Bidspirit auction | EDWARD V. RICKENBACKER''S MONOGRAM WATCH

EDWARD V. RICKENBACKER''S MONOGRAM WATCH FOB, CARRIED WHILE ON A LIFE RAFT FOR 21 DAYS - EDWARD V. RICKENBACKER (1890-1973) American aviator and World War I ace credited with 26 ”kills”, later president of Eastern Air Lines. A fine historic relic, Rickenbacker's monogram watch fob kept by him during his 21-day ordeal on a life raft at sea. The 1 in. wide silver fob is engraved with his initials ”E R V” and was obtained by the father of our consignor directly from Rickenbacker's son, WILLIAM F. RICKENBACKER. The relic is accompanied by an original notarized letter of provenance from Rickenbacker's son, 1989. Fine. In late 1942 Secretary of War Henry Stimson and Army Air Forces chief of staff General Henry H. 'Hap' Arnold asked 52-year-old airline executive Edward ”Eddie” Rickenbacker to travel to the Pacific theater to evaluate and report on the status of U.S. Army Air Forces combat units stationed there. On Oct. 20, 1942, heclimbed aboard a B-17 in Hawaii bound for Canton Island, 1,800 miles to the south. Due to a faulty octant, the plane flew off course, ran out of fuel and ditched into the Pacific. There followed 21 days on a cramped lifeboat at sea, and the deaths of some of the crew. Rickenbacker, as senior officer, kept the men's spirits up while using his skills as a leader to improvise methods to ensure their survival.