Frozen in Time (33 page)

J
AMES
M
C
D
ONOUGH
—
A lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Department of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, or DPMO, who was a primary contact for Lou Sapienza as he planned the Duck Hunt.

E
DWARD
“B
UD
” R
ICHARDSON
—
Stepson of Benjamin Bottoms and an important supporter of the effort to find the Duck and the men it carried.

L
OU
S
APIENZA
—
The son of a U.S. Navy veteran from World War II, Lou spent years as a commercial photographer before volunteering for three missions to Greenland to find a lost P-38 fighter plane known as
Glacier Girl
. Eventually that led him to a years-long effort to find the lost Grumman Duck. He led the 2010 and 2012 recovery expeditions to Greenland.

R
YAN
S
APIENZA
—
A member of the Duck Hunt expedition of 2012, Ryan Sapienza served as keeper of the expedition log and aide-de-camp. He is Lou’s son.

R
OBERT
“W
EE
G
EE
” S
MITH
—
A member of the Duck Hunt expedition of 2012, Smith oversaw logistics and operated the Hotsy water pressure unit used to explore anomalies beneath the glacier at Koge Bay. A veteran of Greenland expeditions in search of World War II planes, he builds and repairs rally race cars in Vermont.

M
ARC
S
TORCH
—
Cousin by marriage of Loren “Lolly” Howarth and keeper of Howarth’s Legion of Merit.

D
ONALD
T
AUB
—
A retired Coast Guard captain who served in Greenland, Taub played a major role in researching the events from November 1942 to May 1943, and served as a historical adviser on this book.

W. R. “B
IL
” T
HUMA
—
A member of the Duck Hunt expedition of 2012, Thuma served as an authority on geophysics. Thuma is a consultant who markets technology for natural resource exploration around the world.

R
OB
T
UCKER
—
A member of the Duck Hunt expedition of 2012, Tucker is a lieutenant commander in the Coast Guard, based in Washington. A pilot, Tucker served as second-in-command to Jim Blow on the Coast Guard expedition team.

Acknowledgments

I
T’S A POWERFUL
and unsettling experience to be drawn into the orbit of someone possessed by an impossible dream. At times I wondered if Lou Sapienza would awake and abandon his quixotic plan to find three airmen entombed in a glacier. Or maybe he’d suffer one too many sacrifices and surrender to self-preservation. But no matter how many setbacks Lou faced, nothing deterred him. The Duck Hunt expedition was the accomplishment of a rare and remarkable man. If I’m ever lost, I hope that Lou decides that I need to be found.

I’m profoundly indebted to Commander Jim Blow of the U.S. Coast Guard. He made countless essential contributions to the Duck Hunt and to this book, and he welcomed me on the mission with respect and kindness. I admire his leadership and value his friendship. As I say elsewhere, he’s a gentleman.

Deep thanks to all my expedition mates, several of whom offered valuable comments on the manuscript. I hope that the friendships we made will endure as long as the memories. In alphabetical order: Alberto Behar, John Bradley, Nick Bratton, Michelle Brinsko, Jetta Disco, Jaana Gustafsson, Ken Harman, Steve Katz, Terri Lisman, Frank Marley, Ryan Sapienza, Bil Thuma, and Rob Tucker. A special shout-out to my friend Robert “WeeGee” Smith, with whom I shared one of the most extraordinary moments of my life.

Retired master chief petty officer John Long was a tireless researcher and an unflagging advocate for the families of John Pritchard, Ben Bottoms, and Loren Howarth. This book is marbled with his insights and contributions.

Three retired Coast Guard captains played key roles in this book. Don Taub spent years investigating these events: he tracked down participants, analyzed innumerable documents, and corrected mistakes made in earlier accounts. Thomas C. King Jr., who kick-started the Duck Hunt, provided essential help as I began this project. Charles Dorian sent me the rare photographs he took as an ensign aboard the
Northland
during the fall of 1942. His tales of life aboard ship were invaluable.

I’m thankful to the family members of the heroes whose stories are told here. Trusting me with their loved ones’ reputations, they shared documents, photos, and insight into these remarkable men. Thank you, Nancy Pritchard Morgan Krause, who brought to life her late brother, John Pritchard; Edward “Bud” Richardson, who reached into his childhood memories to describe his stepfather, Benjamin Bottoms; and Marc Storch and Jerry Howarth, who shared stories of Loren Howarth.

