Many combat pilots engaged in interesting hobbies and careers before they were called to war.  A good example of this is Eddie Rickenbacker, who before becoming America's most famous ace in World War One, was a professional race car driver.

Future ace Eddie Rickenbacker drove in the first Indianapolis 500 and went on to win many other races. 

Before volunteering to join the French Flying Corps in World War One, Eugene Bullard was a professional boxer.  An African American, the United States would not let him fly for his country when America entered the war. 

Oscar Perdomo was an "Ace in a Day" in World War Two.  This meant he shot down 5 enemy aircraft in one day.  Perdomo was the son of Mexican Immigrants and his father fought for Pancho Villa in the Mexican Revolution.

America's top ace (40 Kills) of World War Two, Richard Bong, attended a teacher's college before the War.  When he attended flight training, one of his instructors was future US Senator Barry Goldwater.

As is clear from this exhibit, many of our aviation heroes led diverse lives before going wings and soaring,  You can look at our entire collection of digitized images on Flickr.