Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

To get to my house from the east you have to take Rickenbacker ave. My buddies in the band commented that it figures one would have to take a street called Rickenbacker to get to my house. Eddie Rickenbacker was the first U.S. pilot to obtain the flying ace award (world war I) and he was Albert Rickenbacker's cousin. When Albert's parents died over in Stockholm (SP) he was brought to Columbus to live with Eddie's family on Livingston Ave. I used to deliver the morning paper to that house back around 1970. That was the house in the pictures that I brought to the confluence, maybe I didn't show them to you. Peter I need to send you some copies of the house so you can post them for me. According to the Smith book, Albert then moved to Chicago before ending up in Santa Ana. Rickenbacker Airport used to be Lockbourne Air Force Base until the 70's when Eddie died - then they renamed it in his honor.
After Eddie got home from the war, he got back into auto racing and he pretty much cut a path around a local farmer's field to practice driving around. Urban legend says that a couple of the neighbors would complain to the police about the 'commotion' Eddie would cause while racing around the fields. The police would come - see it was Eddie and leave. They weren't going to arrest a national hero. That area of town is named 'Driving Park'.

Thanks Randy. I will be pleased to post photos of the house and anything else you might send along.

Randy,
That's Adolph!

Adoloph! right you are. I'm at work- no access to the book. I knew it began with an 'A'. Thanks for the correction.

Here's a little history (and pictures of the house. The white building beside it is now gone (torn down a couple of months ago).
http://www.ohiopreservation.org/rickenbacker.htm

A little more on Eddie:

I'm not sure that he was the first American ace, but there are a lot of conditions and definitions that have to be clarified. I think Raul Lufberry may have been the first "American ace" while flying with the French Lafayette Escadrille. Whatever, Eddie was the top scoring American ace of the Great War (WWI), with 26 victories. That's pretty amazing, since Americans were involved for only a few months in that long war. Eddie's record stood until Richard I. Bong passed him in WWII. Bong ended up with 40 kills, making him the all-time top American ace. But nothing compares with Germany's top ace, Eric Hartmann, with 352 kills in WWII. (Can you tell I'm an aviation nut?)

Wow! some good info there,Paul. It's amazing that those guys hit anything considering how new aviation was at that time and they way those planes appeared to bounce along the currents. I've allways had an interest in that stuff - just not to the same degree as you. Thanks for that.

So who was the "special" guest that Dave W was referring to?