Reviewing history in the military, the Air Force and triumphs and misadventures in airpower. One could say no man loved the seagull more than Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker … and for good reason. The American WWI fighter ace and Medal of Honor recipient was a civilian supporting WWII aboard a B-17D Flying Fortress on Oct. 21, 1942. He was traveling to Hawaii for a base inspection tour when, en route to the refueling point on Canton Island, the aircraft’s faulty navigation forced Rickenbacker and the crew to ditch the aircraft due to fuel exhaustion. The crewmen ended up drifting in life…