This letter outlines how important a role radio contact played in the crew's eventual rescue off the ice.

January 30, 1993

Dear Harvey

I am glad we will never know - - but without your efforts and mine - - we certainly would not have been found so quickly. And, considering the absolutely barren, desolate location, so far away from anything - - the likelyhood of our ever being found alive was even more remote than where we were.

There wasn't even any trees or bushes or small game. But, thank goodness, no small game meant no big game. Polar Bears that is.

Lt. Arnett made a perfect landing. He really deserved a lot of credit for that one.

Of course, Lt. Cavnar, made a gutsy dramatic rescue and deserves all the credit he got and then some. But - he had to be told where we were.

My recollections differ somewhat from what I read in the two books. But of course, time has a way of distorting things as they actually happened, and fogging the memory - - at least a little bit.

No mention was ever made of the Civilian Airline Radio Station at Point Barrow. I was having trouble contacting Ladd and for some reason, I could not raise Elmendorf. With Lt.Arnett's permission, I raised Point Barrow by breaking in on his Voice Frequency with ICW. He broke off his own Traffic to listen to my tale of woe. He said he would relay and then I felt assured that the 46th would know of our predicament. If memory serves me correctly, you told me you heard this activity from our Ground Station.

By the way, when I asked Ladd AACS to turn on the D/F, they asked if it was for practice. When I replied how we really needed it, the answer was that the D/F was off the Air for Maintenance and Repair.

I feel certain that Capt. McIntyre, apparently almost all set for another mission, took off in search for us, while we were still Airborne.

We flew around for many hours after we knew we were lost. His Radio Operator, Sgt. Speer was in touch with me for a while. They said they were heading out over the Canadian Archipelago, and hoping for the best. I believe they did not have a Full Load of Fuel because Capt. McIntyre told Speer that they would pretty soon have to head back. He said that all available planes were being made ready for Search.

Twilight hours are not the best friend of the Navigators. We must have had a high overcast during the dark hours. Also winds aloft were very tricky. Put all this together and we were LOST. The Tail Skid did not retract for our Landing, and was probably down during the entire flight, which might be the reason we could not get above the overcast for the Navigator to get a shot of the stars.

The Navigators gave me information to send back to LADD, which was, the time of our last known position, Headings since that time, Air Speed and Gyro Precession Rate, which determined the choice of Heading in lieu of Position by Stars.

Eventually, I had to send the one message I never wanted to, S.O.S. Did Captain Allenby have a Specific Heading and Course to take when you guys took off? I am sure glad you took the Route you did.

We first knew we were lost when the Radar Operator, Lt. Adams told me he had an unidentified Land Fall. I usually wrote down a guess as to what time we would return to the Alaskan Coast. This Radar Sighting was 3 or 4 hours earlier than my guess. When I told the Navigator, Lt. Cowan, of the Landfall by Radar, he was not a happy camper.

After Lt. Cowan advised Lt. Arnett, the A/C, I asked for, and received permission to break Radio Silence. Except for the Break during our Landing and getting the Putt Putt operating, I was on the Radio constantly for many hours.

After we were on the ground, Lt. Luedke and Sgt. Yarborough(Yardbird) kept bringing me Tea and Soup to keep me awake and going. Lt. Luedke said "You are the One Guy we have to keep well and happy".

Yarborough and Luedke were the common sense guys who just seemed to know what to do and when. For instance, they had the presence of mind to open the "Y" Drains before the Oil froze in the engines. The Oil poured out on the snow where it froze and they were able to chop it into blocks for Fuel.

They kept the Putt Putt and its battery from freezing(at that time it was 40 below) by building a protected fire near it, inside of the Air Plane. This was extremely important for the operation of the Radio. At first, everything was against us. But when it got light enough for us to land - - not too long before we ran out of Fuel - - everything started going in our favor. Otherwise, I would not be writing this - 46 years later.

Some time, after we landed, the HAM Radio Operator at The Weather Station in Thule contacted me. I believe he heard me working Barrow. Since I did not know what Continent we were on, at the time, and he used HAM Call Letters, I had to make sure he was friendly. I asked him if he was where Prince Valiant (Comic Strip Character) had been. I did not know there was such a place as Thule, other than in the Comic Strip. His quick Affirmative answer made me feel a little easier. I told the Pilot and Navigators about this.

Meanwhile, you guys were enroute. He was trying to make a Loop for D/F but did not have any luck. I met him at Thule and he gave me his HAM Card. I would like to have it now for the Scrap Book my Daughter made of my big adventure - - but I do not know what happened to it.

We sure got plenty of Press Write-ups. We even made TIME Magazine. The picture of my Wife and our Two Kids were on the front page of the Philadelphia Papers.

I sure would like to read any of your recollections that you would want to write down.
Here's a Picture of the KEE BIRD CLOCK.
Now you have my autograph
Just in case you never saw it, Lt. Edgar Flow1er's Poem is enclosed.

Robert Leader,
912 Princeton Ave.
Philadelphia, Penna. 19111