Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-11-14
Three Rescued
On Rubber Raft
Bullying Boat
Three Others Sighted
On Island; One
Dies Of Exposure
Ry the Associated Press.

Ry the Associated Press.
Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker has
been rescued, in good condition,
the Navy announced today, three
weeks after his airplane radioed
that it was about out of gasoline,
then vanished in the Pacific
south of Hawaii.
Capt. Rickenbacker, ST. Americas
ace in the World War, was picked
from raft bobbing in the sea by
Navy Catalina flying boat along
with two of his crew, Col. Hans c.
Adamson of Washington, and Pvt.
John Bartek, Freeland, N. j. They
were 600 miles north Of Samoa.
At Col Adamson's home at 532
Twentieth street NV, Mrs. Adam
son was advised by the War Depart
ment that he had been found.
Three Others on Island.
Col. Adamson also is in good con-
dition, the Navy said, but Pvt. Bartek
is in serious condition, though he is
expected to recover from the SUI
fering of exposure.
Three other Army flyers who were
with Capt. Rickenbacker on sur
vey of Pacific war zone air force
operations have been located on an
island. The rescue of Capt. William
T. Cherry, jr., Abilene, Tex, pilot of
the plane, was announced yesterday,
and the seventh man of Capt. Rick
enbacker's crew died in the long
wait for rescue. He was Sergt.
Alexander T. Kaczmarczyk, Tor
rington, Conn, who was on the
Rickenbacker raft and was buried
at sea.
1t. James Whitaker, Burlingame,
Calf; 1t. John j. de Angels, Mes
quehoning, Pa, and Sergt. James
Jones Reynolds, Fort Jones, Calf.
three men located on the island, are
to have help from a United States
naval officer who has been flown
there. The officer was directed to
examine the condition of these men.
give them immediate attention as
needed and return them to United
States naval base.
They also were located by Cata-
lima flying boat, though there was no
indication as to whether it was the
same plane that saved Capt. Ricken-
hacker and his companions.
Details Awaited.
Details of the rescue were not
Immediately available, but the Cat
alma is capable of landing on the
sea and has already performed
many daring rescues of stranded
flyers and other persons from RATS
so that it was considered possible
that as soon as Capt. Rickenbacker
Col. Adamson and Pvt. Bartek were
sighted the plane landed, TAXED
alongside their tiny raft and took
them in.
A widespread search had been on
from the moment that it became
apparent that Capt. Rickenbacker
was probably down at sea following
the receipt of the message October
81 that the fuel supplies Of his
plane would not last an hour. The
approximate location of the plane
was not known by the searchers
when the hunt began.
His Pacific trip was along the
same lines as a survey he had pre-
viously made for Secretary of War
Stimson of air force operations in
the European theater.
Hope of his safe rescue grew rap
idly yesterday after the War De-
partment announced that Capt.
Cherry had been found on a life
raft. The Navy did not give the time
of Capt. Rickenbacker's rescue.
Cheated Death Many Times.
This may have been the most
spectacular of them all, but it is
only one of many times that Capt.
Rickenbacker has cheated death.
AS a race track driver before the
World War he turned over or hit
fences time after time, but always
came back uundaunted. AS a World
War flyer he was credited with
shooting down 81 enemy planes and
four balloons, winning virtually all
the American and Allied medals for
heroism.
AS president Of Eastern Airlines,
he had flown mostly as passenger
in recent years. He was on an air.
line inspection flight on February
q, 1941, when the plane crashed
near Atlanta, Ga, and his months
long fight back to health was fol-
lowed by the Nation.
Through the long days Of waiting
since the plane was last heard from,
two persons typif1ed Americas hope
that Capt. Rickenbacker would yet
be saved.
His wife had said, Eddie will
turn up. He's too old a hand to get
lost in any airplane now"
Secretary Stimson had commented
that Capt. Rickenbacker was IAN
exception to ordinary rules"
Capt. Rickenbacker's wife issued