Eddie Rickenbacker Saved in Pacific Ocean....

THE CHICAGO DAILY NEWS, Illinois, November 14, 1942.

* Famous U.S. fighter pilot Eddie Rickenbacker saved in the Pacific Ocean after deadly crash

This 26 page newspaper has a very nice two line banner headline on the front page: "RICKENBACKER SAVED BY NAVY; ALL COMPANIONS BUT ONE ALIVE" with subheads that include: "Flying Ace Found On Raft in Pacific" and a two column photo of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. Other World War II news throughout. This issue has some damage at the center crease causing some loss of text. Still a displayable issue.
 

 

Historical Background: One of Rickenbacker's most famous near-death experiences occurred during the service of the United States war effort. In October 1942, Rickenbacker was sent on a tour of the Pacific theater to review conditions, operations, and to personally deliver a secret message to General MacArthur. After visiting bases in Hawaii, the B-17 in which he was flying went off course hundreds of miles from its first scheduled stop at Canton Island. The airplane had flown in an undetected tailwind, which carried them faster than they knew and rendered their calculations ineffective. This accident later resulted in improved navigation tools for aircraft, and improved survival gear provided on aircraft. The pilot ditched the plane in the Pacific, dangerously close to Japanese-held enemy territory.

For 24 days, Rickenbacker, his friend and business partner, and the crew drifted at sea without food or water aside from an occasional fish and rain. Rickenbacker still suffered from the airline crash, his friend Hans Adamson sustained serious injuries in the water landing, and others in the crew were hurt to varying degrees. The crew's food supply ran out after three days. On Day 8 a seagull landed on Rickenbacker's head. Rickenbacker painstakingly caught it, and the survivors meticulously divided it equally and used some for fishing bait. They lived on sporadic rain water and similar food "miracles." Rickenbacker assumed a role of leadership, encouragement, and browbeating to help the others survive, and encouraged them to turn to God for solace. According to Rickenbacker, each person on the rafts converted to Christianity after the experience. The U.S. Army Air Forces, unable to find them, intended to abandon the lost crew after searching unsuccessfully for more than two weeks, but Rickenbacker's wife convinced them to extend the search another week. Once again, the press reported that Rickenbacker had died.

Navy pilots rescued the surviving members of the crew, suffering from exposure, dehydration, and starvation, on November 13, 1942. One serviceman had died and was buried at sea. Rickenbacker completed his assignment and delivered MacArthur's secret message. No one ever made the message public.

It should be noted that Rickenbacker initially thought that he had been lost a mere 21 days, and wrote thus in a book about the experience published by Doubleday. It was not until later that he recalculated and corrected the error in his 1967 autobiography.