as her Chief Officer. Then commanded by Captain George Fried, America was steaming from France to New York. As she battled her way through a major storm, the liner picked up distress signals from Florida. Guided by her radio direction finder, the American ship homed in on the endangered ship and finally sighted the listing vessel through light snow squalls. Taking a position off Florida's weather beam, America lowered her number one lifeboat, commanded by Manning, with a crew of eight men. After the boat had been rowed to within of Florida, Manning had a line thrown across to the crew of the distressed freighter. One by one, the 32 men from the Italian ship came across the rope. By the time the last of them, the ship's captain, had been dragged on board the pitching lifeboat, the winds had reached gale force, with violent snow and rain squalls, with a high, rough, sea running. Then, via ladders, ropes, cargo nets, and two homemade breeches buoys, sailors on board America brought up Florida's survivors, until all 32 were safely aboard. Finally, they pulled their shipmates from the rescue party back on board. Chief Officer Manning was brought up last. On January 28 Captain Fried and the crew of the America were honored in a ticker tape parade. Manning even appeared in a cigarette advertisement. At that time celebrity endorsements were common in tobacco advertising but Manning reputedly was a non-smoker. His interest in navigation and air transport led him to become a pilot in 1930. Manning first met Amelia Earhart in 1928. She was returning from her transatlantic crossing as a passenger on the President Harding and Manning was the master. Close in age and with a mutual interest in aviation, the two became friends en route. In January 1937 the United States Lines granted him a leave of absence to serve as a navigator for Amelia Earhart's attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Manning made extensive preparations for the flight which began on March 17, 1937 from Oakland, California. Earhart's plane was damaged in Honolulu and required extensive repairs. There are conflicting accounts on why Manning left her crew at this point. In one account, Manning was unable to extend his leave of absence and had to return to the United States Lines. Another version claims that he was concerned about her "aggressive" handling of the plane. Earhart would continue