35 Miles from Shore (27 page)

There was now just one survivor left on the slide. Bill lowered the sling but the man had difficulty grabbing onto it in the rough seas. The two pilots became increasingly concerned about their fuel status. The fuel burn increases significantly during a hover. Just when Glenn was about to pull out, Schrader announced over the ICS that he had the last man. The last person rescued was one of the pilots. Bill didn't know if it was the captain or the first officer. He didn't take time to ask. First Officer Harry Evans was the last person rescued.

“We got 'em,” Bill said over the intercom as soon as the man was safely inside the helicopter.

With that, Glenn Warren turned the helicopter around and headed directly for St. Croix. There was some doubt as to whether or not they had enough fuel to make it. The two pilots kept a close eye on the fuel gauges, fully prepared to set down in the water or preferably a highway if necessary. Fortunately, they didn't have to. They landed with less than five minutes of fuel remaining.

A
T THE TIME OF THE DITCHING, THE NEWLY ELECTED
Governor of the Virgin Islands, Melvin H. Evans, was waiting to take a flight on an Antilles Airboat from St. Croix to St. Thomas. Upon hearing news of the accident, he immediately canceled his plans and began coordinating efforts to arrange for medical attention for the survivors.
¹
Governor Evans, a physician himself, drove to the Charles Harwood Memorial Hospital to alert the hospital staff and to pick up medical supplies and equipment before returning to the airport. He used a newly installed Civil Defense communication system to broadcast news of the ditching and to alert local authorities. Volunteers soon began showing up at the airport and at the hospital. Spectators filled the terminal and observation decks. Before the night was through, the crowd at the airport would grow to nearly a thousand people.
²

The first helicopter to arrive in St. Croix was the Coast Guard helicopter piloted by Bill Shields and Carmond Fitzgerald. Two women were taken off the helicopter by stretcher and placed into waiting
ambulances. Wilfred and Hugh didn't require immediate medical attention. Hugh's right knee was bothering him, but he could walk without assistance. Wilfred's only injury was a bruise on his forehead, which he had received from flying debris at the moment of impact. The two became separated in the rush of people. Wilfred was whisked away to a VIP room where someone offered him a pair of work pants. Wilfred accepted the pants gratefully. Now that he was safely back on solid ground he was embarrassed to be walking around in nothing but his shirt and Jockey shorts. Hugh was taken to another room on the second floor of the terminal building.

Captain Balsey DeWitt was one of twenty-six people rescued by the crew of the Navy Sea King helicopter. The fact that he was the first person rescued was a complete coincidence. Had it been up to him, he would have insisted on being rescued last. Balsey did all that he could after being rescued to assist the survivors as they were brought into the helicopter. He continued to show concern for the passengers as he sat in the helicopter on the way to St. Croix. One man complained that he was in a lot of pain. “Just hang on,” Balsey told him. “We're headed to St. Croix. We'll be on the ground shortly.” Balsey noticed an attractive young woman sitting next to him who had a large cut on her face. She was pressing her hand against her forehead. When she let off the pressure, her skin unfolded to reveal the magnitude of her injury. Balsey looked for something to use to temporarily hold the skin in place, but the woman insisted that she was okay.

Once they landed and had taxied to the terminal, one of the pilots turned to Balsey and told him to wait until the others had left. They had apparently gotten word that they were to keep the crewmembers separated from the passengers. Not long after everyone had exited
the helicopter, Balsey was taken to a private room. It was too early at this point to know if there had been any casualties, but Balsey had a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew that they had left one woman's husband behind in the water. He suspected that there might have been people trapped inside the plane. How else could he explain the actions of the male passenger who had attempted to reenter the plane after Balsey had helped him onto the wing? Yet, as strong as his suspicions were, he still held out hope that he was wrong. But then he remembered the two little girls. He hadn't seen the children on the helicopter or at any time while he was in the water. He knew that they would have been the first ones rescued.

