SAVED BY THE GULL
During World War II, Captain Eddie Ridenbacker was shot down over the Pacific Ocean. For weeks nothing was heard of him. The newspapers reported his disappearance and across the country thousands of people prayed. Mayor LaGuardia asked the whole city of New York to pray for him. Then he returned. The Sunday papers headlined the news, and in an article, Captain Rickenbacker himself told what had happened. “…And this part I would hesitate to tell,” he wrote, “except that there were six witnesses who saw it with me. A gull came out of nowhere and lighted on my head – I reached up my hand very gently – I killed him and then we divided him equally among us. We ate every bit, even the little bones. Nothing ever tasted so good.” This gull saved the lives of Rickenbacker and his companions. Years later, I asked him to tell me the story personally, because it was through this experience that…
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