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THIS 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.
52 postcard that read: Postcard addressed to “Miss A. Imperati,” November 2, 1942, provided to the author by Peter Tucciarone.
52 couldn’t see five feet beyond the bomber: Tucciarone to Marsh, p. 2.
53 “Somebody pull me in—I’m freezing”: Burlyn Pike, “Nineteen Days of Freezing Hell,” Courier-Journal Roto Magazine, n.d., in Lieutenant John Pritchard, Coast Guard personnel file.
53 five foot four: Paul J. Spina, military ID, located in his personal scrapbook. His draft record at ancestry.com (accessed January 20, 2012) lists him at five foot three.
53 one of the volunteer searchers: The injuries sustained by the crew are detailed in the MACR affidavits given by Armand Monteverde, Harry Spencer, and Alexander Tucciarone. There is disagreement whether Puryear was also thrown through the PN9E’s nose, but most accounts suggest he was not.
55 about 10 degrees: Spencer, MACR affidavit, p. 1.
55 flamed out: La Farge, Long Wait, chap. 1.
55 dry, sandy snow: Ibid.
56 “lack of depth perception”: USAAF accident report, p. 1.
57 afraid to even try it: Spencer’s account in Matz, History of the 2nd Ferrying Group, p. 141.
58 When engineer Paul Spina regained his senses: Spina, memoir, p. 7.
58 admired the small man’s toughness: “Fortress Pilot Tells of 148 Days on ‘White Hell’ Icecap,” Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1943.
58 marveled that the tarp was in the plane: Spina, memoir, p. 7.
59 “Memories of home”: Pike, “Nineteen Days.”
59 parched: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 48.
59 brought along a thermos: Alexander L. Tucciarone, 27th Ferrying Squadron, statement taken by Charles G. Conley, Major, A.G., December 25, 1942, in Benjamin Bottoms’s Coast Guard personnel file, p. 2.
59 Spina’s hands were too frozen: Spina, memoir, p. 8.
60 “Am I missing you all right?”: “Five Months on the Ice Cap,” Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin, October 1943, p. 47.
60 Monteverde made a modest announcement: La Farge, Long Wait, chap. 1. See also Tucciarone to Marsh, p. 3.
61 whenever the storm died down: Tucciarone, statement, p. 1.
61 aspiring actor: Loren Howarth’s enlistment record, www.ancestry.com (accessed January 24, 2011).
62 thirty-six days: Count of K and D rations contained in Spencer’s account in Matz, History of the 2nd Ferrying Group, p. 140.
62 stretch the rations for ten days: Spina, memoir, p. 10. There is some disagreement about when the rations were found. In his memoir, Spina says it wasn’t until after the third day.
63 a few squares of chocolate: Tucciarone to Marsh, p. 3.
63 “stoved up”: Spina, memoir, p. 8.
63 suffered the most: Tucciarone, statement, p. 2.
63 Spina fished out a cigarette: Spina, memoir, p. 8.
63 a bond with copilot Harry Spencer: Spina, memoir, p. 9.
65 sixteen C-47s and six B-17s: AACC report #5569, December 19, 1942, p. 2.
65 30 degrees below zero: “Captain Tells of 148 Days in Greenland’s Ice,” Chicago Daily Tribune, May 5, 1943.
65 someone would be out looking for them: Spina, memoir, p. 8.
65 knelt together to pray: Ibid., p. 10.
65 decided to have a look around: There are multiple accounts of Spencer’s fall into the crevasse, some with conflicting details. The account here relies primarily on Spencer’s own version, found in Spencer’s MACR affidavit, p. 2; along with Matz, History of the 2nd Ferrying Group, p. 141; Spina, memoir, p. 10; and La Farge, Long Wait, chap. 2.
66 graduated from the University of Scranton: “Attorney William O’Hara Dies; Was an Ex-PUC Commissioner,” obituary, Scranton Times, December 26, 1990. See also Patricia O’Hara, interview, August 16, 2012.
66 see the water: “Captain Tells of 148 Days.”
67 paddle along the coast: Spencer, speech.
6: MAN DOWN
68 a goner: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 48.
69 his own obituary: Harry E. Spencer Jr. obituary, Dallas Morning News, www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=79596093 (accessed February 2, 2012).
69 didn’t drop for five seconds: Time estimates are based on “Speed, Distance, and Time of Fall for an Average-Sized Adult in Stable Free Fall Position,” www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/speedtime.pdf (accessed February 3, 2012).
69 about one hundred feet from the surface: Matz, History of the 2nd Ferrying Group, p. 141.
70 Spencer landed on his back: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 48. In his telling of Spencer’s story, La Farge does not specify exactly how Spencer landed. However, he writes that Spencer “brushed off the snow” before he stood up, which logically suggests that Spencer was on his back.
