Lost In The Pacific May 2026

: They survived by catching rainwater and eating small fish or birds. In one famous instance, a seagull landed on Rickenbacker's head, which he caught and used for both food and bait.

On October 21, 1942, during World War II, a B-17 Flying Fortress carrying Colonel Eddie Rickenbacker on a secret fact-finding mission for the Pentagon strayed hundreds of miles off course. Unable to find their refueling stop at Canton Island, the crew was forced to ditch the plane in a remote part of the Central Pacific. Lost in the Pacific

: Eight men—including Rickenbacker, his aide, and a five-man crew—scrambled into three small inflatable rafts. : They survived by catching rainwater and eating