by Brian Murphy
Charley River (Alaska)
Chief Charley and, 102
Crane in relation to, 33, 50, 64, 65, 95–96, 103, 131, 173, 179
military forensic investigation of crash sites near, 110
mining and, 133–135
Charley River valley, 25
Chena River (Alaska), 100
Chief Charley, 102
Chinook winds, 172
Churchill, Winston, 119
Circle (Alaska), 190
Civilians in war, 54–55
Clear-air turbulence, 17
CL-4S biplane, 57
Coal Creek (Alaska), 133, 134, 186, 189
Cobrastochkkas (P-39 Airacobra fighter), 120
Cold, extreme
clothing for, 92
physical effects of, 34–35, 89–90
Cold Nose Boys, 12, 13–14, 45, 92–93, 121
Cold Weather Test Detachment, 12–13, 14
Colony Glacier, 154
C-124 cargo plane crash, 113, 154
Consolidated Aircraft Corporation, 57, 58, 85
Copper Creek (Alaska), 33
Corvette escort ships, 55
Crane, Bill, 212, 215–216
Crane, Leon, 2
at Ames’s cabin, 177–184
at Berail’s cabin, 96, 97–107, 129–131, 139–141
care of hands, 129–130
childhood, 7, 8, 80–83
college career, 7, 83–84
crash of Iceberg Inez, 20–23
death of, 215
decision to head downstream after crash, 32–33
desire to set parents’ mind to rest, 135–136
discovery of Ames’s cabin, 175–176
dream of Hoskin, 87–88
early interest in aviation, 81, 83
encounter with John Hoskin, 217–218
envisioning own death, 92–93
falling through ice, 144–145, 148–150, 168–169
father’s letter, 9, 25–26
fire building, 35–36, 149
first camp while waiting for rescue, 36
first days hiking out, 88, 90–92, 93–96
food and supplies at Berail’s cabin, 97–99, 106–107
frostbite dangers and, 88
in “hibernation,” 71–72
hiking out after leaving Berail’s cabin, 141–145, 148–152
hope for Hoskin’s survival, 32
hunger and, 33–34, 61–62, 63, 64, 89–90, 106
hunting, 65–68, 131–132, 151, 175
ice-break and, 139–140
immediate aftermath of crash and, 23–26
job as copilot, 15
last leg of hike, 165–166, 167–170, 171–172, 173–176
leave home, 213–214
making fire the first night, 25–26
marriage, 214–215
matches and, 11, 24
media coverage of survival, 3, 197
military flight training, 84–85
odds of rescue, 27–30
oral history, 215
orienting self after crash, 64–65
parachuting out of plane, 21–23
planning for survival, 64–65
planning to hike out from Berail’s cabin, 130–131, 132–133, 135–136, 137, 141
as poker player, 5–6, 7
postmilitary career, 215
preparation for flight, 8–16
P-63 test flight, 214
religious upbringing, 63
report on crash, 200–201
return to Ladd Field, 191, 193–197, 213
routine flight of Iceberg Inez and, 17–19
second cabin stay, 151–152, 169–170
sense of time and, 63
Soviets at Ladd Field and, 121–122
stay in Woodchopper, 185–191
supply sledge and, 137, 141, 142, 145, 148, 168–169
survivor’s guilt and, 217–218
takeoff, 16–17
visit with Berail, 188–189, 190–191
wilderness education of, 71–72
winds and, 144, 171, 174
Crane, Louis, 9, 135
auction company, 74–75, 82
immigration of, 77, 79, 80
life in West Philadelphia, 82–83
notification of Leon’s crash, 74
notification that son still missing, 152
Crane, Miriam, 215–216
Crane, Morris, 75, 82, 83, 217
Crane, Nathan, 75, 80, 83
Crane, Sonia
belief Leon still alive, 93
immigration of, 77, 79, 80
Leon and image of mother mourning, 135
life in West Philadelphia, 82
notification of Leon’s crash, 74–75
Crane, Wilma (Koehrsen), 214–215, 217
“The Cremation of Sam McGee” (Service), 167
Cygnet (kite), 211
da Vinci, Leonardo, 94
Davis, David R., 58–59
Dawson City (Alaska), 133
Dead Horse Trail, 167
de Havilland, Olivia, 127
Demianenko, Constanta P., 43
Denali (Alaska), 91
DNA matching, to identify Hoskin remains, 204–205
Dotson’ Sa, 172–173
Dredging, for gold, 134
Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base, Japanese assault on, 43–47
Earhart, Amelia, 83
East India Company, 159
Edison, Thomas, 78
Eielson, Carl Ben (“Arctic Lindbergh”), 39–40
Elevator controls, 20–21
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 69–71
English, Norman, 76
Fairbanks, Charles W., 101
Fairbanks (Alaska)
as air hub, 41
establishment of, 100–102
Soviet airmen and, 122–124
as transit point during World War II, 12
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (newspaper), 41, 216
Feathering tests, 14, 19