71 strangely serene: Spencer’s official affidavit did not describe his feelings and vivid descriptions about his predicament, but he shared them with La Farge for The Long Wait. They are included in Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 48–49, which is the source of much of the information about Spencer’s fall. Spencer also described the fall in his videotaped speech to the Irving Rotary Club on August 31, 1989.
71 “God must have a plan for me”: Spencer, speech.
71 called for help: Pike, “Nineteen Days.”
71 “Get rope!”: Tucciarone to Marsh, p. 4.
72 a telltale sign: Tucciarone, statement, p. 2.
72 braided six lines: The rescue of Harry Spencer is told in several places, sometimes with varying details. The detail about six shroud lines, for instance, appears in his MACR affidavit but not in Matz, History of the 2nd Ferrying Group, or La Farge, Long Wait.
72 under his armpits: Spencer, affidavit, p. 2.
74 they prayed as a congregation: Spina, memoir, p. 10.
74 “I don’t even know”: Ibid., p. 13.
74 butt ends of the plane’s machine guns: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 50.
75 rubbed O’Hara’s feet: Ibid.
75 sprinkled sulfa powder: Spina, memoir, p. 13.
75 hours-long shifts: Tucciarone, statement, p. 1.
75 learned to leave their gloves outside: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 57.
75 “Don’t wear tight shoes”: U.S. Army Air Forces Arctic Survival Manual, located at http://arcticwebsite.com/USAAFsurvival.html (accessed February 6, 2012).
76 blisters the size of tennis balls: Spina, memoir, p. 8.
7: A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
79 two hours after they left Newfoundland: This account of the crash and rescue of the RAF A-20 and its crew is derived largely from C. B. Wall, “Fourteen Days of Hell on an Icecap,” Maclean’s, May 15, 1943, a narrative based on interviews with David Goodlet and Arthur Weaver. Other sources include “Greater Love Hath No Man; A Story of the U.S. Coast Guard,” St. Petersburg Times, May 8, 1943; Taub, Greenland Ice Cap Rescue, pp. 2–3; and the Coast Guard’s official service history of the USCG cutter Northland.
80 “Good show, old cock!”: Wall, “Fourteen Days of Hell,” p. 9.
83 seventeen miles: Coast Guard message, November 18, 1942: “Men have left plane and are walking toward Anortek (Anoretok) Fjord. Present position of men is seventeen miles northeast of plane position.”
84 less than two days old: Coast Guard message, November 23, 1942, which says in part, “Northland aerial reconnaissance this afternoon found snowshoe tracks of 3 men leading from westward . . . believe less than 2 days old.”
87 “I just saw a light”: Dorian, interview, June 25, 2012.
88 “twilight between sanity and insanity”: Wall, “Fourteen Days of Hell,” p. 10.
89 “Dave had his wife”: Ibid., p. 94.
90 “Lieutenant Pritchard’s intelligent planning”: Medal citation at http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=30361 (accessed February 21, 2012).
90 map salvaged from the cockpit: Spina, memoir, p. 12.
91 “Well done”: SOPA Smith to Northland, November 24, 1942, Coast Guard message.
8: THE HOLY GRAIL
94 about $22 million: Defense Prisoner of War / Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 President’s Budget, http://comptroller.defense.gov/defbudget/fy2012
/budget_justification/pdfs/01_Operation_and_Maintenance/O_M_VOL_1
_PARTS/O_M_VOL_1_BASE_PARTS/DPMO_OP–5_FY_2012.pdf (accessed January 31, 2012), p. 405.
95 King grew up: Thomas C. King Jr., interviews, August 21, 2011, and January 24, 2012.
95 piloting a combat rescue helicopter: Steve Vogel, “Bearing Reminders of Terror, USS Cole Is Back in Action,” Washington Post, December 25, 2003.
98 “see if you can find something”: John Long, interview, August 15, 2011.
98 “Lou” Sapienza spent his childhood: Lou Sapienza, interviews, including a lengthy discussion of his background on January 25, 2012.
100 dogsled leader: Wolfgang Saxon, “Norman Dane Vaughan, 100; Went to Antarctica with Byrd,” New York Times, December 27, 2005.
9: SHORT SNORTERS
104 They salvaged what they could: Spina, memoir, p. 11.
104 a primitive calendar: Ibid., pp. 31–32.
105 nearly impossible for searchers: Report of Aircraft Accident, Form #14, Covering the Aircraft B-17F, #42–5088, Incl. #6, listing date of search, number of flights, and origin of search planes.
105 Daily logs: “Communications Relative to Lost C-53, 42–15569,” memo attached to Report of Aircraft Accident #42–5088, pp. 3–4.
105 better than anyone else on earth: Pike, “Nineteen Days.”
106 prayed the rosary daily: “Fortress Pilot Tells of 148 Days.”
107 already sent his Christmas cards: Pike, “Nineteen Days.”
