Sunday

Marshallese government confirms date of the docks in photo as 1936

Marshallese government debunks the debunkers.

Turns out the "book copyrighted in 1935" could not be a book copyrighted in 1935, because the docks in Jaluit did not exist until 1936.  This advanced copy of the Marshallese press release puts that claim to rest. (See the amended press release below.)



If the photograph is from 1936, the argument 
"It was printed in a 1935 book" is moot.

"The Republic of the Marshall Islands is following your investigation of the Amelia Earhart mystery with great interest. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, confirms that the photograph found in the US National Archives is the dock at Jabor on Jaluit Atoll.

Jabor Dock was built in 1936. The events of this period are still recalled by our eldest citizens.  The claim that Jabor dock was already built in 1935 does not match the historical record. Therefore, it would not have been possible for any photos to have been taken of the Jabor dock in 1935.  The dock simply did not exist. The elders who confirmed that Amelia and her navigator were brought to Jabor are of the highest standing and reputation in our community.


The ministry hopes this helps the record straight."



Gee. How did #CNN, #NewYorkTimes, the #WashingtonPost #TheGuardian and #NationalGeographic get the story wrong?

It's simple.

The people selling the idea that Earhart's plane landed in the Gilbert Islands are behind the PR machine that insists, argues, that their version of events is correct, must be correct.

So when a blogger (who I'm told contributes to the Tighar website) comes forth with the argument "I never believed she was arrested by the Japanese. The History Channel folks should have done their homework, it took me ten minutes to find the photograph of the docks in a book published in 1935."  Headlines went around the world "Japanese blogger finds proof the photograph is not real."  

They should have started with his first sentence.  

If you "never believe" something that means you're not basing it on evidence.  If over 200 people claim the same thing, then it's no longer a matter of theory or belief - it can only be a matter of sorting out the facts.  "I always wondered" or "I thought it was strange" gives us different insight. But when he stated that he never believed any other story, then he's just not looking at the evidence.

Plus well, there's some problems with his account.

First of all, "the book" cited was not "published in 1935."  It's a portfolio of photographs that are tied together with string. Not a book by any stretch of the imagination - books are bound, printed and published. Not this photo album.


The "book" is a photo portfolio. A photo album.

 None of the photographs in this portfolio are dated.  


Page from the photo album.

There are no dates in the book, other than a stamp at the back of the book by someone who put it into this library.  


Librarian did the stamp. Not a copyright office.

Not a published book, a photo album - and the librarian obviously made a mistake with the date, because there was no dock in Jaluit harbor in 1935.  

Full stop. No dock.

No dock in the photos of Jaluit in the 1930's, but definitely a dock by those who were there in 1937 (see below) and those who stood on the dock in 1937.  The Marshallese confirm the dock didn't exist in 1935. It was built in 1936.  

So CNN should have said "a photo album that bears an imprint of a librarian's stamp that says 1935."  But clearly, if the dock wasn't built until 1936 - the stamp was wrong.  

I was just as curious as the next person - what book was this from?  Well, I was shocked that it wasn't a book - that no photo was dated, and that somehow that detail was overlooked.

The photo is just one of many pieces of evidence that she was on that particular dock.  Eyewitnesses, both European and native, claim to have seen her on that ship parked in the harbor.  There are documents that show the administration knew she had been arrested, and was in custody (but they could not reveal they'd broken the Japanese code). (These documents have been examined by professionals, who confirm their existence, and will be part of Les Kinney's book, (and/or a sequel to the History show)  An expert has described them in detail to me; they are "verifiable" and come via Kinney's deep research and security clearance.)  When they're revealed, I'll be certain to post them here.

There are many fingers that point to the same conclusion.

But let's ask a more cogent question.  

What was the photograph doing in a classified file in the National Archives in a file of the Office of Naval Intelligence?



Once we answer this question, it becomes clear why the photograph was valuable to US Intelligence prior to World War II. 

Take a look at these photographs (from the net) of the harbor at Jabor.  In 1905 it had a wooden dock.  The Germans had agreements to run these islands (and turned the Marianas over to Spain, who turned over Saipan to Japan in 1914.) These photographs are from their records of these docks.


