World War I Ace Capt Eddie Rickenbacker Autograph

in black ink on an air mail cover. The cover bears two US 3-cent Mt. Ranier stamps, and one US 6-cent air mail stamp. The cover also has a Air Field Newark NJ cancel dated November 13, 1934 and Coral Gables, Florida cancel dated November 13, 1984. Rickenbacker (1890 - 1973) was best known as a World War I fighter ace and Medal of Honor recipient. He was also a race car driver and automotive designer, a government consultant in military matters and a pioneer in air transportation. Rickenbacker's World War I 26 victories constituted an American record that stood until World War II.Rickenbacker was born in Columbus, Oh; his father died when he was twelve, and he began working at a garage repairing automobiles. He went from garage mechanic to sales before he settled into auto racing in 1910. For the next six years, he was one of the nation's top racecar drivers. He raced in the Indianapolis 500 and established the world record of 134 miles per hour at a race at Daytona Beach, Florida. When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Rickenbacker decided to apply for flight school with the U.S. Army Air Service. He was rejected because he was too old and did not have a college education. He joined the Army and because of his fame as a driver, he was assigned to the post of personal driver to General John Pershing. This post offered him opportunities to meet many of the most important officers of the war, including Billy Mitchell, combat air commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. While driving Mitchell, Rickenbacker was able to convince Mitchell to transfer him to flight school. Rickenbacker received his wings after 17 days of training and was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron based outside of Toule, France. After coaching by ace Raoul Lufbery, he had his first shared victory on April 29, 1918, and his first solo on May 7. Flying Nieuport 28 and Spad XIII aircraft, Rickenbacker scored 24 more victories before the war ended. His fighting technique was to fly close to the enemy aircraft, closer than others dared, and then fire. On September 25, he single-handedly attacked a flight of 5 Fokker D.VIIs and 2 Halberstadt CL.IIs and downed one of each type of plane. For this action he received the Medal of Honor--the highest medal given by the U.S. military. Rickenbacker returned to the United States a national hero, a position he knew was fleeting. He was promoted to the rank of major, but he felt that the captain's rank was the one he had earned and used that title for the rest of his life. He turned down offers for commercial endorsements and movie roles, although he had no money. Instead he returned to the automobile industry and started the Rickenbacker Motor Company. When the company failed due to the recession in 1925, Rickenbacker used a loan from a friend to buy a majority share in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He served as the speedway's president until after World War II. He also started a comic strip called Ace Drummond and published his World War I memoirs, "Fighting the Flying Circus." In 1926, he founded Florida Airways, which he soon sold to Pan American Airlines, before becoming vice president with General Aviation Corporation (formerly Fokker). In 1933, he joined North American Aviation as a vice president and general manager of the subsidiary Eastern Air Transport, which was reorganized as Eastern Air Lines. Rickenbacker arrived at Eastern in February 1934, just as the government was canceling the lucrative federal airmail contracts. Under his leadership, Eastern grew and showed its first profit in years. He improved salaries, working conditions, and maintenance and passenger service. In 1938, Rickenbacker joined with several associates and purchased Eastern. He was elected president and general manager. The new Eastern Airlines worked to develop a weather reporting and analysis system. It also reduced fares and also operated free of government subsidies, for some time the only airline to do so. At the outbreak of World War II, Rickenbacker volunteered to serve as a non-military observer for Secretary of War Henry Stinson for a salary of a dollar a year, retaining his title of captain. Rickenbacker toured air bases around the world, evaluating their operations. During a late 1942 tour of bases in the Pacific, the B-17 Rickenbacker was flying in ran out of fuel. The crew ditched the plane in the ocean, but in the confusion forgot the emergency rations. The eight men then spent 22 days on three rafts without food or water. Wearing his business suit and fedora, Rickenbacker took over leadership of the group--yelling and insulting the men to keep them in order. He used his fedora to collect the rainwater wrung out of clothes. The men lived on fish, until one day a seagull landed on Rickenbacker's head. He reached up, twisted its neck, and then shared it with the crew. Three weeks later, a Navy patrol plane found the crew, yet Rickenbacker refused to go home to recover; he wanted to finish his mission. Later, he returned to Washington to brief Secretary Stinson on recommendations for survival equipment to be added to all Air Corps planes immediately. Among his recommendations were a rubber sheet to protect the crew from the sun and catch water, and seawater distilling kits. Both items are still standard issue on U.S. military lifeboats and airplane life rafts. After the war, Rickenbacker focused on Eastern Airlines again as it returned to normal operations. In 1953, after 25 years of service, Rickenbacker became chairman of the board of Eastern Airlines, retiring in 1963. Rickenbacker has dated his autograph "1935". The cover has modest toning due to age but is otherwise in very good condition.