Ace Of Aces

8 Pages 2088 Words

ledge of engines, and their familiarity with high speeds would qualify them as excellent battle pilots” (Normau 504). This was a theory that made sense and might have been ahead of its time but the army scoffed at his suggestion. Further more the Army said that Rickenbacker did not meet the requirements; stating he was too old and did not have enough of a formal education (Bowen 153). This discouraged Rickenbacker but it did not stop him from joining the Army. With his experience racing cars and celebrity status Rickenbacker had no trouble getting a job as a chauffeur, trading his high income for sergeant’s pay; all along he had a hidden agenda to somehow get into a flying squadron. There are many conflicting stories about who he might of drove for in France; some say he was General John J. Pershing’s[2] personal chauffeur. This was far from the truth and even Rickenbacker said “it’s a good story” (Bowen 153) but the truth is he drove for Colonel Billy Mitchell, who liked having the famous Rickenbacker drive for him. While driving in France, Rickenbacker got his chance to become a pilot after several previous applications were turned down because of education requirements. Rickenbacker’s chance came when he ran into an old friend, Captain James Ely Miller, who was assigned to supervise the construction of a flight-training center for American aviation cadets at Issoudun. During their talk Captain Miller asked Rickenbacker to become his engineering officer, Rickenbacker agreed on one condition that he could have flight training to become a pilot. Miller agreed, and Colonel Mitchell (after some persuasion) let Rickenbacker transfer to flight school at Tours before h...