Sunday, March 13, 2011

Eddie Rickenbacker

Top WWI flying ace, recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross and Congressional Medal of Honor Edward V. "Eddie" Rickenbacker (1890-1973) led one of the most adventurous lives of any 20th century American. Left for dead in a horrific 1941 airliner crash, he survived only to be lost at sea and adrift in a raft for three weeks the following year while on a presidential mission. A man of many talents, Rickenbacker was an air racer, drove in four Indianapolis 500 races and then purchased and ran the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He also developed 4-wheel braking for cars, ran Eastern Airlines and even scripted the "Ace Drummond" comic strip. Brother Eddie Rickenbacker, 33°, was a member of Kilwinning Lodge No. 297, Detroit, Michigan, Detroit York Rite Bodies and Moslem Shrine Temple.

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