Eddie Rickenbacker

After hostilities had broken out in World War I, an aviator by the name of T.F. Dodd was having some troubles with his plane, and had to make an emergency landing. He got the help of a local racecar enthusiast and mechanic, and was soon back up and running. The mechanic expressed an interest in the war effort, and later, when Dodd became an aviation officer under General "Black Jack" Pershing, he remembered the young mechanic and offered him a position, and in doing so, brought one of the best pilots the Allies would ever see into the war. Eddie Rickenbacker might never have found his ultimate destiny but for that chance encounter.

Rickenbacker was originally brought on as a mechanic, but his love for speed soon saw him taking as much practice time in the birds as working on them. His superiors, fearing the loss of such a talented mechanic, initially tried to stop him, but once he trained a replacement he was able to talk his way into active flight duty. On April 29, 1918, he shot down his first German plane, and within a month was a decorated ace with five kills.

Rickenbacker would prove to be the most successful Allied pilot of the war, chalking up twenty-six kills and earning the Medal of Honor, which was bestowed upon him in 1931. More important than his own tally, however, he developed the technique of the aerial dogfight, paving the way for pilots throughout the rest of the century and beyond. Rickenbacker will always be remembered as one of the true pioneers of air combat.