107 “Short Snorters”: Ibid.
107 traced its origins: Numerous accounts exist of the origins and rules of the Short Snorters, with varying details. See John T. Bills, “Meet the Flying Short Snorters,” Miami Herald, May 31, 1942, www.shortsnorter.org
/Meet_The_Flying_Short_Snorters.html (accessed February 7, 2012). See also General Mark W. Clark, Calculated Risk (New York: Enigma, 2007), p. 28.
107 tattooed a dollar bill on his chest: Dee Breden, “The Short Snorter Racket,” New York Times Magazine, September 9, 1945, p. 98.
108 “a billion dollar racket”: Ibid.
108 President Franklin D. Roosevelt: “President Carries ‘Card’ in ‘Short Snorter’ Club,” New York Times, February 13, 1943.
109 radio equipment: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, pp. 50–51.
109 glass vacuum tubes: Spina, memoir, p. 11.
109 Born in a log cabin built by his logger father: Background information on Howarth comes from interviews with Jerry Howarth, nephew of Loren Howarth, and Marc Storch, a cousin by marriage, on February 18, 2012.
109 Single when he’d enlisted: Loren E. Howarth, World War II enlistment record, www.ancestry.com.
110 the plane’s batteries: Spencer, MACR affidavit, p. 2.
110 gas-powered generator: Spina, memoir, p. 12.
110 Spina cringed as he heard Howarth: Ibid.
111 “I can’t do it”: Pike, “Nineteen Days.”
111 studied torn and incomplete assembly diagrams: “Fortress Pilot Tells of 148 Days.”
111 snow poured in: Pike, “Nineteen Days.”
111 rivets began to pop: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 50.
112 ham radio operator: SOPA (Senior Officer Present Afloat) to B-17 PN9E, November 27, 1942, Coast Guard message.
112 filled in the blanks: Ibid.
112 there was the manual: Spina, memoir, p. 11.
112 too excited to talk: “Fortress Pilot Tells of 148 Days.”
112 “We got ’em!”: Pike, “Nineteen Days.”
113 felt like kings: Tucciarone, statement, p. 1.
113 Monteverde captured the crew’s feelings: “Fortress Pilot Tells of 148 Days.”
10: FROZEN TEARS
114 November 19 through 23: Report of Aircraft Accident, Form #14, Covering the Aircraft B-17F, #42–5088, Incl. #6 listing date of search, number of flights, and origin of search planes.
114 last few biscuits: Spina, memoir, p. 12.
115 They started with one-dollar bills: Carol Sue Spencer Podraza, daughter of Harry Spencer, interview, April 4, 2012. Podraza quoted her father telling her the story with great amusement.
115 Bernt Balchen: This profile of Balchen is derived from numerous sources, including the Bernt Balchen Papers at the Library of Congress, http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2009/ms009032.pdf; Balchen’s authorized but ghostwritten autobiography, Come North with Me (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1958); and “Bernt Balchen, Explorer and Pilot in Arctic, Dead,” New York Times, October 19, 1973.
117 modest, even shy: “Bernt Balchen Weds Former Schoolmate,” New York Times, October 21, 1930.
118 a chance to demonstrate his rescue skills: Associated Press, “Balchen Assists in 2 Rescue Feats,” New York Times, August 7, 1942.
119 “When you fight in the Arctic”: Balchen, Come North with Me, pp.
228–29.
119 “tossed like a leaf in a cyclone”: Ibid., p. 238.
119 a small red star: Ibid.
119 a crushed dragonfly: Ibid.
120 considered it a miracle: Ibid.
120 cargo they’d brought along: Balchen to Commanding Officer, Greenland Base Command, “Subject: Search C-53 and Rescue Operations PN9E,” memo, April 30, 1943, pp. 1–2.
120 froze on their reddened cheeks: “Fortress Pilot Tells of 148 Days.”
120 One crewman grabbed a bundle: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 53.
121 would be joining them on the ice: Tucciarone, statement, p. 2.
121 their eyelids frozen together: Spina, memoir, p. 13. In his memoir, Spina mistakenly says this happened on Thanksgiving, when in fact Balchen first dropped supplies to the PN9E crew two days before, on November 24, 1942.
121 “Take only in small quantity”: Ibid.
122 offered a piece of advice: Balchen, “Subject: Search C-53,” p. 2.
122 tore a page from his diary: Balchen, Come North with Me, p. 240.
122 as wide as fifty feet across: Tucciarone, statement, p. 2.
122 they made O’Hara delirious: Spina, memoir, p. 14.
122 “Situation grave”: “Incoming Message, November 26,” Papers of Corey Ford.
123 the priority became the B-17: SOPA Smith to the Northland, November 24, 1942, Coast Guard message.
123 a Norwegian fur trapper and survival expert who’d been stuck in Greenland: Hansen, Greenland’s Icy Fury, p. 125.
