Ed Daly

Daly helped support his family by working as an onion topper during the summers and managing a trucking firm while attending college.

Daly rejected his image as a kid from the Chicago slums, though he admitted that the period after his father's death was one of financial difficulty.

[3] He attended the University of Illinois, where he majored in biochemical engineering before he was drafted in 1941 to serve in World War II.

[5] Deciding that banking was not for him, he worked for Scotty O'Carroll at Midway Airport in Chicago, where he was in charge of bookings for all non-scheduled airline flights and rose to become vice-president of the firm.

[1] His battle against the Civil Aeronautics Board for deregulation of supplemental air carriers earned him a term as leader of their trade association and their chief spokesman.

Despite not having a son, Daly continuously supported the Boy Scouts of America, and he created a scholarship fund for students from West Africa, South Korea, and Jordan.[3].

[5][12] In 1966 Daly received the "Man of the Hour" award from the City of Oakland for his efforts to promote the employment of persons from racial minorities.

[13] His generous attitude and courage was revealed most famously in 1975 when he rescued women and children at Da Nang in South Vietnam aboard one of his World Airways planes.

Without official permission, he and one of his crews took off from Ton Son Nhut Airport in Saigon and flew to Da Nang, where mobs of civilians and soldiers rushed the plane.

[15] When the crew finally raised the rear air stair on the Boeing 727-100 jetliner,[17] they were attacked with bullets and grenades.

A former flight attendant for Pan American Airlines, she later helped Daly run World Airways, becoming deputy chairman after his death.