career began in the city of Palmdale, a few miles south of Edwards. Outside Palmdale City Hall on Thursday, dozens of government workers lined Sierra Highway to pay tribute to the local hero as a motorcade carried his body to a nearby cemetery.

Kathleen Whiteside, a maintenance worker for the city, said Knight’s support was crucial to the growth in recent years that transformed Palmdale from an outpost of rocket scientists and alfalfa farmers to a booming commuter suburb.

“All of this is here because of Pete Knight, basically,” said Whiteside, clutching an American flag. “If we needed something, we contacted him, and he found a way to get it for us.”

At Desert Lawn Memorial Park, Air Force personnel gave Knight a 21-gun salute. A bugler played taps, and four jets whooshed overhead -- one of them peeling off from the pack and shooting skyward in the traditional “missing man” formation.