124 “The Arctic is an unscrupulous enemy”: Balchen, Come North with Me, p. 240.
11. “DON’T TRY IT”
126 “further delay will seriously endanger ship and personnel”: Aklak to SOPA, November 25, 1942, Coast Guard message for B-17 PN9E.
126 “In view of lateness of [the] season”: SOPA to Northland, November 27, 1942, Coast Guard message for B-17 PN9E.
126 “Extremely hazardous”: Northland to SOPA, November 27, 1942, Coast Guard message for B-17 PN9E.
126 “Do not take risks”: SOPA to Northland, November 28, 1942, Coast Guard message. One version of this message says, “Do not take undue risks this late in season,” but the word “undue” is crossed out. Although this message is dated November 28, the response to the suggestion is dated November 27, which raises the possibility that this message’s date, which is notated by hand, is incorrect.
126 “Do not, repeat not, deem it advisable”: Northland to SOPA, November 27, 1942, Coast Guard message.
127 “I shall sell life dearly”: The Creed of the U.S. Coast Guard, www.uscg.mil
/History/faqs/creed.asp (accessed February 21, 2012).
127 “frozen feet, a touch of gangrene, high fever”: “Incoming Message, November 26.”
129 Pritchard’s younger brother Gil was a B-17 pilot: “Ex-‘Times’ Boy, Now Flying Ace, Here on Leave,” Los Angeles Times, June 12, 1944.
129 “the touching appeal”: Clark, “In the Line of Duty,” p. 13.
130 a responsible, dependable boy: Nancy Pritchard Morgan Krause, interview, August 24, 2011.
131 four-tenths of a point below the bar: U.S. Rep. W. E. Evans to Rear Admiral Henry G. Hamlet, telegram, July 10, 1934, Pritchard’s Coast Guard personnel file.
131 a blood test: L. C. Covell, Acting Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, to U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson, July 30, 1934. The letter references Pritchard’s positive result on the “Wassermann and Kahn blood tests,” which screened for syphilis.
131 Virginia Pritchard bared her political soul: Virginia Pritchard to Administrator Chester C. Davis, July 8, 1934.
131 an accepted cadet dropped out: Rear Admiral H. G. Hamlet, Coast Guard commandant, to U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson, August 16, 1934.
131 “At reveille,” Sargent recalled, “he would practically jump out of his bunk”: Vice Admiral Thomas R. Sargent III (USCG Retired), commentary, Bulletin of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association, April 3, 2008.
133 “Nancy for Tick and Tick for Nancy”: Krause, interview.
133 Bottoms enlisted in the Coast Guard: Benjamin A. Bottoms, Coast Guard personnel service record.
133 “Georgia Cracker”: Lloyd Puryear to the parents of Benjamin Bottoms, February 19, 1943, Bottoms personnel file.
134 forced down in fog twelve miles off the Massachusetts coast: “C.G. Rescues Four Men and Plane at Sea,” Boston Globe, December 4, 1939.
134 returned to Massachusetts with measles: Lieutenant Commander E. E. Fahey, commanding officer of Air Station Salem, Massachusetts, note, attached to Clark, “In the Line of Duty,” p. 12.
134 recommended for promotion: W. N. Derby, Commandant, First Naval District, memo, October 7, 1942, Bottoms personnel file.
135 Less than twenty minutes after the Northland’s anchor splashed into the bay: Northland log, November 28, 1942; Clark, “In the Line of Duty,” p. 13.
135 the Duck was in flight: By some accounts, the Duck scouted the crash site, returned to the Northland to confirm the plan, then took off again. This version is most credibly contained in Clark, “In the Line of Duty,” in which he quotes Pollard extensively. However, most accounts have Pritchard and Bottoms going directly to the landing site, and the statements of Monteverde, Spencer, and Tucciarone do not mention an initial scouting flight.
135 flying over the crash site: Spencer, MACR affidavit, p. 3; Balchen, Come North with Me, p. 240.
135 canned chicken, sausages, soups, and candy: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 55.
136 took cover inside the tail section: Spina, memoir, p. 15.
136 a note that Pritchard had written while aboard the Northland: Ibid. See also Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 55; Pike, “Nineteen Days.” There are some small discrepancies among the accounts about exactly what the note said, but Spina provides the most detailed description of these events.
136 “If there’s a 60-40 chance”: Spina, memoir, p. 15.
137 wiped away tears: Ibid.
137 climbed atop the tail: Ibid. In Pike’s version, the do-not-land signal was atop the left wing. The larger point remains, however, that the crew signaled Pritchard to fly off.
137 “Don’t try it”: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 55.
137 “Coming in anyway”: Ibid.
137 “He won’t make it, poor fellow”: Pike, “Nineteen Days.”
