Leading up to October 21, 1942,
Captain Eddie Rickenbacker (of WWI fame) had been asked by Secretary of War
Stinson (at the request of President FDR) to personally deliver a secret
message to General Douglas MacArthur in the South Pacific. A hurried flight was
organized from Hickam Field, Oahu using an old B-17 piloted by Captain William
Cherry and Copilot Lt. James Whittaker. After crashing that plane on take-off,
another was found and the flight got underway late at night.
The trip to Canton Island (first stop, 1,800 miles away) progressed to a point where they should have seen the island. A letdown in altitude and search was started to no avail. The crew decided to ditch in the water before fuel ran out. The pilots made a water landing in rough seas, but all survived – some with injuries. There were three life rafts (two 5-man, and one 2-man) that had to accommodate seven crew and passengers.
They floated for 24 days with little to nothing to eat when Whittaker and two others landed on the island of Motulalo, (largest island of Nukufetau atoll) in the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu).
Rickenbacker and the others were picked up the next day by floatplane and boats from Funifuti, Ellice Islands – some 60 miles away.
When we moved down to the forward area (Motulalo Island, Nukufetau Atoll) on November 14, 1943, it was only natural after getting settled, to explore the surroundings of our new home. In the process of doing so, we came upon two native boys who understood and spoke some English. They told us of finding an American flyer a year earlier sitting propped up against a palm tree. They took us to the spot where he was found which was close to the water.
They had opened coconuts for him to drink and eat. It turned out the flyer was Whittaker (CP). The boys notified their elders and rescue was made.
The trip to Canton Island (first stop, 1,800 miles away) progressed to a point where they should have seen the island. A letdown in altitude and search was started to no avail. The crew decided to ditch in the water before fuel ran out. The pilots made a water landing in rough seas, but all survived – some with injuries. There were three life rafts (two 5-man, and one 2-man) that had to accommodate seven crew and passengers.
They floated for 24 days with little to nothing to eat when Whittaker and two others landed on the island of Motulalo, (largest island of Nukufetau atoll) in the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu).
Rickenbacker and the others were picked up the next day by floatplane and boats from Funifuti, Ellice Islands – some 60 miles away.
When we moved down to the forward area (Motulalo Island, Nukufetau Atoll) on November 14, 1943, it was only natural after getting settled, to explore the surroundings of our new home. In the process of doing so, we came upon two native boys who understood and spoke some English. They told us of finding an American flyer a year earlier sitting propped up against a palm tree. They took us to the spot where he was found which was close to the water.
They had opened coconuts for him to drink and eat. It turned out the flyer was Whittaker (CP). The boys notified their elders and rescue was made.