Frozen in Time (36 page)

176 Tetley said it was time to leave: Spina, memoir, p. 21.

177 Spencer knelt to unstrap his snowshoes: Wedel’s fall into the crevasse is described in Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, pp. 66–67, and in Spencer, statement, p. 3. See also Lydia McIntosh, “Snowbound for 68 Days.” Tetley’s account in McIntosh differs slightly, as she quotes him saying they had stopped at night to check on O’Hara. Otherwise the accounts agree.

177 He screamed: Some accounts suggest that Wedel fell without a sound, but O’Hara is quoted as saying he screamed in Francis DeAndrea, “Icy Ordeal Recalled by Crash Survivor,”
Scranton Times
, November 9, 1983.

178 marks on a narrow ledge: It seems possible these marks were bloodstains, as some have suggested in various accounts, but La Farge in
The Long Wait
and
War below Zero
never says so directly.

178 He’d never meet his daughter: “McPherson Man Plunged to Death in Greenland Crevasse,”
Hutchinson
(Kans.)
News-Herald
, May 27, 1943, scrapbook clipping.

178 “his initiative and perseverance”: “Legion of Merit Is Awarded Posthumously to Wichitan,” undated newspaper clipping, apparently from the
Kansas City Star
, provided by Eric Langhorst, Wedel’s grandson-in-law, March 11, 2012.

179 a gallon of a different grade of lubricating oil:
Northland
to SOPA Greenland, relayed message from PN9E, December 5, 1942.

179 about six miles northeast of the PN9E when the motorsled’s engine quit altogether: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 68.

180 tuned to the wrong frequency: Ibid., p. 92.

15: SHOOTING OUT THE LIGHTS

181 “sufficient fuel and supplies for wintering in Comanche Bay”:
Northland
to SOPA Greenland, December 8, 1942, message.

181 wanting to stay and needing to go:
Northland
to SOPA Greenland, December 1, 1942.

182 “an overgrown crate, about thirty feet square”: “Five Months on the Greenland Ice Cap,”
Coast Guard Magazine
, May 1944, p. 28.

182 They spent days tucked in their bunks: Ibid. Also see Taub,
Greenland Ice Cap Rescue
, pp. 5–6. To his credit, Taub spent considerable effort correcting the “official” record, which frequently omitted the efforts of the
Northland
crew members put ashore during the rescue efforts. Although they never reached the PN9E crew or the downed Duck, that should not obscure the hardships they endured in their volunteer effort. It also is worth noting that Fuller’s markings on a chart of the Koge Bay area known as H.O. 5773 proved significant for the Duck Hunt. As John Long explained: “Fuller’s chart’s relevance was not so much for the 2012 mission directly. However, without it we would not have understood the full dynamics of what took place back in 2008 when we started the Duck Hunt. Consequently, it helped paint the physical picture we see. We were able to put names to geographic locations.”

183 all five received commendations: “Five Months on the Greenland Ice Cap,” p. 29.

183 “This expedition had to be evaluated”: Willoughby,
U.S. Coast Guard
, p. 104.

184 couldn’t restart the engine: Spencer, statement, p. 4.

184 ice hole they could use for cooking: Ibid., p. 5.

185 Spencer kept his shovel with him: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 69.

185 a nasty mixture of snow and gasoline: Ibid., p. 70.

185 A bout of diarrhea: Spina, memoir, p. 22.

185 shooting them from the sky: DeAndrea, “Icy Ordeal,” p. 3.

186 weren’t even certain that all three men were still alive: Ibid., p. 98.

186 couldn’t control his dogs: Bernt Balchen, “Operations of Force 4998 A in Connection with PN9E Rescue,” memo, April 18, 1943, Corey Ford Papers, Dartmouth.

187 “saw lights moving toward station”: Ibid.

187 glider drop-and-snatch scheme: See Mitchell Zuckoff,
Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II
(New York: HarperCollins, 2011).

187 “Has Army considered use of auto-gyro or helicopter”: Message from CINCLANT (Commander-in-Chief of Atlantic Fleet), December 17, 1942.

188 “rejected their use as impracticable”: Message from COMINCH (Commander-in-Chief of Atlantic Fleet), December 17, 1942.

188 instructed not to share any details: Krause, interview. Numerous news accounts after the events became public also referred to the secrecy surrounding these events as they happened.

