Lost in the Pacific 1942

“‘It’s sure been swell knowing you, Bill,’ he said offering his hand.

Cherry gripped his co-pilot’s hand for a second, and then said in his Texas drawl, ‘You’re going to know me a long time yet, Jim.’” 

This exchange between the two pilots, Cherry and Whittaker, shows the difference between their personalities. It also shows the formality and camaraderie that exists in the military. Though the men are in a crashing plane, they still take the time to shake hands and acknowledge their bond.  

“It was so peaceful in the Hawaiian sun that Jim Whittaker had trouble imagining the violence that had torn this place apart ten months ago when the Japanese had launched a surprise attack.”

World War II and the bombing of Pearl Harbor exist as a backdrop to this story. This quote shows that even for an Army pilot like Whittaker, recent disasters like Pearl Harbor can seem remote on peaceful, sunny days. 

“Cherry was too proud to back down from a challenge, so they all got ready to fly. Whatever this mission was, Bartek figured, it must be important to somebody.” 

The B-17 crewmembers believed that they were going on vacation, and they were told only at the last minute that they were going to transport a VIP, Colonel Eddie Rickenbacker, on a top-secret mission. As an Army pilot, Cherry believed that refusing to pilot the flight would make him look weak and be bad for his career. This was a decision that affected all of them.  

“In October 1942, the two sides, Allies versus Axis, sat balanced on a deadly seesaw.” 

The standoff between the United States and the Japanese is the backdrop of the men’s ordeal at sea. The Japanese have recently bombed Pearl Harbor and control much of the Pacific. This backdrop is both distant and close to the men during their ordeal. They worry constantly about how close they are to the Gilbert Islands, which are controlled by the Japanese.

“Rickenbacker knew more than a few Allied secrets—not just about Pacific bases, but about plans for one of the biggest surprise attacks of the war.” 

Rickenbacker’s worries during the men’s trial at sea are on a different scale than those of the other crewmembers. He is not only worried about their own security, but also about the security of his country. Because he is privy to Allied secrets, like the Allies’ plan to attack the Axis Powers in North Africa, he has a responsibility not to give up these secrets. Therefore, he fears being found and taken prisoner by Japanese military men, who may force him to talk. 

“All their careful preparation had been wiped from memory by the force of the impact.”

These men have coped with their crashing plane with an impressive amount of efficiency and teamwork. However, nothing can prepare them for the plane’s actual crash, the shock of their survival, and the reality of their being lost at sea. This quote shows that military personnel have to prepare for the unimaginable. 

“The ocean was a vast and lonely place. Better to face it together than apart.” 

These men are forced into uncomfortable proximity due to their situation as castaways. At the same time, this proximity is often an unspoken solace against the uncertainty and enormity of what they are facing. 

“The simple fact of survival made the world look hopeful.” 

The story of the men in the downed B-17 involves a lot of disaster and bad luck, but it also involves a lot of good luck. Their plane crashes, but they survive the crash. They are lost at sea for three weeks, but they are ultimately found in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Their survival becomes a sign of hope not only to them, but also to the American people during wartime. 

“As the sun sank toward the horizon, the men shifted and squirmed and got ready for a night at sea. Rickenbacker suggested they keep watch in two-hour shifts. To keep spirits up, he offered $100 to the first man who spotted a ship, a plane, or an island.” 

This quote shows that Rickenbacker’s role as group leader did not merely involve haranguing the crew. It also involved boosting their spirits in creative and thoughtful ways. There is an implication in Rickenbacker’s promise that the men will be found soon since they obviously have no need for money in their immediate situation.  

“Eddie Rickenbacker was convinced of one thing above all others. There was only one person he could rely on, and that was Eddie Rickenbacker.” 

Rickenbacker’s extreme self-reliance, which comes from his hardscrabble background, can be both a strength and a weakness. It can be a motivational force for the men around him, but it can also make him insensitive and inflexible. 

“There was no point in saying it, but the thought was in the air like the whine of a mosquito: If Rickenbacker hadn’t been in such a hurry, they would be safely en route from Canton to the western Pacific right now.” 

While Rickenbacker helps to keep the men together during their time at sea, he is also partially responsible for the plane crash that stranded them in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This is what many of the crew members secretly believe, and it is one reason why they often chafe under his leadership. 

