Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (1890-1973), early automobile race driver and America's top fighter pilot in World War I, went on to manage giant Eastern Air Lines during its expansion era.

Eddie Rickenbacker was one of those rare heroes who enjoyed enduring fame. His remarkable victories as a fighter pilot in 1918, his many brushes with death throughout a long life coupled with the courage with which he confronted danger, his willingness to express his views openly, and his success in the airline business--all these made him a renowned popular hero in his day and beyond.

Born simply Edward Rickenbacher (later Rickenbacker) on October 8, 1890, in Columbus, Ohio, he was one of eight children in a poor Swiss immigrant family. After the death of his father, William, when Eddie was 13, his mother, Elizabeth Basler Rickenbacher, helped support the family with money earned by the older children. Eddie dropped out of school and...