Roll Over Play Dead

by Dan Milton

  “Yes. Pearl Harbor was the biggest effort. We made many dives cutting our way into ships to get the men out. We also were able to make repairs so they could re-float a lot of the vessels. I was involved in some aircraft recovery efforts as well. I was glad when the war was finally over. For several years after the war, our salvage group kept very busy.”

  Ernie and Jeff sat and listened intently to the conversation. They had never talked to Pam about her flying experience during the war. Just listening to Chet’s stories, they knew that Chet was the right one to join them in their recovery effort.

  After they had finished a very enjoyable dinner, Ernie and Jeff reviewed the preliminary plan that they and Chet had put together. Pam said, “The big unknown is how much of that sunken Island is sitting on top of the wreck. If it’s too much, we may never be able to uncover it. But, there is only one way to find out, and that is to give it our best shot. I have arranged my flight schedule to be free from mid-July to the end-of-August. Chet I sure hope you will be available as well.”

  Chet said, “Being retired; I have all the time in the world. Besides, I have been looking for something to do.”

  Pam said, “It looks like we have most of the responsibilities covered. Do we have enough time to rent the necessary equipment and get it shipped to Iliamna?”

  Ernie said, “We checked with the rental people, and they said they could meet our schedule. Owen let Alexei know about the required upgrade to his winch and boom. Alexei said he had been in touch with the manufacturer, and they have already sent the winch and boom. Alexei has found someone to help him install both parts once they arrive. We have not had any holdups yet. Let’s hope things continue to go well.”

  After weeks of additional detailed planning and the assembling of a list of other essential equipment and personal gear, Jeff and Ernie finally boarded a morning flight to Anchorage on Monday, July 12, 1965. Chet also made the same flight after making a last minute check that their rental salvage equipment had arrived in Iliamna. The plan was to meet Pam and Owen there. Owen would then fly them to Iliamna. They would stay at the lodge for a couple of days to make sure everything was ready for the recovery operation and to load the boat. Owen had already picked Alexei up and dropped him off at Iliamna on his way to Anchorage. Alexei was checking to make sure everything in the boat was ready.

  On the 15th, after a hearty early breakfast, they left for Kokhanok. The Weather was good and was projected to be good for the rest of the week. They found and stopped beside the marker buoy at the wreck site on the way and then proceeded to Kokhanok. They unloaded some equipment and personal gear into the cabins they would be using for a base camp.

  After dinner, they discussed the plan for the next day. It was an early night.

  Next morning they took off for the site to begin the recovery effort. There was much anticipation by everyone. Alexei radioed the weather center at King Salmon to get the latest. The report came back that it should be clear into next week. Chet and Jeff got suited up for the first dive. Ernie and Pam got the salvage equipment ready. Owen assisted where he could. It was a solid team effort. Chet’s team would descend first so he could get a first-hand view of the situation. They planned to get together after Chet’s dive to detail the activities for the next few days.

  On arrival at the wreck marker buoy, Alexei put out both bow and stern anchors. He also, for safety reasons, put the outboard powered Zodiac into the water.

  Within a matter of minutes, the first dive team hit the water and began descending the marker buoy anchor line. When they reached the bottom, Chet found the buoy anchor line securely tied to the base of the submerged mast. Chet and Jeff surveyed the area around the pole to determine what needed to be done to free the mast. There was a massive amount of tangled trees, rocks, and dirt. After 15 minutes, Chet gave the surface signal to Jeff, and they headed back up the line.

  After climbing on board, they took off their dive gear but kept their wetsuits on. Everyone gathered around as Chet said, “It looks like we’ll need to cut and move a lot of branches from the trees closest to the mast. I’ll use the underwater chainsaw while Jeff moves the branches away from the wreck area. Alexei, attach the saw to the winch cable and as we descend you can feed me the saw with the hydraulic cable. Jeff can make sure it doesn’t get tangled on the way down. When we are on the bottom, I’ll give two tugs on the cable, and you can start up the hydraulic power unit. If you get three tugs on the cable, kill the power unit.”

