Expedition to Mili hits the airwaves

The first "official" report.  Note, this is Mike Harris' expedition - he found the sponsor, assembled the team, is shooting the footage.  They're out there during a "King Tide" so hopefully waters have receded to help their search. But if you read the other posts below, you'll find why Mike is on Mili with this team.

Search for Earhart plane on remote Marshalls atoll

15 hours ago

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US aviator Amelia Earhart pictured in front of her plane in the 1930s (AFP Photo/)

A search is under way on a remote atoll in the Marshall Islands aimed at solving the mysterious disappearance of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart.

A group of researchers travelled Sunday to Mili Atoll where a small aluminium cover plate and part of a landing-gear wheel assembly, believed to be from Earhart's plane, were found last year.

"We brought more sophisticated equipment to find other parts," said Jon Jeffery, director of technology and business development at United States-based Parker Aerospace, which is sponsoring the search.

Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo, disappeared in 1937 with navigator Fred Noonan when attempting to circumnavigate the world in a twin-engine Lockheed Electra aircraft.

Marshall Islanders have long claimed Earhart crashed on an atoll and a group known as Amelia Research, Inc. found the aircraft parts last year.

"Generations of Marshallese people have known since 1937 that the famous fliers didn't just disappear in the ocean," Marshall Islands President Christopher Loeak said.

The aircraft landed "on a small atoll in the Marshall Islands and (Earhart and Noonan) survived", he added.

The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery has dismissed the Marshalls theory. It believes Earhart went down at Nikumaroro Atoll in the central Pacific nation of Kiribati near the Marshall Islands.

A new line of investigation in the search for Earhart evidence in the Marshall Islands involves Jaluit Atoll near Mili. It was the headquarters for Japan's administration of the Marshall Islands from World War I to the end of World War II.

"There is an underground hospital built by the Japanese on Jaluit," Jeffery said.

"Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan were in this hospital after they crashed," he said. "There might be some evidence there."

Marshall Islanders have claimed they saw Earhart's plane go down on a small island in Mili Atoll, and others reported seeing her in Jaluit.

Latest piece of the electra found?

It's funny how Discovery seems to be a spokesperson for these expeditions to Nikamauroro.  Why is it that only Rosella Lorenzi is the only writer credited with these stories?

And this latest discovery?

That very piece they're claiming was from the Electra was discounted by Electra expert Elgen Long 22 years ago:

http://articles.latimes.com/1992-03-30/news/vw-278_1_amelia-earhart

March 30th, 1992,

"Long recruited a formidable panel of volunteers: a professor of metals engineering; a structures engineer for Navy patrol aircraft; the owner of two Lockheed 10 airplanes, and the assistant foreman, now retired, of the Lockheed fuselage shop at the time Earhart's plane was built.

The group pored over photographs of the piece. They examined blueprints and engineering orders for repairs to the airplane's underside needed after a takeoff accident ended an earlier Earhart attempt to fly around the world. And the team visited a 1936 Lockheed 10B at Oakland's Western Aerospace Museum.
The associates placed the template over the starboard belly of the airplane. They slid the piece over all other exterior sections of the airplane. Just in case.

"We decided the fragment could have come from anywhere . . . anywhere but Amelia Earhart's airplane," Long says.

The latest article asks for funding for the eleventh expedition.


Actually just read the last paragraph of the DiscoveryNew.com article. “Funding is being sought, in part, from individuals who will make a substantial contribution in return for a place on the expedition team,” Gillespie said." 

22 years ago, this piece of the plane was definitely said "not to be from the Electra." 

Experts were consulted, and for the past 24 years (since it was found) it was considered just another piece of junk. 

Question is - where's the rest of the plane? So we're to believe that the plane crashed - but then sank - where he wants to get people to fund his expedition to find it. So this one piece either fell on its way into the water - or magically jumped up onto land.

He's had TEN EXPEDITIONS to this island. ABC funded a couple - one guy sued him over the last one. I wish it was a piece from her plane. Alas, it would mean that over 200 islanders and over a dozen US Marines (that I have on film) were lying. That they didn't see her plane, didn't see her incarcerated on Saipan. That she wasn't executed by the Japanese for being an American when the US launched the invasion of their Headquarters for the war in the Pacific.

That all these islanders who came forward during my trip to Saipan last year - who never have spoken about what they saw, or what their parents saw or what their relatives told them - was untrue. Again - I'd LOVE for this to be her plane. Then it would mean she didn't die the tragic death everyone has told me she died... in their own words.