Thanks also to Pete Tucciarone, who told me loving anecdotes about his father, Alexander “Al” Tucciarone; Reba Greathead and Eric Langhorst, who enlightened me about her father and his grandfather-in-law, Clarence Wedel; Robert Best, who made me feel as though I knew his father, Alfred “Clint” Best; Jean Gaffney, daughter of Paul Spina, who shared his priceless forty-page account of his ordeal; Patricia O’Hara, daughter of William “Bill” O’Hara, who regaled me with tales of his toughness; Nancy Dunlop, daughter of PBY pilot Bernard Dunlop; and Carol Sue Spencer Podraza, daughter of Harry Spencer, whose vivid stories and delightful way of telling them made every conversation a pleasure.

Among the historians, librarians, and archivists who helped me were two who went above and beyond: Coast Guard historian Robert M. Browning Jr., PhD, and William H. Thiesen, PhD, Atlantic Area Coast Guard historian. Thanks also to Martina Soden of the Scranton, Pennsylvania, Public Library; Karen Kortbein of the Wausaukee, Wisconsin, Public Library; and Mark C. Mollan, archivist in the Navy/Maritime Reference section at the National Archives and Records Administration. My graduate assistant, Sarah Testa, devised a filing system for my research that imposed order on chaos. Thanks to Evan Caughey for creating a sparkling website.

Chuck Greenhill, owner of the last flying Grumman Duck model J2F-4, and Duck enthusiast Bill Floten shared their deep knowledge of the wonderful little plane. In Aaron Bennet, Lou Sapienza found a true partner and a match for his relentlessness. Deep thanks to Jim and Nancy Bildner, who generously supported this effort.

Every author should have Richard Abate as an agent. Actually, scratch that, because then I’d have to wait longer for his wise counsel and great humor. His contributions to this book and to my career are too many to list. There’s no female equivalent of
mensch
, so I propose
claire
, as long as it’s first applied to my editor, Claire Wachtel. I’m only sorry that she didn’t join me on the ice.

In my last book I thanked Jonathan Burnham at HarperCollins for everything; now double that. Double it again for Michael Morrison. If she’d abandon her allegiance to the Giants, publicist extraordinaire Kate Blum would be perfect. Kathy Schneider, Tina Andreadis, and Leah Wasielewski move heaven and earth with grace and charm. Miranda Ottewell’s unerring eye kept my copy clean. Doug Jones and his team are the best in the business. Special thanks to Melissa Kahn at 3Arts and to Elizabeth Perrella at HarperCollins, for taking such good care of me and my work.

At Boston University, I’m grateful to my students for challenging and invigorating me, and to Dean Tom Fiedler; Chairman Bill McKeen; and journalism professors Bob Zelnick, Lou Ureneck, Chris Daly, Susan Walker, Nick Mills, Elizabeth Mehren, Rob Manoff, Peter Southwick, Jon Klarfeld, Michelle Johnson, and R. D. Sahl, among many others.

I’m fortunate to have close friends who’d be first-rate company in the tail section of a B-17: confidant and coconspirator Brian McGrory; Dan Field; Colleen Granahan; Isabelle Granahan-Field; Eliza Granahan-Field, to whom this book is secretly dedicated; Bill, Ruth, and Emily Weinstein; my oldest friend, Jeff Feigelson, whose advice on the manuscript and legal matters is deeply appreciated; my partner in crime and class, Dick Lehr; Chris Callahan; Naftali Bendavid; Kathryn Altman; Helene Atwan; Joann Muller; and the late Wilbur Doctor. A nod to the memory of a loyal and loving pal named Briggs. He would have loved Koge.

The competition of our youth has mellowed, but I’ll always be trying to impress my brother, Allan Zuckoff, and to meet the standards he sets. Thanks also to the extended Zuckoff and Kreiter clans. Next summer in Bethany.

My parents, Sid and Gerry Zuckoff, didn’t like my traipsing around Greenland; they liked it better when they could limit my wanderings to an imaginary line near Ira Meyers’s house. Yet in this project as in all things, their love and support have been the secret weapons of my life.

My daughters are my northern lights: they fill me with delight as they take away my breath. Isabel Zuckoff is a person I admire as much as I love. Eve Zuckoff is a person I love as much as I admire.

My wife, Suzanne Kreiter, rescues me daily. She makes everything possible.

Notes

The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use your ebook reader’s search tools.

T
HIS IS A
work of nonfiction. No liberties were taken with facts, dialogue, characters, or chronology. All quoted material comes from interviews, direct observation, reports, diaries, letters, flight logs, military documents, news stories, books, or some other source cited below. Descriptions of people and places are based on observations by the author, interviews, written materials, photographs, and newsreel images. Unless noted, the author conducted all interviews, either in person or by phone.

