Cliff Secord was an American stunt piolet in 1938 who discovered an experimental rocket pack sought after Nazi terrorist and the FBI.  He put the rocket pack on to fight crime and protect the people he cares about which attracted the attention of the Nazies and Howard Hughes, the rocket pack's inventor.  He would become an American icon in the 1991 film and symbol of American freedom, not to confuse with Marvel's Captian America.