I'm sorry to say - there's not real evidence that links that piece to her plane - other than saying "it's a patch that she got in Florida." Which is why it was discounted 24 years ago. 

But gee, the article doesn't mention that, now does it? How could the author of this piece have missed that key detail?

Oh well. Stay tuned.

CNMI Culture Center/Earhart Exhibit moves forward, along with more eyewitnesses, "In Veritas Libertas"

Captain Cooper met with the new Governor Eloy Inos and Lt. Governor Jude Hofschneider regarding the CNMI Cultural Center/Earhart Exhibit, moving the ball forward.

Lt. Gov Hofschneider, ARA's Paul Cooper & Gov Eloy Inos.
Photo by Robert Rustin

We'd like to thank the Governor for meeting with us, and helping steer us in the right direction!

Meanwhile, new eyewitnesses have come forward.

Estella Cabrera holding a picture of her family.
photo by Chris Neltner

We got a call from Estella Cabrera, with an amazing story of her own involvement with the Earhart on Saipan story.  She brought along some photographs of her family, and told us her story on camera for the first time.  We are in the process of speaking with corroborating witnesses who have a similar or nearly the same story.  But we can't thank her enough for coming forward to help us.

Captain Cooper with the Cabrera family. Photo Chris Neltner

Then we spoke with Mr. V Santos.  Mr. Santos saw that we mentioned the testimony of Jack Salas, 82, who says that when he was 12, he was sitting with his brother and saw Amelia on the back of a Japanese truck.  There were two other prisoners on that truck - both wearing khaki pants, but shirtless.  Mr. Salas saw the "blond" woman with her arms tied behind her back and was startled to see his first caucasion person every - who happened to be a woman in khaki pants and shirts.

Mr. Santos contacted us to let us know he was also there in Chalan Kanoa and also saw Amelia on the back of the truck with two shirtless prisoners. (We did not publish the part of the two other prisoners on the website - and when he claimed he saw her with two other prisoners, that confirms beyond a shadow of a doubt that he saw the same event ON THE SAME DAY in May of 1944.)

David M Sablan, Vincente Santos and Paul Cooper. Photo by Robert Rustin

Mr. Santos, former teacher, a well respected member of the community, had a prominent role as member
of the negotiating team that negotiated the political status of the CNMI

Mr. Santos read about the eyewitness from Chalan Kanoa, and because he also witnessed the same event, felt compelled to tell us about it.  Mr. Santos told us about the day when he came down from his family ranch into Chalan Kanoa (housing area where the executives of the sugar mill lived) to sell papaya to the Japanese/Okiinawans living there.  On that date he "saw two or three Europeans on the back of the truck blind-folded and hand-cuffed with two Japanese military guards standing at the back of the victims."  Mr. Santos followed the truck part of the way as it was being driven slowly as if they were showing off the "captives" to the residents of Chalan Kanoa and finally ended up in the school campus.

Lotan Jack's story as told to Mike Harris in 1983

The "three Europeans" were Amelia Earhart, and two American pilots who had been shot down recently just prior to the invasion in June of 1944.  These two pilots must have been pretty startled to see Amelia as a prisoner traveling with them.

Either way, it confirms Jack Salas' story.  Thank you very much Mr. Santos!!!

Manny Muna from Mike Harris' documentary

The story continues....

Oscar DeBrum from Mike Harris' 1983 footage

And like most of the unusual events we've experienced on Saipan, a gentleman in a local establishment struck up a conversation with a member of our team recently.  He recalled a story told to him by a veteran of Saipan told him back in the States, which corroborates what other US Marines have told us; that Earhart's Electra was found on Saipan by US Marines and destroyed there. We're finding out whether this veteran will tell us his story on camera.  Fingers crossed, as he would add yet another voice to the chorus of those who saw or heard about Earhart's plane being found and destroyed on Saipan.

Godfather's Bar & Grill - where most everyone on Saipan winds up
at some point in the evening.  And a good source of intel!

There's an old Latin saying that we at Aircraft Recovery Associates take to heart: In Veritas; Libertas. 

It's the same phrase that is emblazoned on the wall of the entrance to the CIA: "The Truth Will Set You Free."  We feel that this search for the truth on Saipan, while difficult and taxing, will be ultimately rewarding for everyone involved.  People from across the globe who've never been to Saipan will go there to see these same sights, to experience the same things so many experienced in one of the hardest fought battles in World War II.  The thousands of tourists who come every day from Japan, China, Korea and Russia will get a chance to hear the history of Saipan from a fresh perspective. They will also get to experience a part of the US they weren't aware of - despite being so far from our shores, it's just like Hawaii - the temperature remains around 82 year round, golf courses abound... Something tourists from Asia experience daily.

