SHE WAS NEVER LOST 3 MINUTE PROMO

Promo for SHE WAS NEVER LOST: THE AMELIA EARHART SAGA (added voice over)

SHE WAS NEVER LOST: THE AMELIA EARHART SAGA - a six minute clip of footage from Aslito field June 18, 1944

 

People have been posting comments on the YouTube page where this resides:

3 days ago

"This is a" Six minute advertisement for a book. The "photographic evidence" is a blurred, shadowy picture of something under a tarp.

My reply:

AMELIA EARHART'S PLANE FOUND ON SAIPAN IN 1944 BY US MARINES. PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF THE PLANE

Wow. Jaded much are we? The book has four decades of research, interviews, transcripts from the Marines who found the plane.  I can't post all of that in a single clip.  So the clip points to the book. The photo itself is not proof, the photo is from the US Marines footage (easy to find on YouTube) from June 18, 1944, the day before the plane was found by US Marines.  (and reported in the book as such).  the idea that the photo is going to prove something is silly - what the footage proves is that there were only two hangars standing on Aslito when the footage was taken. And only one had planes in it. So when the Marines were ordered to guard it the following day - there was only ONE HANGAR THAT HAD PLANES IN IT. And as the book notes a dozen Marines, GI's, vets saw it in the only hangar on the field.  It's inference. If one actually reads the book SHE WAS NEVER LOST they'll see that I was as shocked as anyone to realize there was already footage of the plane in that hangar that they guarded.

If Amelia was never lost… why didn’t she return to the United States?

My reply:

AMELIA EARHART'S PLANE FOUND ON SAIPAN IN 1944 BY US MARINES. PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF THE PLANE

Because no one knew where to look for her. (or the ones who knew where she was couldn't reveal that as it would prove they'd broken the Japanese naval code). She was alive up until 1944. She knew where she was. The people who did her laundry, who guarded her, who escorted her around the island, who put her in a cell next to people who later reported seeing her - she knew where she was. It's these ridiculous people who dismiss what islanders say, who dismiss what the Marines have said, who dismiss the eyewitness reports - they're just like the military brass who decided to bury the story because it was inconvenient in the middle of a war. Today I was on a podcast and the podcaster asked "so why didn they not report finding her plane?" I replied, "Ask yourself why Churchill didn't save innocent Brits when he knew that the V2 bombs were on their way to kill them."  He did so because in the middle of the war - even though the Enigma machine's code had been broken - if he saved those innocent lives, it would have revealed they'd broken their codes.  And the US had broken their Navy codes in the early 1930's but no one was talking about it.  The answer is; she was expendable when they knew she was on Saipan.  She knew where she was, and knew she wasn't coming back. And if you read the book, she says so IN HER OWN WORDS. She landed the Electra on a coral reef, was arrested, and put in prison for the next 7 years of her life.  None of that was a mystery to her.

And right here on the same page as the video, 7 more videos saying things like "The Search is over" about her plane being found elsewhere, a couple showing pictures of "the plane" in 2 different places, both under water and "just been discovered".  They are all certain and positive they have solved the riddle.  Yours is just one of many, and probably all are wrong.  Your pix of her plane in the corner reminds me of the picture of the shooter on the grassy knoll in Dallas.....all imagination, seeing things in something that is just a blur and nothing more.

my reply:

AMELIA EARHART'S PLANE FOUND ON SAIPAN IN 1944 BY US MARINES. PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF THE PLANE

I understand the dismay, disbelief and general arguments. All I can say is that I worked on both feature films about her (Keaton and Swank) have been to Saipan, have filmed 15 new eyewitnesses, have gathered over 200 island witnesses, have filmed half a dozen GI's including the Marine who decoded that message that said they'd found the plane and then guarded it "in a hangar." Only one hangar had planes in it - clearly in the footage. So I appreciate "my pictures" comment - but they aren't "my pictures" - it's 16mm footage taken on June 18th, 1944. And when I went to Baldwyn Mississippi to interview Marine Nabers, he said "he remembered it as if it were yesterday "June 19, 1944."  He decoded that message - and then I've interviewed another five who saw it "in a hangar" and then have gathered dozens of GI's who "heard they'd found it on the field." It takes a certain amount of spirited denial to argue with Marines who found her briefcase, passport, maps, found a photo album with photos taken during the Last Flight, found the plane in a hangar, watched it test flown and then destroyed.. this photo is from that footage, and points to the data, the research, the data, the testimonies in the book SHE WAS NEVER LOST: THE AMELIA EARHART SAGA.  Read it, don't read it - I don't care to argue something that's moot.  Silly actually. but thanks for weighing in so I could repeat this comment ad nauseum.

