Bought the farm

In his autobiography written with Leo Janus, Chuck Yeager talks in detail about this phrase, giving a different connotation to it. He states it was frequently used by WWII. I don't have a copy of the book handy, or I would reference the page number. Also, he is still alive so you could ask him. Being a career aviator, I'd also be interested to hear his take on your favorite unsubstantiated phrase--the Whole nine yards.