Aslito airfield from Jerry Facey's balcony. Thanks Jerry!

We are thankful for all the help the Saipanese people have given us in our quest. 

Everyone we interviewed, we told the same thing; we were looking for two things.  One is the location of the plane, which we would not take from the island if indeed we found it; the Electra belongs to the history and story of Saipan.  Whatever we find on Saipan will stay on Saipan (unless borrowed for a traveling exhibition of course).  But more importantly, we wanted to hear their stories of what it was like on Saipan prior to the war firsthand, what the experience was like for the families who survived the war, and finally, whether or not they'd ever met or heard anyone claiming that Amelia Earhart was on the island.

Saipan site of the wreck of Magellan's Concepcion -
another buried treasure but they left a chest of gold!

What we found is that by asking the Chomorro people to tell us their stories, they were able to reconnect with the emotions and feelings from that era.  Sometimes it would be to wipe away a tear for the horrors that they witnessed, for the loss of the loved ones.  Sometimes it would be honor their mother and father and to repeat the stories they'd heard as children about the difficulties they experienced.  These stories are unique to Saipan and belong to history, and as such should become part of the CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas) cultural center.  These stories are living history and should be preserved as such as much as the story of Earhart's journey to Saipan, her and Fred Noonan's incarceration there, their deaths, and the discovery and destruction of the Electra.  These events have never been explored in depth, and deserve to be.

Mike Harris and Rich Martini at the old church -
site where Marine Robert Wallack found Earhart's briefcase

These are new stories about Amelia Earhart, stories that have never been published before, stories that are corroborated by other details, are part of history.  In the case of one piece of testimony, an avowed skeptic when we first arrived learned from testimony that there was a distant relative who claimed to have seen both Earhart and her Electra on Saipan. This person had to reconsider their earlier skepticism, as the relative was beyond reproach.

Photographer Robert Rustin. Thank you Robert!

This gentleman's mother was a nurse in Saipan's hospital prior to the War -
She told her son the story of a woman pilot and her navigator who were
brought into the hospital in 1937

The hunt continues.  We are continuing the search, and compiling the results.  We will be presenting them as soon as we can.

New eyewitness testimony suggests Amelia Earhart
spent up to 7 years incarcerated here before being executed
perhaps weeks or even days prior to the American invasion. 

In the meantime, thanks to all the people of Saipan who went out of their ways to make us feel at home, to work tirelessly on our behalf, to encourage us to keep us the hard but rewarding work of finding the truth of this story.

Another day comes to a close...

Stay tuned...

Saipan Redux

Well.. this sign has nothing to do with our project, but it did get a laugh when we saw it in a local restroom.  Lot of betel nut chewers here on Saipan -  and signs abound asking people to aim their betel juice in the right direction...





Back to our story.

Ran into Peter Muna - he's a very knowlegable 17 year old high school student who has already signed up for service in the US Army.  His grandfather Manny helped Mike Harris during his second trip here in 1983, and his father Manny Jr. drove around Paul Tibbets, (pilot of the Enola Gay) on his last visit to the island.  Peter is a great collector of artifacts from WWII, and knows the island inside and out.  He took us up to see a place called "Forbidden Island."  Forbidden because it's nearly inaccessibly, but yet people do try to visit it - and sometime lose their lives in the journey to do so.

Peter Muna

Here's the island which is seldom seen.

Forbidden Island

One of our interviewees shared a photo with us of Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal (He became Secretary after the death of Frank Knox in 1949)  There are no known photographs of Forrestal on Saipan - until this one. He's standing with General Holland and Admiral Nimitz.  For those who are well versed in Earhart stories, Thomas E Devine (there's a clip of his interview on the right side of the page) was convinced that he saw Forrestal here during his tour of duty.

Our research shows that Devine may have seen a gentleman who looked like Forrestal in June of 1944 when the plane was first found, and then perhaps he saw Forrestal himself at a later date.  Or it's possible that Devine was accurate - but this is the first we've seen any photo of the Secretary on Saipan. This was taken just prior to his visiting Iwo Jima. 

Forrestal, Admirals Turner, Nimitz

The story continues... have a full week ahead of us, hope to be able to update our site daily. Stay tuned!!!  Here's the end of Saturday Feb 16th, 2013.