Comment:

When I read Mr Nabers's name, along with Colonel Wallace's - I just about jumped out of my chair!  This was my father's regiment, the 8th.  He was in communications detail, a radio man & radio repairman, in Weapons Company, 8th regiment, 2nd Marine Division.  I had corresponded with Mr Nabers many years ago (sometime in the 90s) - at that time I believe he was the president of the Mississippi chapter of the 2nd Marine Div Association.  My father passed in '81 - but had I known about the possibility of Earhart's plane being there, I'd have surely asked him about it, along with many other details of their time in the Marianas, and Tarawa before that -  that I have since learned much more about.  He once mentioned being at a hangar and finding crates of unassembled Zeros, which were confiscated of course. Also, there are numerous eyewitness accounts by elders of Saipan about "the lady pilot".   We may never know exactly what happened to her and Mr. Noonan.

My reply:

AMELIA EARHART'S PLANE FOUND ON SAIPAN IN 1944 BY US MARINES. PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF THE PLANE

Thanks for weighing in... yes, I nearly jumped out of my chair when he said "I remember it as if it were yesterday" over the phone. I said "hold that thought" and flew to interview him in Baldwyn Mississippi. Everything he told me is corroborated by other marines or vets (Tom Devine, Doug Bryce, etc) In the book SHE WAS NEVER LOST there are numerous excerpts of interviews with GI's saying the same things (some from Devine's book, some from my footage).  It's moot.  The point is - over 200 people saw her on Saipan, and their stories have been gathered.Most were islanders, but some were soldiers.  So yes, I've heard a lot about Lt. Col Clarence Wallace  - as Julious called him "a bird colonel who didn't suffer fools lightly." My favorite quote of his is when an Army press officer asked to take his picture he said flatly "no." The officer insisted two more times, "it's good for morale" and Wallace turned to him and said "if you take my picture I will shoot you dead."  The fuller interview with EJ is in the book, and the documentary about "Earhart's Electra" that I did back in 2012 has most of that footage.  Thanks for weighing in.  (Fred was executed - either for throwing soup at a soldier, or for admitting being a spy. Either way multiple reports say it was a beheading - which was reserved for soldiers to give them a "quick return to Tushita heaven."  So if the multiple reports are accurate about the beheading it's likely because of the idea that he saved Amelia by saying he was the spy.  She was seen on the island as late as the spring of 1944.

READ THE BOOK

SHE WAS NEVER LOST: THE AMELIA EARHART SAGA.

On the side of this page are longer interviews with EJ Nabers, Tom Devine, Robert Wallack, etc.

AMELIA EARHART'S ELETRA FOUND IN FOOTAGE FROM THE LIBERATION OF ASLITO FIELD ON SAIPAN

 

https://www.tiktok.com/@hackingtheafterlife/video/7553020547601321246

PROMO FOR SHE WAS NEVER LOST: THE AMELIA EARHART SAGA

https://youtu.be/23_loCUPoWs

ON OUR PODCAST 9-18-25 "ROBERT REDFORD" AMELIA IS ASKED "IS IT ACCURATE THAT THE ELECTRA IS IN THE FOOTAGE POSTED?"

SHE SAYS IT IS.  FOOTAGE OF THE ELECTRA IN A HANGAR ON ASLITO AIRFIELD FILMED ON JUNE 18TH, 1944 (The plane was discovered the next day, when US Marine E J Nabers said he "decoded the message from CincPac that said "We have found Amelia Earhart's airplane on Aslito airfield."  He told me on camera that date was June 19th, 1944 and that "he remembers it as if it was yesterday."

The day after this footage was lensed.

The Electra is sitting in a hangar under camouflage with two other Zeros.  She's parked facing the wall in the hangar, because she was longer (55') than the Zeros (39 feet).  The Zeros and the Electra were both 10 feet in height, both had wingspans of 38 feet, but the Electra was 15 feet longer.

In this footage one can see the third plane was longer than the other two.

Amelia (from the Flipside) confirms that this was her plane under wraps.

FOOTAGE OF THE ELECTRA.

ON SAIPAN.