  Chet and Jeff made good progress in clearing the area around the mast. Chet gave three tugs on the hydraulic line, and Alexei shut off the power unit. Chet unhooked the hydraulic line from the saw. Chet and Jeff then headed back up the rope to the surface. Jeff climbed out, while Chet waited by the winch line. Chet shouted, “Alexei, start the winch and the raise the line slowly—so as not to shake loose the attached saw. I’ll watch for it from here.”

  After Chet was back on board, he said to Ernie and Pam, “We got the branches cleared. I left the hydraulic cable at the base of the mast. When you and Pam get to the bottom, attach tether lines from each of you to the buoy anchor line. I’m going to have you use the hydraulic line to flush away as much of the dirt and other rubble as you can. The force of the water coming out the line will want to shove you back. Pam you will need to add your weight to Ernie to keep him from losing his balance. Ernie, be sure not to lose a grip on the cable. If you do, it will become an angry snake and move in all directions.”

  “The water around the both of you is going to become very murky. Keep at it until the area is as cleared as you can get it. When you are through, tug on the line three times and Alexei will shut the power unit off. The two of you can use your tether lines to find your way back to the anchor line and then head on up. Getting that much done today will give us a good start tomorrow in removing the rocks at the base of the mast.”

  When Ernie and Pam surfaced after about 30 minutes, the water for hundreds of yards in all directions was murky. Chet said, “It should clear by morning. We accomplished a lot today. Let’s get the equipment up and head for home.”

  Next day they were back on site. Chet and Jeff made the first dive with one of the metal baskets that Alexei lowered using the winch cable. Chet and Jeff steered the basket to a position near the base of the mast and began the cumbersome task of removing the rocks from the base of the pole and placing them in the basket. On some of the larger ones, it took both of them to get the rock into the basket. When the basket was about half full, Chet gave the signal for Alexei to start the winch and lift the basket off the bottom. Chet examined the basket, and it looked okay. They then maneuvered it away from the area they were clearing and had Alexei lower it to the bottom. Chet moved the cable to the connector on the back side and unlocked the front side. Chet gave the signal and Alexei lifted the basket a few feet off the bottom. The rocks inside rolled out smoothly. Chet thought: It worked a lot better than I thought it would.

  The loading and unloading had used their air supply, so Chet and Jeff returned to the surface. Chet briefed Ernie and Pam on how the basket worked. Ernie and Pam put on their dive gear and headed for the bottom. They went through the same load and unload process without any problems. Space at the base of the mast was now sufficiently cleared to uncover a corner of the aft end of the boat.

  That night after dinner they got out the blueprints, and Ernie pointed to the cleared area. Alexei said that the mast had been tied to the deck in two places one of which was where Ernie was pointing on the blueprint. Ernie said, “Chet, from what you’ve seen, doesn’t it look like the boat is lying on its side?”

  “It sure looks like it.”

  “From the blueprint, we should be able to measure how far and in what direction we need to dig. It’s important to be accurate so that we find the best spot on the side of the boat to allow us to cut into the main cabin.”

  The next morning Ernie and Pam were the first divers to go down. They had cut a line the length they had measu
red from the blueprint. Pam held one end of the line at the cleared aft-end, and Ernie swam with the other end of the line in the direction indicated. He stopped at the end of the line after maneuvering through tree branches. He moved the buoy anchor over to the spot. With that, Ernie signaled Pam for them to surface.

  When they were back on the surface, Chet came over. Ernie said, “There are several trees lying in the area that we need to dig. We’ll have to cut and move branches and then use the hydraulic line to get rid of the loose rubble. I think it will take the rest of our time and most of your and Jeff’s time on the branches. Have Alexei lower the chainsaw and we can get started while you and Jeff suit up. When we get to the bottom, I’ll signal Alexei to start the power unit.”

  On the bottom, at the new excavation point, Ernie began cutting the branches, and Pam hauled them off. After about 15 minutes of fairly strenuous work, they both went on reserve and headed for the surface. As they broke the surface, Chet and Jeff stood ready to enter the water.

  Chet said, “Everything okay below?”

  Ernie answered, “Yes. Everything is working great. There is still a lot of clearing to do. We’ll get the tanks filled for another dive. See you topside.”

