screenplay about EVR

[kpleonard]

I'm a screenwriter currently working on a movie script about Rickenbacker's life. He was quite a character. In my many months of research I've heard from a former Navy corpsman who worked in the hospital where he was taken after his resue at sea, along with others who have extensive knowledge of him. My question to this forum is this: why do I detect a general dislike of him from those who study WWI? He certainly had his faults and was very clever in manipulating his image (not unlike many other 20th century war heroes, e.g., Patton, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Mitchell, etc.) but there's no denying his heroism and patriotism. WWI was just a single chapter in a long and incredible life. I'm being very careful to portray him accurately, warts and all. Any comments?

Kevin Leonard