Pursuing Amelia - Cold Case For a Hot Lady
by Susan Scharfman
Lost
After taking off from Lae, New Guinea on the last leg of her around the world flight, Amelia Earhart and her navigator friend Fred Noonan disappeared while trying to find tiny Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean. Photos taken just before takeoff reveal an ailing and exhausted Earhart. It was July 1937. They'd already traveled 22,000 miles and had 7,000 miles remaining, all of it across the Pacific Ocean. If you've ever crossed the Pacific in a ship, you know the sheer magnitude of this unforgiving expanse of water.
While traveling to Japan aboard the SS President Wilson I witnessed a once in a lifetime phenomenon, the birth of an island. On a moonless night where ocean and sky coalesced, a volcano erupted from beneath the ocean floor, spewing fire and lava into the night sky. The beginnings of an atoll, it was one of those moments when you feel very small and insignificant. I cannot conceive of the audacity of Earhart and Noonan making that long lonely crossing over that colossal body of water in that tiny aircraft. Earhart wrote a book called "The Fun of It." Maybe that defines her.
Chasing a Ghost
In November of 2012, on a tiny Pacific atoll now called Nikumaroro, The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) reported finding parts of an aircraft they said could be from Earhart's Lockheed Electra. The team headed by Rick Gillespie returned to the island in July 2013 with no substantial findings. Gillespie has been chasing Amelia’s ghost for years, fund raising for expeditions and attempting to keep public interest alive. I admire anyone with the determination and tenacity of a Rick Gillespie. But with ocean currents and dollar currency flowing against the tide, any possible clues to what happened to Amelia Earhart will continue to remain conjecture.
A Diary
The most intriguing angle of this very cold case is the emergence of the diary of 23-year-old James Carey, an Associated Press reporter who took notes while the radio crew of the US Coast Guard Cutter Itasca was trying to contact Earhart and guide her to Howland Island. Included in the diary is a shortwave distress call: "This is Amelia Earhart ..." A portion of Itasca’s log reveals the following: “Amelia’s signal on direction finder showed she was northwest of the island.” Had she overshot?
A member of the TIGHAR team saw a copy of the diary for sale on eBay and bought it for $26. James Carey has died, but his son Tim Carey verifies the diary, which he says is part of his family history. According to the diary, the Itasca could hear Amelia's distinctive Kansas voice, but she could not hear them or their code signals. Conventional wisdom says she and Fred Noonan were unaware they'd lost their outside radio-reception antenna during takeoff from the Lae Airport in New Guinea, and that would prove disastrous.
Facts vs. Rumors
As a young child I’d hear the Earhart buzz around the dinner table. Over decades the press churned out rumors. Amelia Earhart was sent by President Roosevelt to spy on the Japanese. Amelia and Fred Noonan were romantically involved; they crash-landed on an island and showed up in New Jersey. Natives reported seeing them captive in the hands of the Japanese. Their twin-engine Lockheed Electra ran out of fuel and fell into the Pacific. Noonan was a drunk and should never have gone with her.
As the stories grew, so did the legend. Bones were found that eventually proved not to be theirs. As for Fred Noonan, he did have a drinking problem, but he was a veteran of Pan American Airways with a sterling reputation as the best navigator in the business.
Woman of Firsts
Feminist icon before there were feminists, aviation editor at Cosmopolitan Magazine, book author, first woman to solo the Atlantic west to east, first woman to fly non-stop across the U.S., a zillion other firsts and groundbreaking awards including the Distinguished Flying Cross. Earhart intended to be the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. Instead, she inspired books, motion pictures and people who wanted to believe she was alive somewhere—anywhere. As a young woman my first set of luggage had her name on it.
She Married a Man Just Like Her
Earhart's husband was explorer, author and publisher George P. Putnam. They had been lovers when she finally broke her engagement to another man to marry him. An unconventional extrovert, Putnam was promoter par excellence. He became Amelia’s personal manager, organized all her races and record-breaking flights including her fateful finale. A mid-1970s television movie about Earhart and Putnam featured Susan Clark and John Forsythe in a believable portrayal of their lives and her role as an advocate for women in the work place.
Not surprisingly, Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt whom she taught to fly, were pals.
