Eddie Rickenbacker

Eddie Rickenbacker (1890-1973), American aviator and businessman, who was the leading American combat pilot in World War I (1914-1918). He was born Edward Rickenbacher in Columbus, Ohio. He adopted the middle name Vernon when he was a young man, and changed the spelling of his last name to Rickenbacker during World War I in response to anti-German sentiment. Before joining the United States Army in 1917, he was an internationally famous race car driver who had won many championships and set a world record for speed driving.

During World War I Rickenbacker served in the U.S. Air Service in France as commanding officer of the 94th Aero Pursuit Squadron. He shot down 22 enemy planes and four observation balloons. He received the Distinguished Service Cross, the French Croix de Guerre, the Congressional Medal of Honor, and other decorations.

After his military career, Rickenbacker was associated with several automotive and aviation companies. He became president of Eastern Air Lines in 1938 and served as the company's chairman of the board from 1954 to 1963. Secretary of War Henry Stimson assigned Rickenbacker to the inspection of air force bases in the Pacific Ocean during World War II (1939-1945). On this mission, Rickenbacker's plane became lost, ran out of fuel, and crashed in the Pacific. He and the other survivors spent about three weeks on life rafts before being rescued. He wrote about this ordeal in Seven Came Through (1943). Rickenbacker also wrote Fighting the Flying Circus (1919) and Rickenbacker: An Autobiography (1967).