Ferri, Gino, 90
Feynman, Richard, 83–84
Fire extinguisher, on board plane, 16
Fitzgerald, T. A., 152
Fleet, Reuben, 58
Flyer (biplane), 210–211
Fokker F.III, 181
Ford Motor Company, 56
Fort Mears (Alaska), 44
Fort Myers (Virginia), 210
45th Infantry Division, 136
Fort Yukon (Alaska), 31, 51, 180
Foster, Stephen, 121
Fox, Gregory L., 109, 110, 113
Frank, Gerold, 112
Franklin, John, 146
Frostbite, 34–35, 88–89
Gable, Clark, 55–56
Gabor, Zsa Zsa, 112
Gaffney, Dale, 42
Garland, Judy, 112
General Motors, 122
George VI, 31
German POWs in Maine, 161–162
G-forces, crash of Iceberg Inez and, 20, 21
Gilmore, Tom, 100–101
Gold belt, 173
Gold mining, Alaskan, 100–102, 133–135, 173
deaths incurred during, 166–167
decline of, 188
The Gold Rush (film), 166
Great Raven, 172–173
Grinnell, Dick, 191
Grinnell, Willard, 188, 191, 194–195
Gros, Bill, 59, 202–203
Grumman Duck, 113
Guadalcanal, 52
Haggland, Pete, 41
Hammett, Dashiell, 126–127
Hangar I (Ladd Field),
11, 13
Soviet side of, 117, 121
Hanukkah, 63, 64
Harding, Warren G., 42
Harland and Wolff shipyards, 55
Harper, Arthur, 91
Harper, Walter, 91
Hellman, Lillian, 126, 127
Herodotus, 111
Hibernation, 71–72
Hickam Air Force Base (Hawaii), 153–155, 162–163
Hiebert, Augie, 42
Hiroshima, 158
Holland, Thomas D., 205
Horan, James D., 112
Horse packer, 181
Hoskin, Harold, 152
burial ceremony, 207–210, 211–212
Crane dream of, 87–88
crash of Iceberg Inez and, 20–23
description of B-24 Liberator, 157
forensic investigation, 153, 154–155, 163, 199–200, 203–205
Iceberg Inez takeoff and, 16–17
identification of remains, 199–200, 203–205
letters to wife, 160–161, 208–209
parents’ reaction to crash news, 156
as pilot of B-24D Liberator, 11
preparation for flight, 13–16
routine flight of Iceberg Inez and, 17–19
search for remains, 110, 112–113
Hoskin, Joann, 160, 161, 162, 199
father’s burial and, 207–209, 211–212
Hoskin, John, 155, 157–160
brother’s burial and, 207, 211
encounter with Crane, 217–218
identification of brother’s remains, 199, 205
Hoskin, Mary (Harold’s wife)
German POWs in Maine and, 161–162
letters to and from husband, 160–161, 208–209
life after husband’s death, 217
notification husband missing, 76
refusal to accept idea husband would not return, 155–156, 161, 162
Hoskin, Mary (John’s wife), 199, 205, 207, 211, 217–218
Hunger
Crane and, 33–34, 61–62, 63, 64, 89–90, 106
physical effects of, 33–34, 62–63
Hypothermia, eating snow and, 61
Ice, perils of, 144–145, 147, 148–150
Iceberg Inez (B-24D no. 42–40910), 11
contemporary investigation of crash site, 53–54, 59–60, 109–110, 112–114
crash of, 20–23
discovery of crash site, 213
initial report on crash/search results, 115–117
letter to families regarding crash, 152
production of, 85
reasons for crash, 200–203
routine flight of, 17–19
search for crash site, 37–39, 50–51
takeoff, 16–17
Ice-break, 139–140
Iditarod Trail, 133
Italy, Allied progress in, 136, 183
Jacobs Radial L-4 engine, 41
Japan
assault on Dutch Harbor, 43–47
attacks on Alaska, 11–12, 43–47, 49–50
attacks on Attu and Kiska, 49–50
surrender, 158
US occupation of, 159
Jefford, Jack, 122
Jewish anarchists, 79
JLB (cold-weather survivor), 34
Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), 110–112
Hoskin investigation, 199–200
investigation of B-24 wreckage, 153–155, 163
Jones, Etta, 49
Jones, Stuart “Slim,” 82
Jordan, Arthur, 51, 93, 121, 195, 197
Jordan, George Racey, 119–120, 121
JPAC. See Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC)
Kalb, Bernard, 127
Kandik River (Alaska), 102
Karagodskys, 77, 79. See also Crane, Louis; Crane, Sonia
Kawasaki, 55
Keillor, Russell, 191, 196
KFAR (radio station), 124
Kinney, Jeremy, 200
The Kiri Leaf Falls (play), 49
Kiska (Alaska), Japanese attack and control of, 49–50
Knights of Liberty, 79
Kodiak Island, 48
Koehrsen, Wilma, 197, 214–215, 217
Kontanis, Elias J., 204
Korean War, 111
Koyukuk (Alaska), 41
Krueger, Hans, 162
Krupp, 55
Ladd Field (Alaska)
celebration of holidays at, 64
Cold Weather Test Detachment, 12–13, 14
Crane’s return to, 191, 193–197
defense of Dutch Harbor and, 45
Ragle at, 42–43
Soviet presence at, 117–118, 120–122
Thanksgiving menu, 64
