Creator	Boutte, Lester H., 1920-1995
Title	Lester Boutte Papers
Description	Lester Boutte served in the United States Navy as an aviation radioman and rear gunner on a floating seaplane in the South Pacific during the World War II. At dusk on November 12, 1942, Boutte and Lieutenant W. F. Eadie rescued Captain Eddie Rickenbacker and two other soldiers floating in a raft near the island of Nukufetau in the Funafuti Atoll. Following the war, Boutte took part in the sea recovery of the first American Astronauts to be launched into space. Contains correspondence, photographs and photocopies of printed material relating to Captain Lester Boutte's rescue of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker in 1942. Includes information from the 1985 Ames, Iowa reunion of Boutte and the men he rescued.
Date	1942-1995
Time Period	1942-1995
LC Subject Headings	Boutte, Lester H., 1920-1995 Rickenbacker, Eddie, 1890-1973 World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Ocean--Personal narratives, American Rescues--Tuvalu--Funafuti Atoll
EOA Categories	Government & Politics -- Military Peoples -- Military Life History -- 1929-1945: The Great Depression and World War II
Type	Text
Format	PDF
Record Group	RG 0526
File Name	0526-99-0036cb.pdf
Link to catalog	http://aubiecat.auburn.edu/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=2048918
Repository	Auburn University. Special Collections and Archives
Digital Publisher	Auburn University Libraries
Language	eng
Rights	This finding aid is the property of the Auburn University Libraries and is intended for non-commercial use. Users are asked to acknowledge the Auburn University Libraries. For information and questions about the collection described in this finding aid, please contact the Auburn University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Department at archives@auburn.edu or (334) 844-1732.
Submitted by	Coates, Midge