Edd Brown was labeled "the runt" when he was born on the cusp of the Great Depression. His grandfather dryly predicted that the boy would never amount to much. With the odds stacked against him, Edd would survive a lightning strike at age one, grow into a scrappy teenager in Dust Bowl Texas and go on to serve his country during World War II aboard a U.S. Navy fleet oiler dubbed the "Floating Service Station." His tough beginnings spurred Edd to pursue...