16: SNUBLEBLUSS

194 those two locations are considered the most credible: The small corps of Duck Hunt authorities exchanged hundreds of e-mails on this issue. Agreement was elusive, but Donald Taub deserves credit for placing the “two valid locations” at 65o09' N, 41o01' W and 65o08' N, 41o00' W.

195 “very high degree of certitude”: North South Polar presentation to the Coast Guard, initially made in January 2012 and updated multiple times in the following months.

197 “Despite its size and awesome strength”: Henning Ting,
Encounters with Wildlife in Greenland
(Nuuk, Greenland: Greenland Home Rule Government Department of Environment and Wildlife Management, 1990), p. 7.

198 “Avoid head shots”: Ibid., p. 18.

199 “support for expedition to Greenland”: “Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items,” awarded August 13, 2012, order no. HSCGGB-12-P-MAV408.

203 buried in permafrost in 2007: Charles McGrath, “Spirits of the South Pole,”
New York Times Sunday Magazine
, July 24, 2011.

17: OUTWITTING THE ARCTIC

204 Canadian bush pilot named Jimmie Wade: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, pp. 74–76. See also Ragnar J. Ragnarsson,
US Navy PBY Catalina Units of the Atlantic War
(Oxford, England: Osprey, 2006), p. 78.

205 Wade received the British Explorer Medal: “Civilians Included in King’s Honors,”
Montreal Gazette
, June 2, 1943.

206 Five days after Wade and Moe went down: Balchen, “Subject: Search C-53,” reads in part: “This officer assigned to temporary duty in command of rescue operations of PN9E.”

207 “one last trick to outwit the Arctic”: Balchen,
Come North with Me
, p. 242.

207 on rescue missions, it was affectionately called Dumbo: “Battle of the Seas: The Lovely Dumbos,”
Time
, August 6, 1945, p. x.

208 “If I’m to crawl in on my hands and knees”: Balchen,
Come North with Me
, p. 242.

208 “a glacier-cold shoulder.”: Ibid.

209 “desires . . . [PBY] to land on Ice Cap”: Message from Admiral Smith, undated but most likely December 31, 1942, or January 1, 1943.

209 “aircraft rescue missions are warranted”: Message to COMGREPAT (Commander, Greenland Patrol), January 1, 1943.

209 “[At] no time has it been the intention”: Message from COMINCH (Commander in chief of U.S. Navy), January 4, 1943.

210 one more attempt to use a ski-plane: Taub,
Greenland Ice Cap Rescue
, p. 9. Some reports indicate two Beechcraft planes were sent and one disappeared en route from Bluie West One to Bluie East Two.

210 plane’s shadow on the ice cap: Herbert Kurz, interview by John Long, April 24, 2009.

210 heating the engine in the frigid predawn hours: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 78.

210 the starter on the number-two engine: Ibid., p. 76.

211 thirty-four supply trips: Matz,
History of the 2nd Ferrying Group
, p. 146.

213 On Christmas Day 1942: Spina, memoir, p. 22a.

213 “We will keep you well supplied”: Capt. Kenneth Turner to the PN9E Camp, typewritten note, December 26, 1942. Paul Spina saved the original note and pasted it in his scrapbook.

213 Spencer packed thirty pounds: Matz,
History of the 2nd Ferrying Group
, p. 143.

213 arranging large and small objects in Morse code: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, pp. 70–71.

214 last thing he ever felt: Interview with Patricia O’Hara, August 16, 2012.

214 two bandannas to each stake: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 84.

215 an experienced U.S. Army Air Forces dogsled rescue team: Taub,
Greenland Ice Cap Rescue
, p. 7. Also, Ragnarsson,
US Navy PBY Catalina Units
, pp. 78–79. In his memoir, Balchen spells the pilot’s name “Dunlap,” but the correct spelling is “Dunlop.”

215 birthday he shared with his wife: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 85.

215 Spencer sprang a birthday surprise: Ibid.

216 “We will try to get you out this time”: Ibid., p. 86.

216 “be so near those men”: Ibid., p. 79.

217 “For crying out loud”: Ibid., p. 86.

217 O’Hara might give up and die: McIntosh, “Snowbound for 68 Days.”

19: DUMBO ON ICE

229 Monteverde awoke in the dark: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 95. Also, Spina, memoir, p. 24.

230 shook hands and prayed together: Spina, memoir, p. 24.

230 Spina lay awake: Ibid.

230 lifted it from the ice wall: Ibid.

