He told his story at 100: he survived a World War II lane rash, spent 11 Hours in the Water With Sharks

Emerson Pell was born in Glasgow, was the second of 11 siblings, and in 1943, at 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy to fight in World War II.

In an article shared in March last year by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Pell, at 100, recounted one of the biggest ordeals he faced during his service: he was in a plane crash and had to spend several hours surrounded by sharks before he was finally rescued.

What was Emerson Pell’s role in the Navy during World War II?

Pell reached the rank of Aviation Machinist Third Class and, according to the account, was part of a 12-member patrol that operated PBM Mariner seaplanes.

During the war, they were tasked with scanning the ocean from the air for German submarines and then attacking them. Pell’s role in that mission was to handle the aircraft’s guns and help repair planes if needed.

His area of operation covered various parts of Central and South America, especially near the Panama Canal and in the Galapagos Islands.

An 11-hour ordeal he survived, surrounded by sharks

During his service, Pell was involved in a plane crash that forced him to spend 11 hours in the water surrounded by sharks.

“We were coming from the Galapagos Islands to the canal area when we started going down and crashed. The engines had water in them; that’s what they theorized,” he explained.

According to his account, the plane hit the ocean surface and bounced before ending up floating. “My job then was to open the hatch on top of the plane and put the life rafts on the wings. But we didn’t need them; the plane floated!” Pell said.

To call for help, the aircraft had a small device to send its location, but because there was no electrical power, they had no way of knowing whether the signal had gotten through.

As time passed, Pell and his fellow crew members began to realize the situation was getting worse and worse: “We could see sharks; I was scared to death,” he said.

After about 11 hours, a destroyer that had left the Panama Canal area and received the distress signal arrived to rescue them.

In 1946, Pell returned to the United States to resume his life. He was married for 64 years, had four children, and died in July 2026 at age 101.