Sunset over Saipan

Another day in Paradise

Naftan Point

Getting the proper permits and scouting the locations takes time and a good pair of shoes.  This is out on Naftan Point (means "Graveyard" in local Chomorro lingo) not far from one of our primary locations.

Scott Russell from the Northern Marianas Humanities Council

Executive Director Scott Russell, a historian of the Northern Marianas Council says that he's always been skeptical of stories that Amelia Earhart was on Saipan, but says that he is open to any new evidence that's can be presented. Below, Tyler and Paul from the Dept of Fish and Wildlife make sure we are up to code in our search.

Tyler and Paul from Div of Fish and Wildlife

Typical jungle scene, not far from one of our sites

We have a number of promising sites.  In some sites,  the jungle is dense, difficult to walk, let alone dig - in others, it's not hard at all. We've had some incredible encounters - today ran into an 89 year old man in a bank, who Capt. Cooper happened to strike up a conversation with - turns out he's an elderly gentleman we've been trying to reach.  We interviewed him in the bank line - his sister, still alive, was interviewed by Fred Goerner, claims that she saw Amelia and Fred Noonan when they first arrived on Saipan in 1937.  We will be interviewing her as well. Details to follow...

Zen Buddhist monk Sunim saying a prayer for our expedition

Sunday was a day of reflection.  We stopped in to attend mass at the historic Catholic Church, met a number of Saipan citizens, and in the afternoon made a trip out to the Zen Buddhist center, where the Buddhist monk Sunim did a prayer of good luck for our expedition.  

Each day brings new information, new friends, and great stories about the history and people of Saipan.

Another day in Paradise ends

More to follow....

Was Amelia Earhart on Saipan?

We've undertaken the task to examine the evidence on whether Amelia Earhart was on Saipan after she disappeared on her round the world flight in 1937.

We've seen the research that says it wasn't possible for her plane to fly to Saipan.  We've also seen the new dateline theory that shows her plane may have been off course by enough miles to accomplish what eyewitnesses claim.

Fred Goerner, a CBS correspondent, followed the story in the 1960's.  He went to Saipan and researched extensively the details surrounding these reports.  Mike Harris Sr. went to the Marshall Islands in the 1980's and interviewed a number of eyewitnesses who claimed Earhart was there.  They claimed to have seen her or her plane, Fred Noonan, and claimed that she was brought to Saipan and incarcerated. Oliver Knaggs, a South African journalist, went to the Marshall Islands in the 1980's and interviewed a number of eyewitnesses in print and on camera.

Other authors have weighed in as well; Thomas E Devine claimed he saw her plane on Saipan and gathered other eyewitness reports with the help of Mike Campbell in their book.  Many authors have examined this evidence, including Randall Brink, Donald Wilson - many with varying conclusions as to what happened to her.  Tighar.org has examined this evidence, according to their website, and found it lacking.

Our premise is simple; why would all these various people make this story up?  There are over 200 islanders who claim she was brought to the island, incarcerated and executed during World War II.  Why did the Japanese govt not report they'd captured her at some point, or used her as a pawn during the war? When the airfield at Aslito was captured on June 18, 1944, numerous eyewitnesses claim they saw her plane on Saipan when the airfield was liberated. (Earskin Nabers, US Marine, Thomas E Devine, US Army, Robert E Wallack, US Marine, Doug Bryce, US Army Air Corps, and in the case of Andrew Bryce, US Navy worked with a stevedore on Majuro who claimed he transported her plane from Mili Atoll to Majuro).

Two of these veterans (and numerous others as reported by Mike Campbell and Thomas E Devine) claim they witnessed the destruction of Earhart's Electra by US forces.  There are various theories as to why that happened, but as a team, we've agreed to set theory aside.  We are investigating these eyewitness reports, following by an archeological dig to bring up artifacts from the liberation of Aslito airfield.

This project will be the most extensive research ever done on record with regard to Earhart's presence on Saipan.  Mike Harris Sr has had the benefit of being there befoe, in the 1980's when he interviewed numerous people who claimed she was there.  Richard Martini has gathered the six US soldiers who claim that they, along with their friends and comrades, saw the plane in the hangar, decoded the message that it had been found, discovered her dry briefcase and examined her passport and maps, watched as it was taken  on a test flight, and then witnessed it being destroyed by US Forces.

Frankly we aren't concerned with the why. We are however concerned with the what. What can we find? Who can we speak to about these events?

The results will be published in book/film and exhibition form.  Stay tuned!