  Chet and Jeff continued the job of clearing the second excavation site and had just finished when they went on reserve and had to surface. As they surfaced, Ernie and Pam were ready to head to the bottom again.

  It took about half of Ernie’s and Pam’s airtime to finish clearing the branches. Ernie then signaled Alexei to cut the power. He disconnected the hydraulic line and signaled Alexei to winch up the chainsaw. With that done, Ernie and Pam tethered themselves to the buoy anchor cable and Ernie spent the rest of their air time flushing the area to remove the loose dirt and rubble on the rocks. Ernie signaled Alexei to shut off the hydraulic line. The visibility was near zero and difficult to know which way was up. He gave the up signal a few inches from Pam’s mask, and she began to follow the anchor line to the surface with Ernie following right behind.

  Back on board, with all equipment serviced and stored, Alexei said, “Let’s head for home.”

  Everyone had made good progress with the day’s efforts. Even though exhausted, the anticipation of what they would find tomorrow was high during dinner. Owen had just returned from a charter flight to Anchorage. Ernie filled him in on the progress. When he spoke to Alexei later that evening, he sensed how excited Alexei was getting.

  It took three days effort by both dive teams to remove enough rocks using the metal baskets to finally reach the wooden side of the boat. When Pam removed the last stone to uncover the wooden surface, she was face-to-face with the letter ‘Y’ and the letter ‘D’. Her memory cut in as she realized it was the last two letters of the boat’s name; MV-TRAVIS BOYD—named after Captain Boyd’s son who died at Pearl Harbor. In her excitement, she grabbed Ernie to show him. He fell over in the process and knocked the regulator out of his mouth. As he was putting it back in, he saw the YD, and he too became excited. He gave her the up sign, and they headed for the surface.

  On surfacing, they both shouted, “We reached the hull.”

  Ernie continued, “Pam saw it first—the last two letters of the boat’s name; MV-TRAVIS BOYD. We hit the hull exactly where we needed. Now we have the job of cutting into it. Chet, it’s getting late, should we wait until tomorrow morning to start cutting?”

  Chet said, “Sounds like the smart thing to do. We have made exceptional progress. It should only take a day to cut through the hull.”

  On the way to Kokhanok, Alexei radioed King Salmon for the weather forecast. A storm heading their way should be on them tomorrow night with high winds and heavy rain. Light rain should start tomorrow morning and get heavier throughout the day. After hearing the report, Chet said, “We had better start real early in the morning and plan on being back by mid-afternoon.”

  The next morning, on the first dive, Chet and Ernie were teamed up. Chet needed to show Ernie how to use the air hammer drill and the reciprocating saw. They needed to cut an opening in the hull sufficiently large so that an adult, wearing an air tank, could get through easily. Chet measured the opening needed and made a mark in each of the four corners. Using the air hammer drill, he bore the first three holes, one for each marked corner, and then let Ernie drill the fourth hole. Using the holes as starting points, Chet used the reciprocating saw to start cutting into the hull following an imaginary line to the next corner. After cutting the first side, Chet had Ernie cut the second. Since their air was running low, they signaled to have the power unit turned off then headed up the buoy anchor line.

  Back on the surface, Chet said, “Jeff, how about suiting up and get Ernie a fresh tank. We are about half way through the opening in the hull. I showed Ernie how to use the cutting tool. I’ll have him show you down below. Then, if needed, Pam and I can take over; then I can show her, and hopefully we can finish the job.”

  Ernie and Jeff headed down. Ernie showed Jeff how to use the reciprocating saw and let him cut the final two sides. When cut, they were able to pull the cut part of the hull out of the opening and move it out of their way.

  Ernie used an underwater flashlight to look into the inside of the hull. There were some wooden braces that would need to be cut to let them move inside. Both Jeff and he were running out of air, so they signaled Alexei to shut off the power unit, and they followed the anchor line back to the surface.

  On the surface, Chet asked, “How did it go?”

  Ernie said, “We got all the way through the outer hull. We then removed the debris from the opening. When we did so, we found wooden braces blocking the entry into the hull. We will need to cut them before we can get in.”

