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In 1946 Admiral Richard Byrd lead a 4,000-man mission to Antarctica
to map the continent. This was the fourth of Byrd's polar explorations,
and his most ambitious. The expedition was named, "Operation
High Jump." One of the ships involved was the USS Pine Island,
a PBM seaplane tender under the command of H.H. Caldwell. The
three PBMs of the Pine Island were given the task of photo mapping
the eastern side of the Antarctic continent, and the ship had
moved as far south as possible to establish a base of operations.
The ship anchored on the leeward side of a huge iceberg to provide
a suitable area for the launch and recovery of the PBMs. The
first flight was made by George-1 on December 30, 1946 without
incident. The second flight of this aircraft with a different
crew would prove to be a life and death struggle. Under the command
of Ralph "Frenchy" LeBlanc, co-piloted by Bill Kearns,
and with Captain Caldwell aboard as an observer, the second flight
of George-1 began under hazardous sea conditions and at times
near zero visibility conditions due to snowstorms. The aircraft
was approximately 200 miles from the coast. Because of the bad
visibility Kearns was preparing to execute a 180 degree turn
and return to the Pine Island, when George-1 crashed into a giant
snowdrift. The aircraft was ripped apart by the crash, and a
fire began almost immediately. Three of the nine on board perished
in the crash. LeBlanc was pulled from the burning cockpit by
Jim Robbins and some of the other survivors, none of which were
without some injury. The six survivors of George-1 now faced
an indeterminate amount of time before any rescue might be possible.
Fortunately, the six survivors showed solid American ingenuity,
and went about the business of surviving and caring for the injured
in the best way possible. With no working radio, the group had
no way of knowing if help would ever reach them. It would be
13-days before the survivors would be spotted by the pilot of
George-2 Jimmy Ball. Ball's crew spotted a signal fire which
the survivors had ignited when the second Mariner passed within
several miles of the crash site. George-2 dropped supplies for
the survivors and a message that a pick-up might be possible
if the group could move about six miles to the coast. The trek
was not easy, but the survivors finally made it and were picked
up by George-3. This limited edition by Stan Stokes is dedicated
to the memory of the three men who did not survive the crash;
Max Lopez, W.K. Hendersin, and F.W. Williams, and to the commander
of George-1, the late Frenchy LeBlanc. Frenchy lost both his
legs as a result of the tragedy, but maintained a determination
and a sense of humor which has both inspired and motivated the
survivors of this Antarctic Mayday for the fifty years which
have passed since that fateful day in 1946. |