underground tunnels, 5, 11
Laddon, Isaac Machlin (I. M.), 57–59, 84
Larrey, Dominique Jean, 89
Lavelle Young (stern-wheeler), 100
Lend-Lease program, 117–122
Soviets in Fairbanks and, 122–124
tradecraft conspiracies and, 123–124
Lindbergh, Charles “Lucky,” 81
The Line (red-light district), 122
Lockheed, 12
London, Jack, 71
Lubin, Siegmund, 78
“Luck Saved Crane in Arctic Fields; City Flier, Foodless Nine Days, Found Cabin with Stock of Provisions” (newspaper article), 197
“Lung frosting,” 9
Lupo, Francis, 111
Manhattan Project, 123
Marks, Jack, 45, 46–47, 48
Marshall Islands, 136
Martin, James, 39
Martin, Lily, 39
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Crane at, 7, 83–84
Mawson, Douglas, 145–148
McAndrews, J. J., 183
McGee, William Samuel, 167
McGill University, 57
McGovern, Joseph, 76
McIntosh, Mary Roberta, 160. See also Hoskin, Mary (Harold’s wife)
McPhee, John, 217
McRae, Alexander, 133–134
Medical Journal of Australia, 146
Mein Kampf (Hitler), 56
Mental acuity, starvation and loss of, 89–90
Mertz, Xavier, 146
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 40
MIA. See Missing in action (MIA)
Midnight Sun (newspaper), 120
Military aviation, 40
advances in, 55, 57–59
cold weather testing in Alaska, 12–13, 14
Flyer test flight, 210–211
Military forensics. See Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC)
“Million Dollar Valley,” 119
Mind, effect of starvation on, 62–63
Missing in action (MIA)
identification of remains, 154
JPAC and, 111–112
telegrams notifying families, 75–76
in World War II, 2, 112
MIT. See Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Mitochondrial DNA, 204–205
Mitsubishi, 55
Monroe, Rose Will, 56–57
Monsen, “Big Money,” 41
Moreland, Ben, 194–195
Mount Athos (Greece), 1, 3
Mount Gannett (Alaska), 154
Mount Harper (Alaska), 91
Mount McKinley (Alaska), 91
Myers, David, 209, 216
Myers, Ethel, 209, 212
Myrtle Creek (Alaska), 41
Nakajima reconnaissance aircraft, 46
Nanuk (schooner), 40
Nash, Charlotte, 81
Nature
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Native tribes’ understanding of, 68–69
transcendentalists’ understanding of, 69–71
Nautilus (submarine), 126
Neuberger, Richard L., 123
Nigro, Frank, 120
Ninnis, Belgrave, 146
Nixon-Nirdlinger, Frederick G., 80–81
Noonan, Fred, 83
Northern migration of southern blacks, 7–8
Northwest Passage, 70
Noyes, Irene, 123
One Drop of Blood (Holland), 205
Osgood, Cornelius, 130, 145
Pacific theater, Allied success in, 136
Patriot Guard Riders, 212
Patty, Dale, 190
Patty, Ernest Newton, 133–134, 189
Pavlova, Anna, 146
PBY Catalina, 57, 58
Pearl Harbor, attack on, 42, 84, 118
P-40 Warhawk fighters, 46
Phi Beta Delta, 83
Philadelphia
Crane’s childhood in, 7, 8, 80–83
migration of southern blacks to, 7–8
Russian Jewish immigrants in, 76–80
Philadelphia Record (newspaper), 214
Pickrell’s Solution, 35
Pinchuk, Iurii, 85
Pioneer Air Museum (Fairbanks, Alaska), 41
Pompeo, Anna, 197
Pompeo, Richard, 152
building at Ladd Field in honor of, 216
crash and, 21, 22, 23
flight preparation and, 16
previous rescue of, 31, 117
still missing in action, 113, 200, 209
Poon Lim, 31
Pratt & Whitney, 12
Prinz Adalbert (steamship), 76, 77
Propaganda
B-24 and, 55–56
dropped on Attu, 49
P-63 Kingcobra, 214
Psychological Warfare Teams (US Army), 49
Psychology of survival, 145–148
P-39 Airacobra fighter, 15, 120, 122
P-36 fighter, 34
Rabies, wolves and, 143
Ragle, Jane, 42, 125
Ragle, John, 125
Ragle, R. C. (Richard Charles)
call to active duty, 42–43
defense of Dutch Harbor and, 45–48
family life, 124–125
Iceberg Inez search and, 38–39, 50–51
premilitary career, 39–42
report on crash/search results, 115–117
search for Demianenko and, 43
Rauscher, Manfred, 84, 94
The Raven, 172–173
Red squirrels, 65–68, 131
Rice, Bob, 191, 193–195, 216
Roadhouses, Alaskan, 185–188
Rockwell, Norman, 56
Rolvaag, Ole, 144
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 51, 52
Roosevelt, Theodore, 101
Rosie the Riveter, 56–57
Russian Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia, 76–80
Russian Officers’ Club, 120
Saturday Evening Post (magazine), 56, 132
Scud (clouds), 18