138 Several times the tail lifted: Clark, “In the Line of Duty,” p. 13.
138 “You shouldn’t have landed”: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 56.
138 last to leave: Ibid.
139 Jesus Christ in the Greenland sky: Pete Tucciarone, interview, February 25, 2012.
139 fragile and stiff from the cold: Pike, “Nineteen Days.”
139 should take their places: Spina, memoir, p. 16.
139 face-first into the snow from exhaustion: Tucciarone, statement, p. 2.
139 spaghetti waiting for him: Mignon Kilday, “Survivor Recalls Rescue,” Mobile (Ala.) Press, n.d., in Bottoms personnel file.
140 clasped hands and prayed: Ibid.
140 Tucciarone heard Pritchard and Bottoms scream for joy: Tucciarone to Marsh, p. 7.
140 The ship’s crew lined the rail: Clark, “In the Line of Duty,” p. 13.
141 “If weather permits”: Northland to SOPA, November 28, 1942, Coast Guard message.
142 ensure the destruction of the PN9E’s Norden Bombsight: SOPA to Northland, November 29, 1942, Coast Guard message.
142 hearty slaps on the back: Dorian, interviews, September 4 and November 11, 2011.
142 one request: Pritchard’s autograph: Clark, “In the Line of Duty,” p. 13.
12: “MOs—QUICK!”
143 a flare of their own: Spina, memoir, p. 16.
143 across an active glacier: Lydia McIntosh, “Sergeant in S.A. Recalls Being Snowbound for 68 Days,” San Antonio Light, pt. 7, May 9, 1943.
144 just such an occasion: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 57. See also Spina, memoir, p. 16.
144 “frozen feet and body poison”: Northland to SOPA Greenland, relaying message from Tetley, December 1, 1942, message.
144 constipated: Ibid.
144 cover their sleds while they slept: Spina, memoir, p. 16.
145 taste spaghetti before Tucciarone did: Ibid., p. 17.
145 Spina knew that no one was asleep: Ibid.
145 “bright gleam of victory”: Winston Churchill, Never Give In!: The Best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches (New York: Hyperion, 2003), p. 341.
146 By noon, visibility would be less than one mile: USCGC Northland log entries, November 29, 1942.
146 a beautiful day on the glacier: Spina, memoir, p. 17.
146 emerged from the B-17’s tail to retrieve the sleds: Spencer, statement, p. 3.
147 banquet aboard the Northland: Spina, memoir, p. 17.
147 “kiss the Ice Cap goodbye”: Ibid.
147 the bridge gave way: This account of Demorest’s fall is taken from numerous sources, including Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, pp. 59–61; Spencer, statement, p. 3; Monteverde, statement, p. 2; and McIntosh, “Snowbound for 68 Days.”
148 gave him eight rolls of film: Spina, memoir, p. 18.
149 “apparently attempting to contact motor sledges in her vicinity or [at] Ice Cap Station”: SOPA to Northland, November 29, 1942, Coast Guard message.
149 Pritchard took off in the same direction: This was long a point of contention, but in interviews with retired Coast Guard captain Donald Taub, Harry Spencer expressed certainty that Pritchard had followed the same flight path as on the previous day. Spina’s account, previously unknown outside his family, also says that Pritchard flew over the wreck and headed out to sea.
149 Pritchard waggled the Duck’s wings: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 60.
149 the fog grew so thick that they had to abandon their vigil: Spencer, statement, p. 3.
150 called the Northland for a weather report: Clark, “In the Line of Duty,” p. 14.
150 “MOs, MOs—quick!”: Ibid.
151 Northland crew members told themselves: Dorian, interviews, September 4 and November 11, 2011.
151 “Demorest and one motor sledge in crevasse”: Northland to SOPA Greenland, November 30, 1942, message.
151 expecting that they’d be next to leave: Spina, memoir, p. 19.
151 “if by remaining, ship and personnel are endangered”: SOPA Greenland to Northland, November 30, 1942, message.
152 “Grumman [Duck] located”: Northland to SOPA Greenland, December 7, 1942, relaying message from Turner’s B-17. See also “Activity of Airplane B17F, 41–24583, and crew in search for C-53 and search and supply of B17F PN9E,” n.d., Corey Ford Papers; Taub, Greenland Ice Cap Rescue, p. 5.
153 one overly optimistic message from the Northland: Northland to SOPA Greenland, December 3, 1942, message.
154 “Concentrated search was discontinued”: Handwritten summary attached to MACR 42–15569, pp. 2–3.
155 recommended for the Medal of Honor: “Board of Investigation—Circumstances attending loss of J2F airplane . . . recommendation for posthumous award of Medal of Honor to Coast Guard Personnel,” memo, June 2, 1943, Pritchard’s Coast Guard personnel file.
155 The medal was presented to his parents: “Parents Given Medal Won by Missing Flyer,” Los Angeles Times, April 12, 1943.