PROLOGUE: THE DUCK

1 “Situation grave”: “Incoming Message, November 26,” Papers of Corey Ford at Dartmouth College, Rauner Special Collections Library. Punctuation added.

4 eager to get going: Charles Dorian, interview, September 4, 2011.

4 not one but two round-trips: “Will evacuate remaining Seven Baker 17 (B-17) personnel via
Northland
plane in two flights,” radio message, November 28, 1942.

4 less than one mile: USCGC
Northland
log entries, November 29, 1942.

4 suspended over the
Northland
’s deck: The scene on board the
Northland
on November 29, 1942, comes from Coast Guard documents on the cutter and the Duck, and Dorian interviews, September 4 and November 11, 2011. Dorian, an ensign at the time, served as a communications officer aboard the
Northland
and witnessed the Duck’s takeoff that day.

5 Pritchard and Bottoms’s craft: Corydon M. Johnson, “Erection and Maintenance Instructions for Model Grumman J2F-4 Airplanes,” August 16, 1939, U.S. Coast Guard historical archives.

6 stripped the space: Edward F. Clark, “In the Line of Duty,”
Coast Guard Magazine
, March 1943, p. 13.

6 sipping hot coffee: B-17 survivor Al (Alexander) Tucciarone to CBS news reporter Michelle Marsh, undated letter (believed to be from the 1980s), Benjamin Bottoms’s personnel file, U.S. Coast Guard Historical Office.

6 Pritchard set the Duck’s propeller: Dorian, interview, September 4, 2011. The description of the preflight procedures is based on Grumman’s “Pilot’s Handbook for Model J2F-4 Airplane,” August 21, 1939, and a December 2, 2011, interview with pilot Chuck Greenhill. Greenhill is an authority on flying a Duck and, at the time of the interview, owner of the only known Grumman Duck J2F-4 still airworthy.

7 almost zero: Greenhill, interview, December 2, 2011.

8 “You have to go out”: Clark, “In the Line of Duty,” p. 14.

1: GREENLAND

9 twenty feet or more: “The Greenland ice sheet holds enough water to raise the global sea level with ~7m.” Rune G. Graversen et al., “Greenland’s Contribution to Global Sea-Level Rise by the End of the 21st Century,”
Climate Dynamics
37, no. 7–8 (October 2010): 1427–42.

9 Erik the Red: Jonathan Grove, “The Place of Greenland in Medieval Icelandic Saga Narrative,” in “Norse Greenland: Selected Papers of the Hvalsey Conference 2008,” special issue,
Journal of the North Atlantic
2 (2009): 30.

9 “good name”: Ibid.

10 called his discovery Vinland: Douglas R. McManis, “The Traditions of Vinland,”
Annals of the Association of American Geographers
59, no. 4 (December 1969): 797–814.

10 four thousand years: Eske Brun, “Greenland,”
Arctic
19, no. 1 (March 1966): 62.

10 “a greenish tinge”: Adam of Bremen, “[Greenland in] Chapter 37,” in
Beskrivelse af øerne i Nordern
[Description of the Islands in the North] (Copenhagen: Wormianum, 1978). Original Latin text,
Descriptio insularum Aquilonis
, c. 1075, and Danish translation, with commentaries by Allan A. Lund; English translation by B. Wallace. Also see J. Grove, “The Place of Greenland in Medieval Icelandic Saga Narrative,” in “Norse Greenland: Selected Papers from the Hvalsey Conference, 2008,” special issue,
Journal of the North Atlantic
2 (2009): 30–51.

13 breaking both arms: John A. Tilley, “The Coast Guard and the Greenland Patrol,” accessed January 3, 2012, www.sondy-logen.dk/images/pdf/greenland_patrol.pdf, p. 6.

13 animal skins, seal oil, and fish: Ibid., p. 2.

13 kept Greenland isolated: U.S. Coast Guard, Public Information Division,
The Coast Guard at War: Greenland Patrol
(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Coast Guard, 1945), pp. 14, 36.

14 weather in Europe: Ibid., p. 2.

14 “a war for weather”: Bernt Balchen, Corey Ford, and Oliver La Farge,
War below Zero
(New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1944), p. 4.

14 milky white mineral called cryolite: Ibid., pp. 6–8.

15 “a crippling blow”: U.S. Coast Guard,
Greenland Patrol
, p. 8.