Seventy-seven years later, while the Lockheed Electra radio is silent, the haunting USCGC Itasca signals linger along with an unresolved flight into history. (· · · – – – · · ·) SOS
Lost
After taking off from Lae, New Guinea on the last leg of her around the world flight, Amelia Earhart and her navigator friend Fred Noonan disappeared while trying to find tiny Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean. Photos taken just before takeoff reveal an ailing and exhausted Earhart. It was July 1937. They'd already traveled 22,000 miles and had 7,000 miles remaining, all of it across the Pacific Ocean. If you've ever crossed the Pacific in a ship, you know the sheer magnitude of this unforgiving expanse of water.
While traveling to Japan aboard the SS President Wilson I witnessed a once in a lifetime phenomenon, the birth of an island. On a moonless night where ocean and sky coalesced, a volcano erupted from beneath the ocean floor, spewing fire and lava into the night sky. The beginnings of an atoll, it was one of those moments when you feel very small and insignificant. I cannot conceive of the audacity of Earhart and Noonan making that long lonely crossing over that colossal body of water in that tiny aircraft. Earhart wrote a book called "The Fun of It." Maybe that defines her.
Chasing a Ghost
In November of 2012, on a tiny Pacific atoll now called Nikumaroro, The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) reported finding parts of an aircraft they said could be from Earhart's Lockheed Electra. The team headed by Rick Gillespie returned to the island in July 2013 with no substantial findings. Gillespie has been chasing Amelia’s ghost for years, fund raising for expeditions and attempting to keep public interest alive. I admire anyone with the determination and tenacity of a Rick Gillespie. But with ocean currents and dollar currency flowing against the tide, any possible clues to what happened to Amelia Earhart will continue to remain conjecture.
A Diary
The most intriguing angle of this very cold case is the emergence of the diary of 23-year-old James Carey, an Associated Press reporter who took notes while the radio crew of the US Coast Guard Cutter Itasca was trying to contact Earhart and guide her to Howland Island. Included in the diary is a shortwave distress call: "This is Amelia Earhart ..." A portion of Itasca’s log reveals the following: “Amelia’s signal on direction finder showed she was northwest of the island.” Had she overshot?
A member of the TIGHAR team saw a copy of the diary for sale on eBay and bought it for $26. James Carey has died, but his son Tim Carey verifies the diary, which he says is part of his family history. According to the diary, the Itasca could hear Amelia's distinctive Kansas voice, but she could not hear them or their code signals. Conventional wisdom says she and Fred Noonan were unaware they'd lost their outside radio-reception antenna during takeoff from the Lae Airport in New Guinea, and that would prove disastrous.
Facts vs. Rumors
As a young child I’d hear the Earhart buzz around the dinner table. Over decades the press churned out rumors. Amelia Earhart was sent by President Roosevelt to spy on the Japanese. Amelia and Fred Noonan were romantically involved; they crash-landed on an island and showed up in New Jersey. Natives reported seeing them captive in the hands of the Japanese. Their twin-engine Lockheed Electra ran out of fuel and fell into the Pacific. Noonan was a drunk and should never have gone with her.
As the stories grew, so did the legend. Bones were found that eventually proved not to be theirs. As for Fred Noonan, he did have a drinking problem, but he was a veteran of Pan American Airways with a sterling reputation as the best navigator in the business.
Woman of Firsts
Feminist icon before there were feminists, aviation editor at Cosmopolitan Magazine, book author, first woman to solo the Atlantic west to east, first woman to fly non-stop across the U.S., a zillion other firsts and groundbreaking awards including the Distinguished Flying Cross. Earhart intended to be the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. Instead, she inspired books, motion pictures and people who wanted to believe she was alive somewhere—anywhere. As a young woman my first set of luggage had her name on it.
She Married a Man Just Like Her
Earhart's husband was explorer, author and publisher George P. Putnam. They had been lovers when she finally broke her engagement to another man to marry him. An unconventional extrovert, Putnam was promoter par excellence. He became Amelia’s personal manager, organized all her races and record-breaking flights including her fateful finale. A mid-1970s television movie about Earhart and Putnam featured Susan Clark and John Forsythe in a believable portrayal of their lives and her role as an advocate for women in the work place.
Not surprisingly, Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt whom she taught to fly, were pals.
Seventy-seven years later, while the Lockheed Electra radio is silent, the haunting USCGC Itasca signals linger along with an unresolved flight into history. (· · · – – – · · ·) SOS