155 “California Mother of the Year”: “Mrs. J. A. Pritchard Named ‘California Mother’ for 1944,” Burbank Review, April 24, 1944.
156 “I want to stress that I owe my life”: Tucciarone, statement, p. 2.
156 “I am one of the boys whose life was saved”: Lloyd Puryear to Benjamin Bottoms’s parents, February 19, 1943, Bottoms’s Coast Guard personnel file.
156 “I breathed a little prayer”: Pike, “Nineteen Days.”
13: TAPS
162 “fully resourced program”: DPMO Operation and Maintenance Budget, pp. 405–6.
162 “a game changer”: Lieutenant Colonel James McDonough to Lou Sapienza, e-mail, January 26, 2012.
14: GLACIER WORMS
168 Time and hardship had revealed Monteverde: Spina, memoir, p. 8.
168 considered “Lieutenant Monty” to be a hero: Ibid.
169 the third of seven children: Jean Spina Gaffney, daughter of Paul Spina, interviews, March 12 and 18, 2012.
170 he was raised a Dunkard: “McPherson Man Plunged to Death in Greenland Crevasse,” Hutchinson (Kans.) News-Herald, May 27, 1943, scrapbook clipping; Eric Langhorst, Wedel’s grandson-in-law, interview, March 6, 2012.
170 wrong to use his religion to avoid the war: Reba Greathead, daughter of Clarence Wedel, interview, March 13, 2012.
170 Clint Best was easygoing and introverted: Robert C. Best, son of Alfred Best, interview, March 8, 2012.
172 parked alongside the wrecked PN9E: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 60.
172 “a hole [to] crawl in.”: Spina, memoir, p. 19.
172 dug a “room”: Spencer, statement, p. 3.
173 “Glacier Worms”: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 62.
173 cut the lines securing the bomber’s tail section: Northland to SOPA Greenland, December 2, 1942, relayed message from PN9E.
173 “If [supply] plane comes”: Ibid., December 1, 1942.
174 losing more weight: Spina, memoir, p. 20.
174 gambling with the navigator’s life: Ibid.
174 “In case of emergency, we could travel light”: Northland to SOPA Greenland, relayed message from PN9E, December 1, 1942.
175 Pritchard, Bottoms, and Howarth: Spina, memoir, p. 20.
175 “Lieutenant O’Hara very ill”: Ibid., December 6, 1942. See also Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, pp. 66–67.
176 a route recommended by Colonel Balchen: Spencer, statement, p. 3.
176 back within two days: Spina, memoir, p. 20. See also Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 66.
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).
262 a scientific expedition to study penguins: Hendrik Dolleman obituary, www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=68397203 (accessed March 19, 2012).
262 graduated from Princeton in 1924: Sheridan, “Rescue Chief.”
263 Muscular, tanned, tall, and square-jawed: Hansen, Greenland’s Icy Fury, p. 19.
263 “an opaque sheet of driving snow particles”: Balchen, Come North with Me, p. 245.
264 The following day: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, pp.
99–100.
264 climbed atop the front end: Spina, memoir, p. 32.
265 “I guess these ice worms”: Ibid., p. 33.
265 how little exhilaration they felt: Ibid.
265 “I guess nothing could excite us”: Ibid.
265 They reeked, and they knew it: Ibid., p. 40.
266 throwing it into a crevasse: Ibid.
23: “SOME PLAN IN THIS WORLD”
284 The team’s lead dog was Rinsky: Caption to a photo taken by Bernt Balchen, released by the U.S. Army Air Forces Public Relations Office.
285 Most seldom barked: Hansen, Greenland’s Icy Fury, p. 131–34.
285 Spina was the first to falter: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 101.
285 pursuit of the milk can: Spina, memoir, p. 33.
285 The entrance was a large hole: Spina, memoir, p. 35.
286 the Imperial Hotel: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 102. See also Spina, memoir, p. 35.
286 warming blankets for the men: Alfred “Clint” Best, narrative for his family of his time on the ice, typewritten transcript provided by his son, Robert Best, December 27, 1987, p. 6. (Spina also describes the dogs inside the cave in his memoir, pp. 35–36.)
287 Strong decided to get some exercise: Spina, memoir, p, 36.
287 A bigger worry for Balchen: Balchen, Come North with Me, p. 245.
287 Both suffered broken ailerons: Ragnarsson, US Navy PBY Catalina Units, p. 79.
287 On April 5, 1943: Balchen, Come North with Me, p. 245.
288 promoted to captain: Spina, memoir, p. 36.
290 steel straps from equipment cases: Ragnarsson, US Navy PBY Catalina Units, p. 80. Details of the repairs also come from Spina, memoir, p. 37.
290 holed up in the overgrown snow cave: Spina, memoir, p. 37.