1944

Here's the clip that AMELIA EARHART is referring to: https://youtu.be/F3m4Q69K_Yg

Here's my latest promo for the book SHE WAS NEVER LOST: The Amelia Earhart Saga.  At the end is footage of a hangar at Aslito airfield on Saipan. This footage appeared on my YouTube feed, so I watched it. I realized it was taken June 18th, 1944, THE DAY BEFORE US Marine EJ Nabers said he "decoded the message "we have found Amelia Earhart's airplane on Aslito airfield."  

I'd seen the footage before, but this time I watched it with fresh eyes.  There's an intact hangar with three planes inside. Two Japanese zeros and a third plane under camouflage. The two Zeros are facing outward - 10 feet high, 39 foot wingspan, 38 foot length - they both fit the hangar. But the third plane didn't so it is turned sideways facing the wall.  The Electra was also 10 feet high, also had a 39 foot wingspan, but was 55 feet long. (There's a typo in the promo where I mixed up wingspan and length on the Electra. It's 55 feet long)

Whatever aircraft this is, it's too big to face the same way as the Zeros.  This footage was taken before they announced "finding her plane." (Nabers was ordered to guard the plane for 24 hours and many GI's corroborated his story - seeing him there - seeing the electra in this hangar. Later Nabers decoded a message saying they were going to fly it where multiple witnesses saw it, then decoded the message they were going to destroy it, which Nabers and others corroborate what he said)  

So without further adieu - here's the promo for the book, but it also includes footage of this mystery plane at the end.  I've put in calls to my NTSB pals to see if they agree or disagree.  But ... we'll ask Amelia on the flipside if this is accurate. I couldn't wait until Thursday to ask Jennifer Shaffer  Take a look.

SHE WAS NEVER LOST: THE AMELIA EARHART SAGA is #1 at Amazon kindle in its genre

 "WOW!!!!!" (that was Phillip Noyce's reaction to this being released.) Celebrate every step of the way - "we're number one!" This is a MIND BENDING BOOK.

Part Citizen Kane/Part Rashomon, it covers the Amelia story from a number of angles, including talking to her directly offstage. When you self publish, you have no clue if anyone will ever see it. But she's been haunting me (okay, more like bugging) since Abbie Adams Yaffe suggested I wrote a script.

Worked on the D Keaton version, the Hilary Ann Swank version, and thanks to mediums who reached out to me and told me that "there's a pilot who wants to speak to you" this book exists.

Special thanks to Jennifer Shaffer for her amazing ability to talk to folks offstage like a cellphone. (She works daily with law enforcement agencies). But she found time to help me tell this story. A heartfelt thanks!

Lest anyone forget

 Lest we forget...

If I had a nickel for every fellow who thought he'd found the Electra...

If I had a nickel for every Tom Dick and Harriet who trooped out a blurry, fuzzy photo that shows absolutely not her Electra, I'd be... well, what's the point? 

If somehow someone shoved her plane off Aslito airfield where it was taken by the Japanese who arrested her... if they somehow shoved that in 1944 into the ocean - that would be news. 

However, over a dozen US Marines saw her plane, guarded her plane, found her briefcase, found her grave (a partial grave, her body had been moved, they only found an arm and a ribcage). I've been to Saipan where 200 eyewitnesses report seeing her, washing her clothes, tending to her wounds, seeing her incarcerated, the dozen GI's who found the Electra in a hangar, her briefcase, passport, the GI's who watched as the plane was doused with gas and burned - on the field.  

I even have a copy of a coded message asking "what's that big fire on the runway?" the day it was torched. It's silly, and after knowing where the heck she is buried, and where the plane is buried, funny.  If people want to hear eyewitness reports, they can.

 If someone wants to sponsor a trip to dig up the frame (that doesn't change over time) I can help them, if someone wants to take a trip to Saipan and dig up the rest of her bones - where I've been told multiple times where they are - we can.  

In the meantime, read about another fella who got sucked into the "she's buried at sea" rubric - completely disregarding the human eyewitnesses - the "islanders" they cannot believe who saw her land the Electra on Mili atoll, who saw her arrested, taken to Majuro, then Jaluit then Garapan, who tended to her wounds, who have reported these things on camera - not sure why people convince themselves of something that isn't supported by the reports, is it mysogyny? Misanthropy? Xenophobia? No clue. 

But here we go - yet another fella who will produce zero evidence.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/former-us-air-force-officer-045818108.html

Let's recap shall we?

This is what the data, the research and the eyewitness reports show. (After 35 years of research, interviews and footage).

1. She didn't make Howland so she turned to land at Gardner Island.  She was already 200 Miles NW of Howland when she turned - which was an error she had done in Dakkar and Burbank. She was off course, and her straight line took her to another island.

