Seven Came Through: Rickenbacker's Full StoryDuring World War II Rickenbacker, America's ace of aces in the First World War, supported the Allied war effort as a civilian. In October of 1942, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson sent him on an inspection tour of air bases in the Pacific Theater of Operations (and entrusted him with a secret message to MacArthur), where his B-17 was forced to ditch after running out of fuel due to faulty navigation equipment. For 24 days, Rickenbacker and seven other men endured starvation, sporadic rainfall, and exposure, adrift in life rafts while waiting for rescue from the aircraft that searched for them in vain. One man died after drinking seawater. After splitting up with a crewman in another raft the remaining survivors, including Rickenbacker, were finally picked up on an island in the Tuvalu chain. He had lost 40 pounds in the ordeal, but went on to complete his assigned mission. This book tells the harrowing tale of their survival at sea. |
Contents
The Death of Sergeant Alex | 21 |
The Rescue | 46 |
Completing the Mission | 75 |
Copyright | |
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Adamson and Bartek afternoon Air Force air power aircraft airplane American Angelis Army Air asked aviation bailing bucket Blondy bombing Captain Cherry Captain Rickenbacker cartridge chance clouds cockpit combat command crash crew doctors drifted Eadie Eastern Air Lines Eddie Rickenbacker enemy England feet fish flew flying flying boat Fortress German Goering Guadalcanal Guinea hand hard head heard heavy Henderson Field Hickam Field hoping hundred island jigger Kenney knew landing strip later legs Lieutenant light little raft lost Luftwaffe Mae West miles mind morning Navy never night ocean Owen Stanley Range Pacific paddled patch pilot plane Port Moresby Press Association PT boat pulled Rabaul radio rain remember salt water Samoa seemed Sergeant Alex Sergeant Reynolds shark ship shirt sleep squadron squall Stimson swell talk things took turned twenty-one days watch waved week Western Front