16 secret preparations: Gerard Kenney,
Dangerous Passage: Issues in the Arctic
(Toronto: Natural Heritage, 2006), p. 129.

16 “enslavement, miscegenation”: Ibid., p. 15.

16 icebergs in shipping lanes: Ibid., p. 4. Also see Malcolm F. Willoughby,
U.S. Coast Guard in World War II
(Annapolis, Md.: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1957), pp. 95–110.

17 “Phooey on Bluie”: The complete poem is included in the World War II scrapbook of Paul J. Spina, provided by his daughter, Jean Spina Gaffney.

17 in July 1942: The story of the Lost Squadron is drawn primarily from David Hayes,
The Lost Squadron
(Edison, N.J.: Chartwell, 2008), pp. 18–54.

18 “Send women”: Norman D. Vaughan,
My Life of Adventure
(Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole, 1995), p. 76.

2: “A MOTHER THAT DEVOURS HER CHILDREN”

19 November 5, 1942: This account of the crash of Captain McDowell’s C-53 comes primarily from the official U.S. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR), 42–15569. Material also was taken from handwritten notes in the Papers of Colonel Bernt Balchen, U.S. Air Force Historical Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base.

19 “fifty-two miles up a fjord”: Dan Ford, “Remembering Bluie West One,” www.warbirdforum.com/bluie1.htm (accessed February 1, 2012).

20 the weather report: MACR 42–15569.

21 “forced landing”: Balchen’s notes say the crash occurred “due to one of [its] engines out of operation.” But the MACR gives no reason and does not indicate whether a cause was discussed during the radio transmissions from the C-53.

21 seventy-seven total hours: “Information Requested from Form 5 Unit,” form detailing pilot hours for Captain Homer C. McDowell Jr., Collection of Harry Trice, U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office. This hour total is as of the end of October 1942.

21 ten miles away: Because the exact location of the C-53 remains unknown at this writing, this is only an estimate based on its reported position, the apparent location from which flares were fired, and the areas searched.

22 “Down on Ice Cap”: “Description of Accident,” MACR 42–15569. A small disagreement exists between the MACR and Balchen’s notes on the initial reported altitude, with the MACR claiming 9,400 feet and Balchen writing 9,200. Either way, the C-53 gave a much lower altitude in subsequent messages.

22 B-25 Mitchell bombers: MACR 42–15569, p. 1. Also, Donald M. Taub,
The Greenland Ice Cap Rescue of B-17 “PN9E,” November 5, 1942, to May 8, 1943
, monograph published by the U.S. Coast Guard History Program, www.uscg.mil/history/articles/GreenlandPatrolIceCapRescueTaub2011.pdf (accessed December 15, 2011), p. 1.

23 “I asked C-53”: “Report of Search for Lost Plane (C-53),” Collection of Harry Trice, U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office.

24 considered equally brilliant and brave by his friends: Numerous accounts exist of Demorest’s great intellect and his bravery. Overall, the most complete is found in William S. Carlson,
Greenland Lies North
(New York: Macmillan, 1940), an account of a journey by Carlson and Demorest through Greenland to study air currents.

24 a doctorate from Princeton University: “Max H. Demorest, Glacier Authority,” obituary,
New York Times
, December 11, 1942.

25 “I hoped that Max’s ignorance”: Carlson,
Greenland Lies North
, p. 21.

25 five to ten miles: Taub,
Greenland Ice Cap Rescue
, p. 2.

26 three or four days: Ibid.

26 “transmitting MOs”: Aircraft Accident Classification Committee (AACC) report, C-53, #5569, document, December 19, 1942, p. 1.

27 cargo bay was empty: MACR 42–15569, p. 1–3. The report makes clear that the plane was returning to Greenland without mail, passengers, or cargo.

27 two days’ rations: AACC report #5569, p. 2.

27 a deadly low of minus 10: Ibid.

27 “No luck”: Onas P. Matz,
History of the 2nd Ferrying Group
(Seattle: Modet, 1993), p. 168.

27 “there was little probability”: AACC report #5569, p. 2.

28 the aurora borealis: William S. Carlson,
Lifelines through the Arctic
(New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1962), p. 90.

28 hypothermia: Numerous sources consulted, including MedlinePlus, www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hypothermia.html; Rick Curtis, “Outdoor Action Guide to Cold Weather Injuries,” www.princeton.edu/~oa/safety/hypocold.shtml; and Mayo Clinic health information sheets, www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypothermia/DS00333/DSECTION=symptoms (all accessed January 28, 2012).

