[WWI] Added:SPAD VII Rene Fonck

[pfalzdvii at comcast.net]

Rick was truly the original American "self made man", he had to go to work at age 10 or 11 , and  had limited formal schooling as a result, but taught himself  to be an competent engineer and mechanic, became the top race car driver in the US, talked himself out of an enlisted driver's slot and into flight school, fought for a spot in a fighter unit (despite his 'advanced' age), learned how to be an ace, and helped mold his unit into the most successful US fighter squadron of the war. If he was a bit gruff in his later years, he had a right. There is a story about him, in his later years, that when went walking on the beach in the evening, he always brought along some fish, to feed the gulls; it was 'payback' for the gull that helped keep him alive on that raft in the Pacific. 

FWIW 



Merrill Anderson 

Your Madness May Vary 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Crawford Neil" <Neil.Crawford at volvo.com> 
To: "World War I Modeling Mailing List" <wwi at wwi-models.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 7:20:34 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central 
Subject: Re: [WWI] Added:SPAD VII Rene Fonck 

  
Hmmmm, obviously I don't know enough about Rickenbacker. 
I do know that he wrote an enjoyable book about about himself, 
something that Fonck and Richthofen failed to. 
Didn't Rickenbacker get shipwrecked in WW2 in a small boat for weeks? 
Where did he go wrong? 
Is it even possible to be a nice air-ace? 
/Neil 



> -----Original Message----- 
> From: wwi-bounces at wwi-models.org 
> [mailto:wwi-bounces at wwi-models.org] On Behalf Of Mikko Saarela 
> Sent: den 25 november 2008 13:54 
> To: World War I Modeling Mailing List 
> Subject: Re: [WWI] Added:SPAD VII Rene Fonck 
> 
> 
> > 
> > Richthofen had the good sense of carking before becoming 
> objectable like 
> > Fonck and Goering... 
> > D. 
> > I was *this* close to add Rickenbacker to the list.... 
> > 
> 
> Whut!! Send that hippie to Vietnam!! 
> ;-) 
> 
> Mikko 
> 
>
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