290 both engines for takeoff: Ibid., p. 246. Details of the damage to the engine were also taken from Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 102; and Spina, memoir, p. 38.
291 The three PN9E survivors were skeptical: Spina, memoir, p. 38.
291 praying for good luck and good weather: Ibid.
291 if its engines failed: Ibid.
292 “If I hadn’t flown in this ship before”: Ibid.
293 “I have no instruments”: Balchen, Come North with Me, p. 246.
293 about one thousand feet: Ragnarsson, US Navy PBY Catalina Units, p. 80. Spina thought it was more like 600 feet (memoir, p. 39), but Ragnarsson is quoting Dunlop.
294 planning a return to earth: Spina, memoir, p. 39.
294 fifty feet above the ground: Ibid. In Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 103, the estimate is fifteen feet.
294 He and Best thought they were about to crash: Best, narrative, p. 3; Spina, memoir, p. 39.
294 patted them on the backs: Spina, memoir, p. 39.
294 far past the danger zone: Ibid. Spina explains that this is based on a conversation between Dunlop and Monteverde, who went to the cockpit during the flight.
295 how much fuel remained: Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, p. 103.
295 Larson called Bluie East Two: Spina, memoir, p. 39.
296 prepare for a crash: Ibid. This account is confirmed by Balchen, Ford, and La Farge, War below Zero, as well as by Ragnarsson.
296 yet another problem: Ragnarsson, US Navy PBY Catalina Units, p. 80.
297 emptied to greet them: Spina, memoir, p. 40.
297 “out to the rescue”: Best, narrative, p. 6.
EPILOGUE: AFTER GREENLAND
318 “preferably in the South Pacific”: “Fortress Pilot Tells of 148 Days.”
318 went to the White House: President Roosevelt, diary, www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/daybyday (accessed March 14, 2012).
319 this imagined exchange: Paul Peters, Nine Men against the Arctic, radio play script, presented on The Cavalcade of America, Monday, August 2, 1943.
320 “high devotion to duty”: “Greenland Crash Hero Gets Coveted Award,” Los Angeles Times, September 11, 1943.
321 twenty-two years in the air force: Armand Monteverde obituary, Daily Republic, January 9, 1988.
321 “I have not been where I could pay my dues”: Harry Spencer to Boy Scouts of America, Dallas Circle Ten Council, August 29, 1943.
322 “I have been without toilet paper”: Podraza, interview.
322 “the pristine whiteness of the Ice Cap snow”: Harry Spencer, written recollections of his return to the ice cap in June 1989, courtesy of Carol Sue Spencer Podraza.
324 graduated with honors from Georgetown University Law School: “Attorney William O’Hara Dies.”
324 resented needing a cane: Patricia O’Hara, interview, August 16, 2012.
324 “The Army has some screwy regulation”: “Attorney William O’Hara Dies.”
325 “All I have left is the pain and suffering”: DeAndrea, “Icy Ordeal,” p. 3.
325 “I haven’t dwelled on what happened”: Ibid.
325 “Anytime it was a bad situation”: Jean Spina Gaffney, interview, March 11, 2012.
325 graduated magna cum laude: Alfred Clinton Best obituary, Houston Chronicle, March 15, 2002.
326 “They called him ‘Kinderpa’ ”: Robert C. Best, interview.
326 refused to fly: Peter Tucciarone, son of Alexander Tucciarone, interview, February 25, 2012.
326 “I would do anything”: Kilday, “Survivor Recalls Rescue,” Mobile (Ala.) Press, n.d.
326 “How can I tell them what’s in my heart”: Ibid.
327 “the circulation still isn’t back to normal”: Lloyd Puryear to Alexander Tucciarone, April 2, 1943, provided by Peter Tucciarone.
328 “ill with a lung ailment”: Pearl Puryear to Angelina Tucciarone, December 15, 1943, provided by Peter Tucciarone.
328 “one of its favorite and most beloved native sons”: Lloyd Puryear obituary, News-Journal, January 13, 1944.
328 “under rigorous Arctic conditions”: Distinguished Flying Cross citation for Lieutenant Bernard W. Dunlop, May 8, 1943.
328 served as a lawyer: Nancy Dunlop, daughter of Bernard Dunlop, interview, March 23, 2012.
328 promoted to major in July 1944: “Military Promotions,” Salt Lake Tribune, July 25, 1944.
329 went to officer candidate school in Miami: “Glacier Hero Gets Officer’s Bars,” San Antonio Light, September 1, 1943.
329 “Bernt Balchen Saves 7 on Ice Cap”: Chicago Tribune, May 4, 1943.
329 “Flier of the Snows”: “Flier of the Snows,” unsigned editorial, New York Times, May 5, 1943.
329 secret orders to wipe out a German weather station: Balchen, Come North with Me, pp. 246–47; Matz, History of the 2nd Ferrying Group, p. 145.