Balsey lowered his head and asked for a man of the cloth. He wanted to speak to a clergyman and didn't care what faith. Some time had passed when a man in plain clothes entered the room. Balsey looked but didn't see a collar on the man. When the man started asking questions about the flight, Balsey stopped him and asked if he was a minister. The man avoided answering and began anew with questions about the ditching. Balsey asked to see some identification. When the man hesitated, Balsey grabbed him by the arm and started to go through his pockets. The man backed off and took out his wallet. The first thing Balsey saw was a badge identifying the man as a member of the Press. Balsey told the reporter to leave the room, telling him to pass on word that the only person he wanted to talk to was a priest. “Will you talk to me later?” he asked. “Don't push it,” Balsey said as he escorted him out of the room.

Eventually, Balsey did get to speak with a priest—a Father Gow from St. John's Anglican Church. Balsey told the priest that he had caused some people their untimely death. The priest did his best to console him, telling him to not question the actions of God. Together they prayed for those who had not survived.

Tobias Cordeiro had not been injured in the ditching, despite the fact that he had been sitting unrestrained on the life raft at the time of impact.
*
He was in the water around the slide when the first Coast Guard helicopter arrived. Tobias spotted Wilfred sitting in the helicopter. At least he knew that Wilfred was safe. Seeing Wilfred gave him some hope that maybe Margareth survived as well.

Tobias was eventually picked up by the second Coast Guard helicopter. He agreed to go only after he was assured that no injured passengers remained in the water. Once he landed at St. Croix, he immediately set out to look for Margareth. He squinted as he scanned the large crowd standing in front of the terminal building. He couldn't see very well due to the low light and the fact that he had lost his glasses in the water. When he didn't spot her, he asked some of the people on the ramp if anyone had seen the stewardess from the plane. No one had seen her. He was given a cursory examination, then led to a waiting room where he met up with Wilfred. A short time later, both he and Wilfred were taken to the Estate Carlton Hotel and Condominium complex in Fredericksted, St. Croix, where each was given a private room.

As soon as Wilfred Spencer got to his room, he called his wife Marlene. She was in tears. She had been informed of the accident by someone from ALM, but the person who called didn't have any details. “I'm in St. Croix,” Wilfred told his wife. “I am together with Tito. Call his family and tell them that Tito is all right.” Wilfred could still hear his wife trying to hold back the tears. “Listen,” he said
in a softened voice, “we have one problem. We are missing Margareth. Tell her family that we are looking for her but that she is not with us at this moment.”

Harry Evans was the last person rescued. He had performed admirably as the ranking crewmember at the slide, organizing the rescue effort from the surface and assisting passengers into the rescue sling. Several of the rescuers would later single him out for his help in the rescue. By the time Harry landed in St. Croix, it was nearly dark. He was brought to a room where Balsey and Hugh had been waiting. All three placed calls home. Balsey also took a call from ONA. Bill Bailey was on the other end. Balsey talked to him briefly but was too emotionally drained to provide details about the accident.

Harry removed his wallet and started going through the soaked contents. He pulled out a fishing license and joked about having to replace it after just getting it a few days earlier. It was an awkward time for the three men. They could only guess at what repercussions lay ahead. Each of them replayed the events in their own minds, searching for what they might have done differently to change the outcome. No one talked about the accident. There would be plenty of time for that later.

At one point a reporter was allowed to speak with the crew. When the reporter mentioned to Balsey that several of the passengers had praised him for the “beautiful” job he had done in ditching the plane, Balsey responded by saying: “Not beautiful enough. People were lost.”

Some time around seven or eight that night, after all the ambulances were gone and the rescue helicopters were no longer taking off and landing, the three crewmembers were driven to the same
hotel and condominium complex where Wilfred and Tobias were staying. None of them had received injuries serious enough to require medical attention. Balsey didn't even ask for a Band-Aid for his hand, which was still stinging from the salt water. When they got to the hotel, they met briefly in Balsey's room. It was the first time since the accident that they felt free to discuss what had happened.

