The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-11-23
RICKEND ACKER
 HEARD 'DEATH'
Eddie Describes Expert. ences on Raft in Middle
 of Pacific Ocean
By WILLIAM THREE

(UmAteU FreS4 StnW OGfKU9nonuent)
 Pearl Harbor, Nov. 2i--(UPD--Dis. patches from an American base in the Souht Pacific told today how Capt. E. V. Rickenbacker heard soft, beautiful music--"The Tear ness of Death'-just before he and six other survivors of q forced plane landing were rescued fir m life rafts on which they had Heated 24 days.
 A joint Army-Navy announcement said Rickenbacker and his compan- ions were recovering satisfactorily. Rickenbacker, Capt, william T. Cherry, and Lieuts. John J, De Rn- gelis and James c. whitaker were in high spirits" and expected to be in condition to travel within week.
 Col. Hans c. Adamson's condition was satisfactory, but his progress was slow, because of pneumonia and diabetes. The condition of Staff Sgt. James Reynolds was satisfac- tory. Pvt, John 2. Bartek, in the worst condition, was gaining strength rapidly" He succumbed to temptation and drank sea water the last two days.
 Rickenbacker, in an interview with Sgt. Richard c. Seither of the Marie Corps on Nov. IS, the day after he was rescued, said he and his companions had caught sea gulls and fish and eaten them raw,
 He himself didn't eat much raw gull and fish, he simply didn't like the taste.
 "All the others ate them when we could catch them and they did- mt get sick" he said. "As matter of fact, there were not disturbed stomachs after the first two or three days and the reason is simple enough. No one had anything on his stomach"
 Captain, you know I ate that fish eye" Cherry said. We were going to use the eye for bait when some one dropped our last fish hook. So I ate the eye--probably before the others thought of splitting 1t seven ways"
 Although Rickenbacker never doubted that he would be saved, he had felt the "nearness of death" with which he is well acquainted.
 "YeS, sir, feel that I can speak as an authority on that subject" he said. This makes the fourth time in my life that have been very close to death. know I came within hearing distance of the old fellow this trip because his approach la all n b hla
 "One hears beautiful, soft music and everything is extremely jleasant just as heaven should be-"
 Some one asked what make him think he was going to heaven.
 T guess 1t was presumptuous of me, at that" he said.
 Rickenbacker revealed that he had ''got mad" many times during the ordeal, because of pickering among the survivors.
 We all got to pickering pretty badly among ourselves and at times, If I hadn't got tough. and shouted them down, am sure several would have cracked completely" he said.
 Rickenbacker, one day after his rescue, was cheerful and rested. His hands were bandaged and his eyes swollen from the days he had spent in the sun.
 His journey to safety was no pleas ure trip, Lieut., William F. Eadie, a former American Air Lines pilot, found them while flying light, two- scatter patrol plane. Because of rain squalls, he feared the raft would be swmaped. Because of Adamsons condition, he took him into the plane, lashed Rickenbacker and Bar tex to the wings, and taxied 70 miles. A surface craft took of Ricken- packer and Bartek, but Adamson was too weak to be transferred, and the plane taxied 70 miles more to the island with him.