World War II – Rickenbacker’s Plane Goes Down

October 21, 1942

U.S. Navy pilot Eddie Rickenbacker‘s plane goes down in the South Pacific. He and two of his crew drifted on a raft for three weeks before they were rescued. Rickenbacker, with 26 aerial victories in World War I and known as “The Ace of Aces”, was the most decorated American pilot of the war.
Rickenbacker’s experience resulted in every Navy life raft being equipped with an emergency fishing kit.