231 they didn’t talk about it: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 96.

231 snowed a whopping eighteen feet: Spencer, speech.

231 “Factory indicates forward bulkhead of PBY”: Balchen,
Come North with Me
, p. 243.

232 “We have had no time to make a test landing”: Ibid.

232 Turner radioed down to Harry Spencer on the walkie-talkie: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 88.

232 “like a power stall letdown on a glassy sea”: Balchen,
Come North with Me
, p. 243.

233 strange absence of feeling: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 89.

233 “a beautiful sight”: Ibid.

233 “light as a bundle of rags”: Balchen,
Come North with Me
, p. 244.

234 a specially built stretcher-sled: In his statement (p. 4), Spencer writes, “We transported Lt. O’Hara from our quarters to the PBY on a very ingenious stretcher ski sled” (p. 4). In Balchen’s autobiography, he writes, “I carry him to the plane in my arms, as light as a bundle of rags” (p. 244). Balchen’s statements in his autobiography have come under criticism by Taub and others, in part because Balchen describes himself as the pilot on takeoff when it is generally agreed that Dunlop flew the plane both ways. However, Tetley, in McIntosh, “Snowbound for 68 Days,” is quoted as saying, “The colonel hit upon a method. By unloading us and letting us push, he could taxi the plane. He brought it around in circles and kept it moving fast enough to keep from getting stuck.” For consistency, this account relies on the reporting of La Farge.

235 After almost two hours of effort: Ragnarsson,
US Navy PBY Catalina Units
, p. 79.

235 ran toward the blister, each one jumping at the last minute: This scene is described by La Farge in Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 90; by Balchen in his autobiography, p. 244; and by Tetley in McIntosh, “Snowbound for 68 Days.” The only significant difference is who pulls the men inside. In Balchen’s account, the blister is manned by Sweetzer and “the radio man,” but he does not name him. Tetley also credits “the radio operator” without naming him.

236 “Hello boys, Get on the Walkie-Talkie”: Paul Spina saved the original note and pasted it in his scrapbook.

238 all of his fingernails had fallen off: Spina, memoir, p. 24.

238 made them feel warmer: Ibid., p. 25.

238 They seemed to take turns breaking down: Ibid., p. 26.

238 a suicide pact: Ibid.

239 “Why should someone else”: Ibid.

239 flew into a rage: Ibid.

239 “a bunch of weaklings”: Ibid.

240 “the coldest look I ever seen in my life”: Ibid., p. 27.

241 destroy that dream: Ibid.

241 “talking about things drawn from another world”: Ibid., p. 28.

21: CROSSED WIRES

257 brains enough to move it: Spina, memoir, p. 28.

258 a hit-and-miss proposition: W. W. Shen, “A History of Antipsychotic Drug Development,”
Comprehensive Psychiatry
40, no. 6 (November–December 1999): 407–14.

258 might have been barbiturates: For a historical discussion of the use of barbiturates as sedatives and anticonvulsants, see Francisco Lopez Munoz, “The History of Barbiturates a Century after Their Clinical Introduction,”
Journal of Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
1, no. 4 (December 2005): 329–43.

259 Monteverde became stuck halfway: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge,
War below Zero
, p. 94.

259 Monteverde was gone awhile: Spina, memoir, p. 29.

259 a dozen roast chickens, pork chops, and cooked steaks: Ibid., p. 30.

260 a natural remedy: Ibid.

260 signs of being delusional: Ibid.

260 the power of prayer: Ibid. Spina recalled the title as “The Power of Prayer,” but it almost certainly was “Prayer Is Power,” published in
Reader’s Digest
in 1941.

260 “It is the only power”: From Alexis Carrel, “Prayer Is Power,”
Reader’s Digest
, March 1941, included in
The Questing Spirit
, by Halford E. Luccock and Frances Brentano (New York: Coward-McCann, 1947).

261 lived on concentrated chocolate bars: Spina, memoir, p. 31.

262 during Admiral Byrd’s 1933–1935 Antarctic expedition: Martin Sheridan, “Rescue Chief, from Gloucester, Thinks Trip on Ice Cap Is Fun,”
Boston Globe
, May 9, 1944.

262 a square-shaped outcropping of rock named Cape Healey: “Dorchester Picture of the Day,” from the Dorchester Atheneum, located at dorchesteratheneum.org/page.php?id=3124 (accessed March 19, 2012).