United States
Eddie Rickenbacker
1890–1973 Fighter pilot, 94th Aero Squadron, 1918; its commander from September 1918
Born Edward Rickenbacher in Columbus, Ohio, to Swiss immigrants, he left school in the seventh grade and became a nationally known racing driver; he adopted the spelling Rickenbacker in 1917. After the United States entered the war he went to France as a staff driver, then trained as a pilot and joined the 94th Aero Squadron in 1918. He shot down his first enemy aircraft on 29 April 1918 and became an ace on 28 May. Illness kept him grounded for much of the summer, and in late September he took command of the 94th, the hat-in-the-ring squadron. Officially credited with 26 victories, the most of any American pilot in the war, he received the Medal of Honor in 1930. He later ran Eastern Air Lines and died in 1973.