Titled "Jaluit in the 1930's."
Wooden dock  Jaluit 1905
"Germania - Jaluit 1905"

Skip forward to the 1930's.  The League of Nations "allowed" Japan to mandate the Marshall islands (run the government, build schools, etc) in return for their promise that they would not "fortify the islands" for war.  The Japanese were so secretive about these islands (and their fortifications) that two British citizens were beheaded for spying, and numerous other people were arrested, their boats sunk or confiscated by the Japanese for observing their fortifications. They were fortifying them for war.


Exact same photo of the dock.
Why is it valuable? Because it's a dock.

Which leads to how this photograph got into the ONI file. Because it's evidence of the dock that they built in 1936.  Obviously whomever put it in the file didn't care about the people on the dock - just interested in the dock itself.

So who else was on this same dock in July of 1937?

Well, there's the explorer Eric De Bisschop who sailed through the Marshalls in July 1937 (the 2nd) and he was arrested near Mili for doing so. His ship was searched, and he writes about it in his book about his Thor Heyerdahl adventures in a simply built boat.  



Letter where De Bisschop (well known explorer) is asked about seeing Earhart on Jaluit. 

Transcribed: "In connection with the above" (see the transcript of the letter printed below) M. Hoppenot showed the writer the following statement made by M. Eric De Bisschop, a former French naval officer..."  after mentioning he'd sailed past Mila (sic) atoll, the Japanese turned hostile and searched his boat. "He was arrested, suspected of espionage, and given a severe and thorough questioning for several hours... (his ship the "Fou Po" was) searched from bow to stern.")

"At Jaluit he had seen shells for 3-inch guns... the Japanese have dredged the harbor and entrance channels... much larger and freer from obstructions then are shown on current charts." The charts are being held confidentially, not for "sale or distribution."

He noticed "an airplane ramp.." an "airplane hangar... a concreted dock... radio transmitter..." He said "as to Mila (sic) dredging and building was going on... It is held so confidential that even Japanese merchant ships are not allowed to visit there... coal, 3" shells, dynamite... are brought to Jaluit.. (then) by small navy transport" to Mila (sic) atoll.

(Part of the page torn away) "the story about Miss Earhart and other people kept... (n)er... is concerned, M. de Bisschop that while possible,... (torn). He said  that it was much easier to find someon(e)... ned then to keep them prisoners.  He had heard from... (torn) 'efore his visit one such white skin man who had visited Jaluit... (torn) day but with indications that he had been struck over... (torn) e natives declared that this man was rumored to have been (torn).

(Logic tells us that Mr. De Bisschop said he had not seen her but that it was possible she had been there, that it was easier to arrest people than to "keep prisoners."  And then he recounted a story of a man who had been beaten and possibly killed for being a spy.)

In Eric de Bisschop's own words from his book: THE VOYAGE OF THE "KAIMILOA" Published in 1940 (from an actual "book")



"And the last place of call of the Fou Po, at Jaluit, yonder, in the Marshalls. Ah! the ugly faces of that
Japanese Governor and of those policemen, with their little daggers at their sides. . . . Spies ! We? What a joke! Some note-books showing positions, a few survey notes on the north coast of Australia ... that's not spying ! 

Kept prisoners for a fortnight, watched closely all the same ... the natives threatened with imprisonment if they approached our craft; and that searching of the Fou Po whilst we were being questioned ashore; just think, a wireless transmitter, an electric sounding apparatus must be hidden somewhere. 

Maybe I had thrown everything overboard before landing, but they'll find the traces all right ... everywhere, anywhere . . . under the planking, amid the provision tins... the fools!

And our departure? only just managed it, luckier than that American, a year ago, than that Englishman, six months ago ! . . . disappeared, both of them . . . poof! dissolved into thin air, for the greater glory of the Mikado's Empire.” (page 5)

"... the port of Jaluit (under Japanese mandate) is the port of entry for Nauru Island, which is under the control of New Zealand. I would not advise even my greatest enemy to go to Jaluit in the Marshall Archipelago and ask there for a permit to call in at Nauru. He would be received by a nasty Japanese Governor, with a shaved skull, then kept a prisoner, and accused by him of espionage, and perhaps would not have the luck to slip through his fingers as we did on the Fou Po. (page 211)


The Fou Po which he sailed around the world.

