The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

Lt. Eddie Rickenbacker, U.S. Army Air Force (1917-1919)

Lt. Eddie Rickenbacker, U.S. Army Air Force (1917-1919)

The American Ace of Aces, Eddie Rickenbacker, was a successful race car driver, fighter pilot, an airline executive, wartime advisor, and elder statesman. Few aces achieved so much in so many different lifetime roles. His twenty-six aerial victories came after only two months of combat flying, a spectacular achievement. Eddie Rickenbacker Set a Speed Record in a Blitzen Benz His family name was originally spelled "Reichenbacher," anglicized to its more familiar form when the U.S. entered World...

read more
2LT Jack “Jackie” Robinson, U.S. Army (1942-1944)

2LT Jack “Jackie” Robinson, U.S. Army (1942-1944)

Hall of Fame Major League Baseball Player, Social Reformer, famed baseball player and civil rights advocate, Jack "Jackie" Robinson became the first African-American to play in modern major league baseball. Jack "Jackie" Robinson Was Assigned to a Segregated Army Cavalry Unit at Fort Riley In 1942, Jack Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas. Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for...

read more