Edward Vernon Rickenbacker

NAME: Edward Vernon Rickenbacker

BORN: October 8, 1890

COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS: born...Columbus, Ohio (Franklin County)

OCCUPATION: combat pilot, race car driver

DIED: 
July 27, 1973, Zurich, Switzerland 
(buried in Columbus, Ohio)

FAST FACTS:

Rickenbacker was a famous race car driver before the First World War. During the war, he became one of the world's premiere combat pilots. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his outstanding service. Rickenbacker ultimately rose to the rank of captain.

The Lockbourne Air Force Base in Columbus, Ohio was renamed Rickenbacker Air Force Base in 1974.