330 flown over the North Pole: Balchen, Come North with Me, p. 66. In his 1958 autobiography, Balchen recounts a conversation with Byrd’s pilot, Floyd Bennett, who died in 1928. In Balchen’s telling, Bennett confirms Balchen’s suspicions that their plane, the Josephine Ford, wasn’t capable of reaching the North Pole.
330 turned back well short of the pole: Raimund E. Goerler, “Richard E. Byrd and the North Pole Flight of 1926: Fact, Fiction as Fact, and Interpretation,” monograph, 1999, darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org/bitstream
/handle/1912/1918/proc98363.pdf?sequence=1 (accessed April 12, 2012). See also Carroll V. Glines, review of To the Pole: The Diary and Notebook of Richard E. Byrd, 1925–1927, by Richard E. Byrd, edited by Raimund E. Goerler, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 107, no. 3 (Summer 1999): 332–33.
330 “a lifetime of remarkable achievements”: 106th Congress, 2nd session, Joint Resolution 36, passed October 23, 1999.
330 “the key to the solution of a baffling problem”: Francois E. Matthew, obituary for Max Harrison Demorest, Science, n.s., 97, no. 2510 (February 5, 1943): 132.
330 “In the death of Max Demorest”: Ibid.
331 working for the U.S. Geological Survey: “Reno Woman Takes New Job in Washington,” Reno Evening Gazette, February 2, 1954.
331 studied botany and geology: Photo caption labeled “Now a Student at the University of Michigan,” Reno Evening Gazette, November 13, 1957.
331 wrote to the six remaining PN9E survivors: Major James McFarland, Memorial Division, Office of the Quartermaster General, to Alfred C. Best, October 15, 1947. Similar letters were sent to Harry Spencer, Paul Spina, and other crewmen.
331 “Crevasses which we observed”: Harry Spencer to the Office of the Quartermaster General, October 25, 1947.
331 had a dream: Reba Greathead, daughter of Clarence Wedel, interview by e-mail, March 14, 2012.
332 “Passed from Earth to Glory”: Photograph of the tombstone provided by Eric Langhorst, Wedel’s grandson-in-law, March 6, 2012.
332 “War in all its shattering bitterness”: “Word Received of L. Howarth Death,” Wausaukee Independent, February 26, 1943.
332 chased a Nazi vessel: “USCGC Northland (WPG–49) History Sketch,” Public Affairs Division, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, p. 3.
332 purchased by American Zionists: Ibid. See also Ya’acov Friedler, “Aliya Bet Ship Sold for Scrap,” news clipping found in U.S. Coast Guard historical files, February 23, 1962, no publication noted.
333 “Our old sister”: Ibid.
Select Bibliography
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Balchen, Bernt. Come North with Me. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1958.
Balchen, Bernt, Corey Ford, and Oliver La Farge. War below Zero. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1944.
Carlson, William S. Greenland Lies North. New York: Macmillan, 1940.
The Coast Guard at War: Greenland Patrol. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Coast Guard, 1945.
Erlich, Gretel. This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland. New York: Vintage, 2003.
Hansen, Wallace. Greenland’s Icy Fury. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1994.
Hayes, David. The Lost Squadron. Edison, N.J.: Chartwell, 2008.
Howarth, David. The Sledge Patrol: A WWII Epic of Escape, Survival and Victory. New York: Macmillan, 1957.
Johnson, Corydon M. Erection and Maintenance Instructions for Model Grumman J2F-4 Airplanes, August 16, 1939. U.S. Coast Guard historical archives.
Kearns, David A. Where Hell Freezes Over: A Story of Amazing Survival and Bravery. New York: Thomas Dunne, 2005.
Kpomassie, Tete-Michel. An African in Greenland. New York: NYRB Classics, 2001.
La Farge, Oliver. The Eagle in the Egg. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1949.
Matz, Onas P. History of the 2nd Ferrying Group. Seattle: Modet, 1993.
Novak, Thaddeus D. Life and Death on the Greenland Patrol, 1942. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005.
Ostrom, Thomas. The United States Coast Guard in World War II: A History of Domestic and Overseas Actions. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2009.
Seaver, Kirsten. The Frozen Echo: Greenland and the Exploration of North America, ca. A.D. 1000–1500. Palo Alto, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1997.
Taub, Capt. Donald M., USCG Retired. The Greenland Ice Cap Rescue of B-17 “PN9E,” November 5, 1942, to May 8, 1943 (monograph). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Coast Guard History Program, 2011.
Ting, Henning. Encounters with Wildlife in Greenland. Nuuk, Greenland: Greenland Home Rule Government Department of Environment and Wildlife Management, n.d.
Vaughan, Norman D. My Life of Adventure. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole, 1995.
Willoughby, Malcolm F. U.S. Coast Guard in World War II. Annapolis, Md.: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1957.