Harry was first to broach the subject. “We need to get our stories straight,” he said, glancing up at Balsey and Hugh to gauge their reaction.

“We don't need to get anything straight, Harry,” Balsey said. “You tell it just the way you saw it. We're a crew. We don't have to make up any Goddamn stories.” That was the last time anything was said about the accident that night.
*

Jeannie Larmony was one of the first people rescued from the slide. She was picked up by the Navy helicopter. Jeannie was fortunate to get one of the last spots on the canvas troop seat. Those who came after her were not so lucky. While the survivors were grateful to have been rescued, the ride inside the helicopter was an uncomfortable one. They had been packed into the helicopter so tightly that there was barely room to breathe. They were cold and wet and practically sitting on top of each other. Most were still wearing their inflated life vests, which restricted movement even further. Adding to their discomfort was the air inside the helicopter, which smelled of a malodorous combination of vomit, blood, wet hair, and damp clothes.

When they landed at St. Croix, they were immediately met by paramedics and other medical personnel. Photographers lit up the ramp with their cameras as the survivors were directed to waiting
ambulances. Jeannie was one of the last people out of the helicopter. There was no ambulance waiting to take her to the hospital. There was only one hospital on St. Croix and what few ambulances they had were already in use. Fortunately, volunteers offered to drive the survivors to the hospital in their private vehicles. Two men volunteered to take Jeannie. They placed her in the back seat. It was a long, bumpy ride to the hospital. Jeannie felt every pothole in the road. Eventually they caught up with one of the ambulances. The main road to the hospital was a narrow two-lane highway. Not everyone on the island had heard of the accident. More than a few vehicles failed to give way to the ambulances, despite the flashing lights and sirens.

Jeannie had hardly made it through the front door of the hospital when she was approached by a medical team who quickly removed her clothing to check for injuries. Jeannie complained that her neck and back were hurting. The doctors put a collar around her neck and treated the injuries to her back before moving on to other survivors. Had they done a more thorough examination, they would have discovered that Jeannie also had two broken ribs. This would not be discovered until days later when her own doctor examined her upon her return to New York.

Jeannie learned from one of the nurses that there was a gentleman in a nearby room who had asked about her. It was Walter Hodge, the man she had spoken to while boarding in New York. Walter had some serious injuries of his own and was unable to get out of bed. He had remembered his brief talk with Jeannie and was concerned about her condition.

When Israel Kruger reached the hospital in Christianstead, his main concern was to find his wife. Like several other couples aboard ALM
980, Israel and Toby had become separated during the rescue. Other than blurry vision and a swollen ankle, Israel didn't seem to have sustained any serious injuries. Before he could inquire about Toby, the nurses rushed him into an examining room. When the doctor performing the exam felt around his ribs, Israel let out a yell. An x-ray revealed three fractured ribs. As soon as the doctors were finished wrapping him up, Israel set off to look for Toby.

The Charles Harwood Memorial Hospital was a small three-story building with approximately fifty beds. As news of the accident spread, several patients voluntarily gave up their hospital beds. Hundreds of volunteers lined up to donate blood. The survivors had been separated into groups of males and females. Israel found Toby in a room with several other women survivors. She was so glad to see him that she immediately stood up and embraced him. Israel winced in pain and pointed to his sore ribs. Toby had escaped the ordeal totally unscathed.

Emerson Ussery had only a few bruises from having been thrown against the bulkhead and into the cockpit door. He also had a sore back that had been giving him problems from the moment he first entered the water. The pain in his back was aggravated further when he was struck from behind by a rescue basket as he tried to assist another passenger in the water. Emerson was eventually picked up by the second Coast Guard helicopter.

Emerson lived on St. Croix and was well known. He was a major employer on the island, as well as a sponsor for numerous local events and charities. After landing in St. Croix, Emerson spotted Governor Melvin Evans, whom he knew, and headed toward him.