Viewing page 13 of 93

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

Ace of Aces
By Captain Bill Malone
(REPArtee's Veteran Editor)
[[image]]

Eastern Air Lines was a company whose personnel was composed of heros, the greatest of which was it's President, EDWARD VERNON RICKENBACKER. 

He epitomized the work ethic, having been employed as a youth along side men in the Zenker Monument Works and the Columbus Buggy Company in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. With his mechanical skills, his interests were directed to automobiles and by the turn of the century, he was driving such notables as William Jennings Bryan on his lecture tours. Eddie Rickenbacker nad a flair for the dramatic and by the early 1900's he was on the racetrack, driving the Mason race car built by Deusenberg. He competed against such worthy opponents as Louis Chevrolet and Barney Oldfield. Later he would become an owner of the Indianapolis Race Track. He enjoyed the company of such notables as Hollywood's famed movie maker, Max Sennett. At the outbreak of World War 1, a racing enthusiast was instrumental in persuading him to become an Army Staff driver and he was assigned to General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing. The headquarters commander was a Captain and named George Patton. Rickenbacker actually never drove for Pershing, but one of his passengers was Colonel Billy Mitchell, America's great air pioneer and it was he who made it possible for Rickenbacker to become a pilot and 1st Lieutenant in the Signal Corps. In the 94th Squadron in France, he went on to become the Ace of Aces and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor with President Herbert Hoover at the presentation. After the war, he designed and built the Rickenbacker Car. The Brougham model was elegant and the boat tail Super-Sport coupe was eye catching with it's racy lines. The car was years ahead of it's time with such innovations as four wheel brakes, however it emerged at the wrong time. There was simply not the demand for such an advanced car. Failure to market the car made a lasting impression on Eddie Rickenbacker and as a result, he became thrifty to the point of frugality. This set the pattern for his position as a conservative. Serving as President of Eastern Air Lines, he conducted a lean operation. His theory of doing business was to pay-your-own- way and Eastern Air Lines became the first to go off the airmail 

11