Eddie Rickenbacker, Part 1

Eddie Rickenbacker's life was a relentless marathon of achievement with enough accomplishments for several people. By age 28 he had already established two brilliant careers, one as a fighter pilot and another as a championship auto racing driver. In just seven months of wartime flying, he downed more enemy aircraft than any other American in World War I with his 26th kill in October 1918. Later, in 1939, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his accomplishment.
 
His wartime heroics were preceded by a terrific auto racing career that began as a 16 year old riding mechanic in the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup and extended through six Indianapolis 500s to end in 1916 by leading his Prest-O-Lite sponsored Maxwell racing team to seven victories in 13 events. While these could be lifetime accomplishments for many, they were merely a warm-up act for Eddie Rickenbacker.
 
Born October 8, 1890 to German speaking Swiss parents, Rickenbacker lost his father when only 11 years old. At 15 he took a job in a garage while studying mechanical engineering through a correspondence school. Within months, he moved to the Frayer-Miller Automobile Company. His relationship with the then 31 year-old Lee Frayer filled a void left by the loss of his father.
 
Frayer mentored Rickenbacker, providing a practical education in engine mechanics and business. Rickenbacker’s determination and sense of principles were strengthened by Frayer’s rewards for hard work. Later, when Lee Frayer drove in the first Indianapolis 500, Eddie was his relief driver.
 
 
Part two tomorrow...