Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-11-23
Rickenbacker Sure
OF Rescue Durinq
Three Weeks on Raft
Col. Adumson Of D. C..
Unable to 1ruvel
For Another Month
~ the Associated Press.

~ the Associated Press.
PEARL HARBOR, Nov. 23.-Capt.
Eddie Rickenbacker, survivor Of
many close brushes with death.
never doubted for a moment during
his three weeks on a tiny rubber
raft in the South Pacific that he
and his companions would be res
cued.
The American flying ace of the
First World War cited his own re-
.ligion as the buoying hope during
the days of ordeal after the big
Army plane in which he was flying
on ans inspection trip for Secretary
Of War Stimson went down for lack
Of fuA October 81.
Il Mold to the Golden Rule and I
believe most firmly that If a man
just follows what he truly knows
and feels in his heart, then he can
not go wrong, and is possessed of
religion enough to get by in any
mans land" said the 52-year -old
Rickenbacker, who has survived the
perils Of auto racing. downed 81 en-
envy planes in aerial combat and
was badly hurt in the crackup of an
airliner.
The tale of the rescue of Capt.
Rickenbacker and six Of his seven
companions-one of them died and
was buried at sea-was brought to
Pearl Harbor from an atoll some
where in the South Pacific, where
the rescued men were first brought
to safety and hospitalized. It was
tale of suffering, of rain squalls
and of starvation STAYED off with
the help of raw fish and seagull.
All Survivors Recovering.
Official advices said all the sur
vivors who were hospitalized are
recovering but that it may be a
month before Col. Hans c. Adam
son of Washington, D. c., Is able
to travel
The eight men took to three rub
Der RATS after the plane touched
the water. From then on they were
lost to the world until It. William
F. Eadie, pilot of Navy searching
seaplane, spotted one of the little
RATS the night of November II.
The three RATS became separated
the afternoon of November 9. One
of the party, Sergt. Alexander
Kaczmarczyk of Torrington, Conn,
meanwhile had died.
Capt. William T. Cherry, jr., Of
Abilene. Tex, pilot Of the Ricken-
hacker plane and sole occupant OF
one Of the RATS, was the first to be
rescued. He was sighted by 1t.
Eadie and flown back to an island
base. With his rescue hope rose
that the others would be found.
The same day, out Of sight OF
Capt. Cherry and his rescuer, &C.
cupants of a second raft sighted an
island and rowed toward it. won
dering whether it was occupied by
Japanese. On this raft were 1t.
James c. Whitaker, Il, Of Bur-
lingame, Calf; 1t. John j. De
Angels of Nesquehoning, Pa, and
Staff Sergt. James Reynolds OF Fort
Jones, Calf.
Adamson Seriously Ill.
The next day, acting on informa-
ton supplied by Capt Cherry, 1t.
Eadie resumed the search and that
night, with the aid of flares, 10
Gated Capt. Rickenbacker's raft
some 40 miles from the island. Rain
squalls were sweeping the sea and
1t. Eadie, afraid he would be I'M
able to guide surface ships to the
scene, landed on the water to at
tempt rescue with his plane.
Col. Adamson, seriously i'll. was
placed in the planes cockpit and
Capt. Rickenbacker and Pvt. John
F. Bartek was dashed to the wing.
1t. Eadie, unable to get his light
plane off the water with that load,
started to taxi the 40 miles back to
his base. A boat finally came along
side and took off Capt. Ricken-
hacker and Pvt. Bartek, but Col.
Adamson was too i'll to be moved
so 1t. Eadie continued taxing over
the open sea.
That chap has what 1t takes"
1t. Whitaker later said admiringly
Of It. Eadie.
1t was not until early Friday, the
18th, that Capt. Rickenbacker and
Pvt, Bartek finally set foot on dry
land.
You'd better thank God for your
Testament, son. You can see what
faith can do for you," said Capt.
Rickenbacker to Pvt. Bartek when
they landed.
Natives, who had been notified
that missing flyers were nearby,
meanwhile found 1t. Whitaker and
his party. They had spent q cold,
wet night on their island, but had
feasted on coconuts.
On Capt. Rickenbacker's raft part
Of the fare was seagull which had
alighted on his head.
However, I didn't eat much of
the raw bird. nor Of the raw fisl1 we
caught" he said. He explained that
It was dislike for raw meat and not
fear Of illness that made him fore.
60 the fare. He said the others ate
the fish and gulls, but didn't get