De Bisschop arriving in Cannes in 1939
aboard the Fou Po when he was debriefed.
DeBisschop and his traveling companion Joseph Tatiobouet
Mentioning he'd sailed near Mili in July 1937 ("Mila" in the letter)
he was arrested and searched. He reported this and the fury
of the Japanese authorities in his book of the voyage.

De Bisschop's account was taken by French authorities, who were following up on another letter, a much more controversial one, where the author claims to have seen Earhart and "her mechanic" on the same dock at Jaluit in July 1937.

The French obviously thought it was worth exploring, as De Bisschop was quoted in their letter interrogating him if he'd seen Amelia Earhart (He had not.) 

And to those who claim that the other part of the letter - which is written by a man whose boat was taken by the Japanese, where he claims he was close enough to Amelia to get a lock of her hair - it's the detail of calling Fred Noonan "her mechanic" that sticks out. If you're going to create a fake scenario - why get that key detail wrong? (Fred was not her mechanic, although he may have looked like one.)


The letter in the same DeBisschop file that claims a message was found
by someone who saw Amelia incarcerated on Jaluit in 1937 around the same time.

The message reads: "January 7th, 1939. Report of Amelia Earhart as Prisoner of the Marshall Islands." 

"Mr. Happenot, the chief of the French Foreign office, allowed the writer to read some papers found in a bottle washed ashore near Bordeaux. This communication... will be delivered to the American embassy here." He then describes a fellow walking on the beach along the Atlantic "On 30th October (1938), a Mr. Barret, aged 37" found a bottle that was half pint sized, with wax on over the top.  There was a sample of chestnut brown hair inside, with a note that said "May God guide this bottle, I confine my life and friends to it." 

Then in French, here in English;  "Have been prisoner at Jaliut (Marshalls) by the Japanese in a prison at Jaliut. In the prison there I have seen: Amelia Earhart (aviatrix) and in another cell her mechanic (a man), as well as several other European prisoners held on charges of alleged spying of the gigantic fortifications erected on the atoll." (A key detail, as they were forbidden by the League of Nations to build fortifications for war, in their being allowed to mandate the islands. The photo above is of a fortified docks - as in ready for war.) 

"Earhart and her companion were picked up by Japanese hydroplane and will serve as hostages, say Japanese.  I was a prisoner because I disembarked on Mila (sic) Atoll.  My yacht 'VEVEO' sunk, crew (3 Maoris) killed, my yacht (85 tons, sailing ship) was equipped with radio." (Another detail - she was transported from Jaluit to Saipan in a seaplane, as has been reported elsewhere)."


On the other side of the note he continues: "Having been kept a long time at Jaluit as prisoner, I was forcibly enrolled as stokehold hand, (coal shovel) simply fed, on board 'Nippon Noa?' (his question mark) (Here’s the Nippon Maru built in 1930) bound for Europe.  Will try to escape when ship near to coast.  Carry this message to Gendarmerie immediately in order so that we can be freed. " 


"This message is to be thrown overboard probably near Santander (Spain), and should arrive in Brittany or at the latest, October, 1938. (Wow. He had that correct.) This is message No. 6. To have a good chance of freeing Miss Earhart and her companion, as well as other prisoners, police should arrive incognito at Jaluit I shall be with (name indecipherable in text above, in book it's "Jo....eut") (this french sailor was traveling with a companion Joseph Tatibouet) and if I succeed in escaping.... because if the Japanese are asked to free the prisoners they will say that they have none are detained at Jaluit. One must be tricky."

"The hair (enclosed in the bottle - where did he get that? from her? a brush? or asked her for it?) is Miss Earhart's and will prove the veracity of this story and that I have seen Amelia Earhart (-) supposedly dead. This bottle will serve as a float for a second bottle containing some objects of Miss Earhart. (!!!)"    

"I am writing on my knees because I have only a little paper,  some left over when police took finger prints." (Finger prints? On Jaluit?) Bottom of the page reveals: Letter was stamped at the bottom with initials V. B. 2.” 

But beyond that - the details of this letter confirm a number of details that are in the photo, and in the eyewitness reports above and to the side of this post. 

The point is - if you're going to "fake a letter" in Oct. of 1938, throw it overboard near the Brittany coast - where's it's delivered to French intelligence and US Embassy in 1939 - how do you get so many facts correct? 

