10/20/95
By Janet McCoy (mccoyjl@mail.auburn.edu)
LETTERS FROM WWI FLYING ACE RICKENBACKER GIVEN TO AU LIBRARY
AUBURN -- Letters written by World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker spanning a 36-year period have been donated to Auburn University by the Rickenbacker family.
The letters -- 210 of them written by Rickenbacker to his son, William, between 1936 and 1972 -- will be housed in AU's Ralph Brown Draughon Library archives.
The university acquired the Rickenbacker papers on a lead provided by Distinguished University Professor David Lewis, one of the nation's leading authorities on Rickenbacker. Lewis, an expert on the history of aviation, is preparing an autobiography on Rickenbacker, who died in 1973.
Known as the "Ace of Aces," Rickenbacker recorded 26 official victories against German pilots during World War I and won the Congressional Medal of Honor. Between WWI and WWII, Rickenbacker bought and administered the Indianapolis Speedway and became president of Eastern Airlines. In October 1942, he was aboard a B-17 bomber that crashed in the Pacific Ocean while on a secret mission to New Guinea. "Iron Man Eddie" and six companions survived 24 days afloat on life rafts.
"Eddie Rickenbacker was not only a famous American combat pilot and airline pioneer, but a major prophet of the conservative revival in the Republican party that has become so highly significant in recent years," says Lewis.
Rickenbacker's letters to his son provide a personal record of the father's political and social philosophy, says Dwayne Cox, university archivist.
"At one point, he wrote to 'My Pal Bill' that 'a man who works the hardest and most intelligently cannot help but lead the other fellow'," Cox said. "He considered the United States 'a living example to the rest of the world ... and a guiding star for others to follow'."
Lewis said William Rickenbacker, who was both an Air Force pilot and a Harvard University-trained economist, strongly shared his father's outlook and was a senior editor of the National Review, which plays a key role in advocating conservative ideas.
"This collection of letters is therefore important not only with regard to aviation history but also because of its bearing on contemporary American politics," Lewis added.
Cox says the collection also includes Rickenbacker's "... simple rules of life," sent to William after he joined the Air Force during the Korean war. The senior Rickenbacker wrote: "A million friends are worth more than a million dollars"; "never fail to live to up the rules of the game"; and "never try to impress other people with your superiority or knowledge."
The Rickenbacker papers also include William's letters to his father and mother, Adelaide Frost Rickenbacker, Mrs. Rickenbacker's letters to her son and the diary William kept while at Harvard, where he graduated cum laude in 1949.
Lewis and his wife, Pat, recently returned from Columbus, Ohio, where they were the invited guests to observe the first day of issue of a U.S. air mail stamp honoring Rickenbacker. Lewis was a consultant for PhotoAssist, a Washington D.C. firm than designed the stamp for the Postal Service.
oct95:AU-rickenbacker
CONTACT: Lewis, 334/844-6652; Cox. 334/844-1705 (coxdway@auducadm.duc.auburn.edu)