3: FLYING IN MILK

30 the same day: Harry Spencer, handwritten air log, November 1942.

31 a B-17F: Some reports describe the PN9E as a B-17E, but the official crash report lists it as a B-17F. For details on the B-17F, see National Museum of the U.S. Air Force factsheet, www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2453 (accessed January 11, 2012). See also Bill Yenne,
B-17 at War
(St. Paul, Minn.: Zenith, 2006).

32 a special oath: U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission, “The Norden Bombsight,” www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/NORDEN_BOMBSIGHT/DI145.htm (accessed January 27, 2012).

32
Cyanide for Hitler
: These names were all used on B-17s by the 452nd Bomb Group, based in England during World War II. See www.angelfire.com
/ne2/b17sunriseserenade/452ndnames.html (accessed January 11, 2012).

33 ferrying crew: MACR 42–5088, p. 1.

33 their first foreign mission: Paul J. Spina, unpublished memoir, found by his daughter, Jean Spina Gaffney, p. 3.

33 “Goodbye, sea food”: Spina, memoir, p. 3.

35 Pikiutdlek: Wallace Hansen,
Greenland’s Icy Fury
(College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1994), p. 44.

35 at low altitudes: Harry E. Spencer Jr., “Report on Crash of B-17 No. 5088 and Subsequent Operations,” typewritten version provided by Donald M. Taub. A version of this account was published in Matz,
History of the 2nd Ferrying Group
, pp. 139–52.

35 number-four engine lost oil pressure: Spina, memoir, p. 5.

35 two men walked over: Ibid., p. 6.

36 a bet among themselves: Ibid.

36 “nice, warm sack”: Ibid.

37 went into the cockpit: Ibid., p. 7

37 about seven thousand feet: Oliver La Farge,
The Long Wait
, published as a series of newspaper articles by the Army Air Forces Aid Society, distributed in 1943 by King Features Syndicate, chap. 1. Much of the material in this serial was reprinted in the book
War below Zero
, so the two are almost interchangeable.

38 a horizontal line of blue sky: Harry Spencer, speech to Irving, Texas, Rotary Club, August 31, 1989. A videotape was provided to the author by Spencer’s daughter, Carol Sue Spencer Podraza.

38 happens on the ground: La Farge,
Long Wait
, chap. 1.

4: THE DUCK HUNTER

40 Walking double-time through baggage claim: This scene was witnessed by the author, as explained in the text. From this point forward, events and comments witnessed firsthand will not be cited in the source notes.

41 “to limit the loss”: DPMO website, www.dtic.mil/dpmo/about_us/ (accessed December 13, 2011).

44 More than eighty-three thousand: DPMO website, www.dtic.mil/dpmo
/summary_statistics (accessed December 13, 2011).

46 only three served in the Coast Guard: William H. Thiesen, “Lieutenant Thomas James Eugene Crotty: A Coast Guard Leader, Hero and Prisoner of War,”
Bulletin
(USCGA Alumni Society), June 2008, pp. 17–18. Thiesen confirmed in an e-mail to Commander Jim Blow on October 10, 2012: “As far as our records indicate, Pritchard and Bottoms are the only other unrecovered MIAs in service history.”

5: A SHALLOW TURN

48 a mild manner: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 62.

49 working nights in a gas station: Spina, memoir, p. 9.

49 seven hundred hours of flight time: U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) aircraft accident report, document, April 19, 1943, p. 1.

49 sensitive to the feelings of others: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, pp. 62–63.

50 eight thousand feet: USAAF accident report, p. 2.

51 Pilots in Greenland told stories: La Farge,
Long Wait
, chap. 1.

51 trusted their guts: Spencer says he and Monteverde believed there was enough clearance to turn. Matz,
History of the 2nd Ferrying Group
, p. 140. Unless otherwise noted, details of the PN9E crash come primarily from affidavits given by Monteverde and Spencer, included in the MACR as part of the military’s investigation.

51 one thousand feet of clearance: Spencer, speech.

51 no man would have objected: In their MACR affidavits, Spencer and assistant engineer Alexander Tucciarone both say that, to the best of their knowledge, everyone aboard thought they were well above the ice cap.

52 laborer and truck driver back home in the Bronx: World War II enlistment records, from www.fold3.com/page/86088102_alexander_l_tucciarone (accessed January 23, 2012). See also “Ferry Tales,”
Sunday Morning Star
, January 10, 1943.