“Her name was Amelia Earhart, and she was never heard from again.” 

It is likely that the men’s plane has crashed in the same area of the Pacific Ocean as Amelia Earhart’s plane did years ago. While the men aren’t aware of this, Americans who read newspapers are. The coincidence gives the news of their plane crash an unwanted symbolic resonance. 

“Rickenbacker’s speech to the men took on a different tone this morning. ‘You might as well sit down and prepare for a long ride,’ he told them.” 

Rickenbacker comes to believe, along with the other crew members, that they will not be found for a long time. Therefore, his role as the group’s leader changes from giving the men short-term orders and tasks to helping them overcome long-term stoicism and passivity. He is not suggesting that they give up. Rickenbacker merely implies that they should change their expectations. 

“They had fishhooks and line, but without food they had no bait, and without bait they had no food.” 

This quote shows the frustratingly circular nature of the men’s starvation at sea. They must have food in order to catch fish. 

“Here they were, eight members of the smartest species on Earth […] But out here it was all meaningless.” 

Bartek is frustrated, like the other castaways, by how useless his specialized training as an engineer is in their very simple yet impossible situation. The men are starving on rafts in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and they must rely on luck, not skill, to find food. It is also, in part, simple bad luck that has caused their plane to crash. Bartek has already had experience with untimely and random tragedies; his sister Ruth died of a concussion she got while roller skating. All of this causes him to ruminate on man’s helplessness.  

“The practice was common enough that it was part of an unwritten code known as the Custom of the Sea.” 

The practice that is being referred to here is cannibalism. The crew members are aware of other stranded men who gave into the practice, such as the men who sailed on the whale ship Essex in 1820. They are determined not to resort to cannibalism themselves. But the fact that they are aware of it as a last resort—and that the practice even has a semi-official nickname—shows the gulf between military life and civilian life. 

“According to the papers, Eddie was a role model. He was a hero at a time when Americans desperately needed heroes. He stood for values that seemed especially important to a nation at war.” 

Rickenbacker is a public figure, and a symbol of American resilience and courage. Viewed from this distance, his character seems heroic and not rigid or difficult. Many of the qualities that make him a challenging raft mate for the other crew members also make the American people revere him.  

“During the day, they lay in a stupor, hiding from the sun and praying for night to fall. At night they huddled together for warmth and wished for day to come.” 

Two of the most difficult aspects of the men’s time at sea is how monotonous their lives become and the frequent challenges they face. This quote shows how these capable men are reduced, over time, to simply praying for experiences to end. 

“Bartek even freed himself from the constraints of military rank for a while. After all, Colonel Rickenbacker drank from the same Very cartridge that Private Bartek peed in. Bartek started calling the old man ‘Rick.’” 

Throughout the majority of their ordeal, the men have been careful to maintain military protocol and to think of themselves as an organized unit. The fact that this protocol begins to break down—to the point of a private addressing a colonel by his first name—is a significant sign of their hopelessness and deterioration. 

“The complaints drew the same reaction from Rickenbacker every time: pure, blunt rage. The outbursts were shaped by the world Rickenbacker lived in—a world run by men.” 

As a World War I veteran and a war hero, Rickenbacker comes from a more rigidly masculine culture than the other crew members. He believes in self-reliance and toughness, and he is impatient to the point of fury with any sign of complaining or weakness.  

“On the rafts, the men almost never mentioned the war.” 

During their time on the rafts, the men are generally too preoccupied with their isolation and immediate survival to think about the backdrop of World War II. At the same time, they are stranded in the Pacific Ocean as a direct consequence of the war. This is why both their disappearance and their rescue resonances so strongly with Americans.  

“Bartek thought it was American—a navy Kingfisher with pontoons and a single engine. But at this point, no one cared if it was Emperor Tojo of Japan himself.”

The crewmembers have long stopped thinking of themselves as soldiers by the time they are spotted by a rescue plane. They simply want immediate relief from their situation. 

“Rickenbacker growled at his raft mates until they wanted to survive, if for no other reason than to see him put in his grave.” 

While Rickenbacker is often a demanding and difficult raft mate, his tirades serve a psychological purpose as well as a practical one. They cause the other crewmembers to focus on their resentment of him instead of the seeming hopelessness of their situation.