  Chet said, “Alexei, how is the weather holding? The wind seems to be picking up a little, and the rain is getting heavier.”

  Alexei said, “I just checked with King Salmon, and they said it should hit here in 3-4 hours.”

  Chet said, “Looks like we have time for one more dive. Pam, you and I can get suited up. We’ll cut the braces and clear a path into the main cabin. That will give us a clear shot after the storm lets up. Jeff and Ernie, while we are down, get all the equipment serviced and stored so we can be ready to leave after we surface.”

  On the bottom, Chet showed Pam how to use the reciprocating saw and the hammer drill as they removed the wooden braces that were blocking them from reaching the main cabin. Chet bore some test holes through the wall of the main cabin. The drill went through the thinner material of the wall smoothly. Chet thought: We can finish this after the storm.

  Chet signaled to have the power turned off and then gave Pam the surface sign. Pam moved over to the anchor line checked to see that Chet was right behind her, pulled her reserve and headed up the line.

  On surfacing, she headed to the back of the boat and climbed onto the ramp. She handed Jeff her tank and weight belt and then her mask and fins.

  Ernie shouted to Pam as he was operating the winch to lift the drill, saw and hydraulic line to the surface, “Where’s Chet?”

  Pam shouted back, ‘He was right behind me.”

  Ernie said, “I don’t see him! There are no bubbles near the buoy!”

  Discovery

  Pam shouted, “Jeff, hand me my weight belt, mask and flippers. Get me a new tank and put my regulator on it.” Pam fastened her weight belt and then put on a fresh tank. “Grab me the emergency tank.” Pam put on her mask and fins and grabbed the emergency tank. She swam over to the buoy and began descending the anchor line. About half way to the bottom she spotted Chet. He was part way inside the hole they had cut in the hull, and it looked like some rocks and rubble had fallen around him.

  Pam swam over to Chet with the emergency tank. As she got there, Pam noticed that Chet’s tank was on reserve. He probably only had a couple of minutes of air left. Chet was lying on his stomach with his head inside the hole. All his bubbles were staying inside the hull. Pam grabbed Chet’s left arm. Feeling that someone was there
, with the one hand that Chet had free he gave the thumbs up okay sign. Chet’s other arm was underneath him. The dislodged rock and debris had him pinned in the hole. Pam brought the emergency tank over. She managed to remove enough of the rubble to get to his regulator mouthpiece. She turned the valve on the emergency tank and switched Chet’s regulator mouthpiece with that of the emergency unit. With new air coming in, Chet gave her another okay sign. At least he would have 15 minutes or so while she worked to get him cleared.

  One-by-one, Pam removed the larger rocks that had Chet pinned. After about 10 minutes, she attacked and removed the smaller pieces of rubble. Chet began to scoot backward out of the hole. Pam eased him around until they were facing each other mask to mask, and she mouthed the words, “Are you okay?” Jeff smiled and mouthed the words, “I’m better, now.” Chet gave the surface signal. Pam pointed for him to precede her up the anchor line.

  Back on board the boat, everyone else was madly trying to get things stored and tied down. Alexei was winching up the last of the underwater equipment. The wind and the rain from the storm were causing havoc. Finally, Ernie said, “Everything is retrieved and tied down. We’ll leave the Zodiac on a longer line behind the boat. It will be safer there. Alexei, let’s head for home.”

  A somewhat windswept and wet crew finally tied the boat to the dock and headed for their cabins. A hot shower and some dry clothes would feel great.

  At dinner, to satisfy everyone’s curiosity, Ernie asked, “Chet, what happened down there?”

  Chet said, “We had just finished cutting the last of the braces that were blocking our way into the main cabin. I was in the process of removing the saw and hydraulic line from inside the hull so Alexei could winch it up. As I lifted the saw, the hydraulic cable got wrapped around one of the cut pieces. I pulled myself in further, to unwrap the wire, when some rocks tumbled down and pinned me in the hole we had cut in the hull. I suspect that the vibrations from the reciprocating saw loosened some rocks sitting above the hole. Your concern that you couldn’t see any of my bubbles, followed by Pam’s quick action, saved the day. I had just pulled my reserve line on my air tank.”