From V-Day to the Checkered Flag: World War II Veterans in Motorsports

"The Greatest Generation" were those Americans who grew up during the deprivation of the Great Depression, and went on to serve during World War II. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny." The young Americans of this time constituted a generation birth-marked for greatness, a generation of Americans that would take its place in American history. They were involved in a tumultuous journey through adversity and achievement, despair and triumph." The twenty-three described in this book were truly "earmarked for greatness. Two of them, Ken Miles and Vasek Polak, were not Americans during the war, but later went on to become citizens. At least one, Carroll Shelby, not only was a great racing driver, but also created cars that are still manufactured. Two others, John Von Neumann and Vasek Polak, were instrumental in helping to establish Porsche as a marque in the U.S. John Fitch, Ed Hugus, Chuck Daigh, Bill Stroppe, Max Balchowsky, Jay Chamberlain, Jim Peterson and Paul Newman were true heroes in the war. Others left their marks on businesses and motorsports.