2. She went straight for Mili Atoll and was able to land the Electra on its then mile long exposed atoll. (Now mostly covered in water).  

3. EYEWITNESSES saw her land.  Dick Spink, who makes boats, has traveled extensively in the region  -interviewed the family of two fishermen who saw the plane land.  They fished in that region daily, they saw the plane land on their atoll.

4. She lost her brake assembly as it landed. Pieces of it were retrieved by Dick Spink, taken to an NTSB investigator Jim Hayton (Seattle) who confirmed "beyond a shadow of doubt" that it came from her plane. He happens to have the identical Electra brake assembly - only used on her plane. 

5. The Japanese came to the atoll and arrested her. The arrest was witnessed by islanders including the "Queen of Mili atoll" who was later interviewed by an Australian author who wrote a book in the 1980's.  Others interviewed her, heard the same story.

6. Amelia and Fred (badly wounded) were taken first to Majuro.  A stevedore who later worked on Majuro with US Navy Andrew Bryce - (pictured on this page) told him that he helped the Japanese drag her plane across Mili to the lagoon, then put it on a Japanese barge. The tools used to drag it (small rail cars) were found by Dick Spink and others in a recent trip to the island.

6. She and the plane and Fred were put aboard the Kyoshu, taken to Jaluit. In Jaluit she and the plane were seen by local islanders, included a young boy who later became a congressman in those islands.  Bilimon Amaron was a local medic who was ordered to tend to Amelia and Fred's wounds. His testimony is on camera (filmed by Mike Harris) and other researchers in the 80's. Mike and I interviewed his business partner who knew Bilimon well over decades of their working together 10 years ago. He vouches for his testimony, as he puts it "Honest beyond reproach, we all knew that if said he had done that, he had. It wasn't a secret."

7. She and Fred were flown by seaplane to Saipan. The plane was taken to Saipan by ship.  The Electra was stored on Aslito field where dozens of local people saw it, both in its hangar and out of it.  I've interviewed or collected interviews with 12 US Marines who saw it while they were fighting the battle for Saipan.  

8. Fred was reportedly executed for "being the spy." They had two aerial Fairchild cameras on board, placed there while the plane was refurbished by the US Navy in Burbank. (The Navy mechanic who installed them is on record). Fred was executed early on for "being the spy" - and Amelia kept as a "bargaining chip" they never used.

9. Saipan was part of the Japanese nation since 1914. They considered Saipan "homeland" and their Naval headquarters was based there. There was also a prison, one of 19 in the Japanese records from 1930's to the end of the war. I've been to the library in Tokyo where they have all the known volumes of names and dates from all of their prisons and prisoners. Detailed, well kept records. When asked why the only volume missing was from Saipan, the librarian told me "these are the volumes that were returned from the US after the war." Only one was missing; the prison in Saipan.

10. Mike Harris and I filmed interviews with 5 US veterans who were on Saipan or knew about her presence there.   One found her briefcase and passport in a safe. Another saw the same briefcase, and was the one who decoded the message "We have found Earhart's plane on Aslito airfield" in July of 44. 

(Why people pretend like they don't know what they're talking about, when they repeat the same exact story is beyond me. In Saipan, there were 200 islanders who reported seeing her there, in a recent trip there, fifteen new eyewitnesses came forward.)

11. New eyewitnesses include a man whose mother tended to her in the hospital, who warned him not to tell anyone as the Japanese executed "spies." Two 80 year olds who both saw her paraded around the island on the back of the truck.  There were three Americans on the truck.  (Fred had already been executed.) The other two were US pilots who were shot down prior to the US landing on Saipan, who were doing reconnaisance. Both of those pilots were executed, one shot, the other beheaded (and was the source of other reports of AE being shot or beheaded, as islanders knew about Americans who that happened to.) Those two pilots were part of an official military inquest after the war - their bodies were recovered to see if they had been the victims of torture (they were not.)

12. Amelia died of dystenery not long after being seen by these two islanders. (Both spoke of the same day, how she had been parked in front of their school for half an hour, neither had spoken about it until I interviewed them). As one man said "I was 12 years old. She was the first "caucasian" women I had ever seen, and she was wearing men's clothing, her hands tied behind her back. It's not something you would ever forget."  That was in May of 1944. (7 years after she arrived in Saipan).

13. She died of dystentery. Her body was buried along with Noonan's. Later, two GI's Henson and Burks reported to CBS correspondent in the 1960's that they were ordered to dig them up.  Later in an interview in the 1970's (Chicago Tribune, UPI) they said "they had only found an arm and a partial ribcage."

