[4] With a loan from Lizzie's parents, the couple purchased a lot and built a small home on 1334 East Livingston Avenue, 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of downtown at the edge of the city limits in 1893.

[13] Though his older siblings Bill and Mary were working, Rickenbacker felt a responsibility to help replace his father's lost income.

Firestone chose Rickenbacker for special assignments, including troubleshooting in Atlantic City and demonstrating at the 1909 Chicago Automobile Show.

As relief driver, Rickenbacker replaced Frayer in the middle portion of the race, driving the majority of miles and helping his former boss take thirteenth place.

In September 1915, Rickenbacker received financial backing from Indianapolis Speedway owner Carl Fisher and his partner, Fred Allison.

They made Rickenbacker the leader of a new Presto-Lite team, giving him free rein over three drivers and four mechanics as they developed four Maxwell Special race cars.

[31] Signing with the British Sunbeam team for the upcoming season, Rickenbacker sailed to England to work to develop a new race car.

A 1914 Los Angeles Times article had fabricated a story claiming that the young driver was Baron Rickenbacher, "the disowned son of a Prussian noble.

Dodd later became General John J. Pershing's aviation officer and an important contact in Rickenbacker's attempt to join air combat.

[35] Back in the United States after the revelation of the Zimmermann Telegram, Rickenbacker shared his idea for an aero squadron composed of race car drivers and mechanics with a New York Times reporter: "War would practically put a stop to racing, and we have a training that our country would need in the time of war.

[43] However, Rickenbacker was not perfect: he almost fired on friendly planes several times, his gun jammed, and he nearly crashed when his Nieuport's fabric wing tore off in a dive.

After a sluggish summer at Chateau Thierry, Major Harold Hartney wanted new leadership to lead the Hat-in-the-Ring Gang to its former greatness.

One reporter likened him to a football coach, "boning up for the season ahead" with "conferences on methods, blackboard talks, and ideas for air battle tactics".

[61][62][63][64][65][66] In 1925, Rickenbacker was a defense witness, along with Hap Arnold, Tooey Spaatz, Ira Eaker, and Fiorello H. La Guardia, in the court-martial of General Billy Mitchell.

[67] Investors in the company included Henry Ford, Richard C. Hoyt of the Hayden, Stone & Co. financial empire, and Percy Rockefeller.

It was a victim of the 1926 hurricane, the decline of the Florida real estate boom, and the failure of Tampa officials to deliver a promised airport.

He convinced GM to purchase Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America (FACA), the designer of the fighter planes he once faced on the Western Front.

North American Aviation was the parent company for Eastern Air Transport, Curtiss-Wright Corporation, and Trans World Airlines.

[82] When several inexperienced, undertrained Army pilots crashed and died while hauling mail on treacherous routes, Rickenbacker called it "legalized murder!

He was inspired by "England's heroic resistance to relentless air attacks" from the Luftwaffe's campaign during the Battle of Britain in 1940, writing: "Should these gallant British withstand the terrific onslaught of the totalitarian states until the summer of 1941, it is my sincere conviction that by that time this nation will have declared war.

"[91] Rickenbacker was one of a few celebrities who participated in campaigns to rally World War I veterans to the British cause before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

He encouraged the American public to contribute time and resources and pledged Eastern Air Lines equipment and personnel for use in military activities.

[citation needed] He inspected troops, operations, and equipment, serving in a publicity role to increase support from civilians and soldiers.

[4] For 24 days, Rickenbacker, Army Captain Hans C. Adamson (his friend and business partner), and six crewmen drifted for thousands of miles at sea in life rafts.

[4] He had lost 40 pounds (18 kg), but after a few days of rest, Rickenbacker completed his assignment and delivered his message to General MacArthur.

When the bomber's landing gear brakes seized, the crew unknowingly moved the damaged bubble octant to Rickenbacker's plane.

Stimson assigned Rickenbacker to visit the bases and production facilities in the Aleutian Islands, Burma, China, India, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Soviet Union.

[96] In April 1943, Rickenbacker began his trip, traveling to Cairo, Egypt, in a United States Army Air Forces C-54 provided by General Henry H. Arnold.

In the Soviet Union, Rickenbacker observed wartime conditions, the dedication and patriotism of the Russians, and the denial of food to those deemed unproductive to the war effort.

[105] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.