Eddie Rickenbacker

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 01/18/2018 at 20:40 • Filed to: None

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Bad ass.

wafflesnfalafel > ttyymmnn 01/18/2018 at 21:06

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serious skills and more lives than a cat

f86sabre > ttyymmnn 01/18/2018 at 21:22

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Totally

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > ttyymmnn 01/18/2018 at 21:52

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A distant-ish relative of mine was on the plane that Eddie got shot down in when he was serving a more decorative role in WWII. He was even in Eddie’s raft that floated off the British coast for something like 20 days? My Grandma’s maiden last name was “Bartek” and it was her cousin John (or maybe step-brother? They were Polish and Hungarian immigrants and there was a death in the family and things get wonky in the family records).

It was a very cool find to see when I did some family tree research in high school. Unfortunately none of his belongings were in our branch of the family by the time I got to looking into it (besides, grandpa and his brothers had their own stash of relics and antiques so I guess it makes sense...)

ttyymmnn > wafflesnfalafel 01/18/2018 at 22:27

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You know the story of how he spent 28 days adrift at sea after his plane crashed while delivering a message to MacArthur?

ttyymmnn > f86sabre 01/18/2018 at 22:31

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That’s a great photo. Lot of lead to be thrown out there.

ttyymmnn > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/18/2018 at 22:42

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They were adrift for 23 days, but it was in the Pacific, not the Atlantic. Rickenbacker was supposedly on a mission to bolster morale at US bases in the Pacific, but his true mission was to deliver a personal letter of rebuke to Douglas MacArthur from FDR. MacArthur had been running his mouth to the press, as he often did, and had some not-nice things to say about FDR. I don’t know if Eddie ever delivered the message.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > ttyymmnn 01/18/2018 at 22:55

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He did see MacArthur and talk with him before returning home, but the recount that I read said that he had a paper with “secret orders” and that note was destroyed while at sea. So whether the chat he had with MacArthur was about what was on the note is something I’m not sure of.

And you’re right, it was Pacific coast. He was initially stationed in Britain to help prepare their air force and the US air bases and whatnot but that changed as the war went on and America got actively involved instead of just lend-lease. Brain fart had them mixed around in my head -_- still an all around badass though.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > ttyymmnn 01/19/2018 at 10:54

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There’s an airport in Columbus, OH dedicated to him

ttyymmnn > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/19/2018 at 11:05

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There is. He was quite a guy. Maybe not the best businessman, though.

just-a-scratch > ttyymmnn 01/19/2018 at 16:15

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If heroes of sport and military are your deal, make sure to read about Ted Williams.

I’ll guess you’re already familiar, but others might not be.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Williams

ttyymmnn > just-a-scratch 01/19/2018 at 16:25

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Yup. And Jimmy Stewart .

He also had a noted military career and was a World War II and Vietnam War   veteran and pilot , who rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Air Force Reserve , becoming the highest-ranking actor in military history. [5]