14. Her body was moved, reportedly by the islanders who had cared for her, who didn't feel she got a proper Christian burial.  That's why Henson and Burks only found an arm and a partial ribcage.

15. The rest of her is still on Saipan. I have a pretty good idea of that location based on a number of factors; the Electra was burned (witnessed by multiple GI's) and buried at the end of the runway (along with all the other crashed planes and detritus from the war).  The end of the runway still exists. (The new airport was built in another direction) 

However, the NTSB investigator tells me that the steel structure of her plane would be intact, and as it was a unique size, and could be identified by proper ground penetrating radar.

That's what happened. 

Why it hasn't been told, is beyone my ability to comprehend. It wasn't that hard to find or figure out - and I am a filmmaker who has spent years looking at a number of other unusual topics. I've written and or directed 8 theatrical features, and have worked on others. I worked on the film "Amelia" as a historian (digital media curatore of all the footage, books, and details of her life) as well as a reference in the Diane Keaton version.

At some point, because of the vitriol involved with the people who are most adamant about their search for her, I put together a documentary with the footage I'd shot, and let the concept go.  

Yes, I know that if I went to Saipan I'd know where to find the plane, and I have a pretty good idea of where she's buried - a place no one has looked before.

But that would require an Herculean effort. This guy spent 11 million looking for her in a place she never was.  I'm sorry to report it, but frankly, am posting this because it's tiresome to repeat the same story. It hasn't changed.

One day I will write my own book about my journey to this knowledge - because I'm not interested in proving anything to anyone. Some people cling to their beliefs because it is what keeps them on the planet.  In my case, I appreciate the arguments, but having had numerous conversations with Amelia about her journey - with the help of mediums who work with law enforcement agencies nationwide, so I know how effective they can be - her story has never been told.

People focus on the wrong things.

She landed the plane. Amazing achievement.

She was the first POW of a war that didn't begin for another 4 years.

She was asked to take spy cameras aboard her plane and chafed at the idea. "Imagine me being a spy?" is a comment overheard, much debated, but part of the record of her story. Indeed. Imagine.  

Even so, it was Fred who was executed for being the spy - because he was the man.  AE survived another 7 years in a difficult place to be in.  But she exists today on the flipside, is available to anyone who really wants to know what happened.

She's funny, witty, and still has much to teach people on the planet. That's not my opinion, theory or belief - it's just what the footage, numerous interviews show.

And that didn't cost 11 million to report.

She deserves a proper credit in history as to who she really was. It's about time someone really told her story.

"Hacking The Afterlife" with Jennifer Shaffer and Amelia Earhart

The Saipan Veteran Eyewitnesses

Lest we forget these fellows - whom I interviewed in 2003.  All three are no longer with us, but all three were on Saipan, their stories have been corroborated by a number of sources, plus I went to Saipan and filmed 15 near eyewitnesses who said the same things these three GI's said. 

Thomas Devine saw her plane, saw it destroyed, Robert Wallack found her briefcase, passport - held onto them for two weeks before he turned it over to the CO for Julious Nabers - who Devine witnesses guarded the Electra (but didn't know it was him, until Julious repeated the same story word for word of what he told people who tried to enter the hangar "order is orders" - a corroboration from Devine without him knowing it was one.  

Nabers decoded the message that said they had found her plane in July 44, guarded the plane for 24 hours - as in the entire day without sleep - was only given half a peanut butter sandwich (odd but telling detail), later saw the briefcase that was turned over to his CO (Clarence R. Wallace, whose uniform hangs in a frame in Quantico) Nabers also watched the plane destroyed by US military, and gave the SAME DESCRIPTION as did Devine, even thought neither ever met.  

Later, on Saipan, we interviewed 15 new eyewitnesses who told the same story. She was brought there, incarcerated, died in custody - was dug up by two GI's (as was Fred) and partially recovered - the plane was found, and after some weeks deciding what to do about it, the "people who can decide these things" decided to destroy it.  It was buried at the end of the runway at Aslito where it's steel frame rests to this day.  Not a theory, not a belief, not an opinion.  Just what people consistently report.

Here's an article from USA TODAY:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/11/25/amelia-earhart-and-and-fred-noonan-were-prisoners-saipan-and-killed-according-uncles-tale/894412001/

HAGATNA, Guam — A man with ties to Saipan shared information that promotes a theory that Amelia Earhart was brought to the island and held prisoner 80 years ago. 

William “Bill” Sablan, who lives on Chamorro, said his uncle Tun Akin Tuho worked at the prison where Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were taken prisoner in Saipan.

The History Channel shared the theory that the two were taken prisoner in a recent TV special called Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence.

Eighty years after Earhart made her voyage around the world, people are still trying to figure out what happened to the famed pilot.

The theory shared by History’s TV special says Earhart was captured and executed on Saipan by the Empire of Japan. The U.S. government and military knew it (and even found and exhumed her body). And both governments have been lying about it ever since.

Sablan’s uncle’s story fits this theory.

In 1971, he was speaking with his uncle and cousin about his dream of becoming a pilot when his uncle mentioned the people that were held prisoner in Saipan.

His uncle described an American woman and man taken to a Saipan prison in the mid-1930s by ship. He said they were found with a plane on a southern Pacific Island under Japanese control.

Sablan said Earhart was brought to Saipan, for it was a hub for the Japanese.

His uncle said that he remembers the woman and man because Caucasian people were rare on Saipan. The prison was usually quiet, but the pair's arrival caused a commotion.

“They had no reason to be there,” Sablan said.

His uncle said the plane they were flying was dropped somewhere in the ocean before coming to Saipan.

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The uncle said that the two were in the Saipan prison for two or three days before they were killed.

Sablan said it's possible the U.S. found and relocated the remains.

According to news files, in 1960 a CBS radio man, Fred Goerner, spoke with at least a dozen reliable witnesses from Saipan, who shared that before the war, two white people arrived on Saipan — described as “flyers” or “spies” — and they were held in the Japanese jail.

They said the flyers were tall and one of them was a woman, but her hair was cut short and she was wearing men’s clothing, files state.

The year was 1937, the same year Earhart and Noonan were lost.

The History TV special theory rests on an ambiguous photograph, said to have been taken in 1937, that might show Earhart and Noonan alive on a dock in the Marshall Islands. At the time, the islands were controlled by Japan.

A Japanese military history blogger Kota Yamano undermined a new theory that Amelia Earhart survived a crash in the Pacific Ocean during her historic attempted around-the-world flight in 1937.

The history blogger posted the same photograph that formed the backbone of a History channel documentary that argued that Earhart was alive in July 1937 — but the book the photo was in was apparently published two years before the famed aviator disappeared.

A retired federal agent said he discovered the image in 2012 in the National Archives in College Park, Md. The blogger said he found the same image digitized in Japan's National Diet Library.

‘I saw Amelia Earhart’

By Erwin Encinares 

| 

Posted on Oct 11 2018

Tag: Amelia Earhart, Harry Blanco, Josephine Blanco, Tanapag Harbor

THIS IS FUN - I INTERVIEWED JOSEPHINE AS WELL.

Josephine Blanco, center, hugs her nephew, Harry Blanco, as John Blanco, also a relative, looks on. 

(Erwin Encinares)

Two persons reportedly saw on two separate occasions the lost aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart on Saipan, the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Josephine Blanco, a 93-year old who reportedly saw Earhart in the Tanapag Harbor in 1937, noted that at the time, she didn’t know it was Earhart. She was 12 years old at the time.

 

“I cannot say she is pretty because I saw her from a distance,” Blanco said yesterday at a welcoming dinner at the Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan.

“I didn’t even go inside [the harbor area],” she said, adding that it was a commotion in the area that caught her attention. She said she was halfway toward the harbor, and that was where she caught a glimpse of a woman’s figure.

“I didn’t go there to look for somebody or meet somebody. I just happened to be there,” she said, adding that she found out it was Earhart only after World War II.

WWII started in 1939.

“I didn’t tell anybody, I didn’t know about her,” Blanco said. “Only my family knew—my sister worked [in the area], and she knew too.”

Blanco mentioned other family members who knew of Earhart, but noted that they have all passed away.

Eighty-five-year-old Joaquin T. Salas was 11 when he believed he saw Earhart in 1944.

Salas noted that he is unsure if the woman he saw then was Earhart, but was sure that he saw her on a Japanese military truck with three others.

“There were two men and one lady, a blonde. They put one ribbon on her face, and her hands were tied,” he said. The truck parked in front of their house, which was across the post office in Chalan Kanoa today.

Salas said he watched them stay in front of their residence for about an hour.

“After that, they took off. I don’t know where they went,” he said.

Salas was able to reproduce through a drawing what he remembers were the positions of the military truck.

Salas believes the Japanese captured Earhart, and that they parked in front of their house at that time.