As noted, no one was allowed near Jaluit. It's not the kind of place you'd make up a story about (Hawaii, Howland, anything but Jaluit).  He gets the "Europeans in custody" correct. He gets the "spying for fortifications" correct. He gets the fortifications reference correct. He gets the Earhart transported in a hydroplane correct. 

Basically, his letter reveals a knowledge of the fortifications and details and events that no other human could report. But he's reporting the same details as de Bisschop (a French Navy war hero.)

You can't have it both ways.  If the letter gives correct details about what's going on in Jaluit when no one was allowed there, and it's corroborated by a complete stranger - who denies seeing Amelia on the docks (further corroborating the story, because if he did, it would mean they were colluding) but confirms everything else in the letter, then it's not a huge leap to realize the letter is in fact, real.  

Combined with other reports of those who saw her on the boat (Bilimon Amaron (who saw AE and Fred), former Congressman Oscar De Brum (who saw the plane, he was taken to the docks in July 1937 by his father who said "They've arrested an American spy and she's on the boat, and that's her plane.")  ((This report is in the eyewitness footage above "Eyewitnesses on Saipan."))

Four individuals - two western, two islanders, who say the same things about the same person in the same dock in 1937.  Which confirm what's in the photograph.


Maybe before reporting whatever the latest "debunking" detail that comes via the PR machine that National Geographic has bought into, or the debunking machine that comes straight from those who have an investment in debunking - take a deep breath.

How about doing a little legwork, do the research, follow the links, take a good hard look at the evidence - and report it for what it is.  "It appears, based on these reports that are consistent, that Earhart survived the landing, and combines with other details, that she was arrested by the Japanese, detained, and incarcerated on Saipan.  Her plane was reportedly found by US Forces in 1944, and her body was partially recovered in 1945."  

Those are what the eyewitness reports actually say. The photo is one piece of evidence in a mountain of it. Journalism 101. (And yes, I have a Masters of Professional Writing from USC, took many Journalism courses while graduating Magna Cum Laude from Boston University.  Yes, I've written and/or directed eight theatrical features, and I do have a series of "best selling" books at Amazon (the "Flipside" series.)  

I've been researching this story since 1986, and it has not changed since I began to explore what eyewitnesses have said.  Details yes, but the overall thrust of what they've said is consistent. 

I worked on "Amelia" and the Diane Keaton film - both using my extensive research of over 30 hours of archived footage and 5000 photographs. But because I've never been interested in being swallowed up by the Earhart research juggernaut, I've kept my research to myself (but published in "Hacking the Afterlife") but in this case, I'm contributing to this story not for profit - but for the sake of Amelia's story.  

She deserves to be treated no less than any other American hero - as someone whose life mattered, and how she died matters as well.

So, to recap:

1. The "1935 book" is not a book or from 1935. It's a photo album with a librarian's stamp of 1935.

2. The photo accurately depicts Jabor docks post 1936. The docks were not built until 1936.

3. The Koshu is listed in the photo from the portfolio of pictures, so that photographer inadvertently proved that it was the Koshu in Jaluit by adding that caption when he put the photograph in his collection. (Can't have it both ways. He called it the Koshu. Clearly towing a 38 foot long plane (the precise dimensions of the Electra)

4. The photo shows the Japanese barge that carried the Electra from Mili to Jaluit - and there's an interview with the US Navy vet who met the man responsible for putting the Electra on that barge. (Andrew Bryce reported the story to me on camera, is in the footage above "other eyewitnesses.")

5. Bilimon Amaron says that he went aboard the Japanese ship and met both Earhart and Noonan. His reputation is defended by his business partner in the same footage.

6. In the letter from the Frenchman arrested as a spy, he claims she was taken away by seaplane which is corroborated in Fred Goerner's reports from eyewitnesses on Saipan.  (Ms. Blanco Akiyama, also interviewed on the History Channel show and in the eyewitness footage above, makes that same claim, as she saw her and Fred come ashore on the seaplane dock in Garapan, Saipan.)

7. I've been on Saipan, where I recently filmed 15 new eyewitnesses who claim either they saw Amelia in her cell, on the island, or in custody, people who've never spoken on camera before, people who are sick of being ridiculed by theorists. Either they directly saw her, had relatives who saw her, or had some story about her that was corroborated by other eyewitnesses.

8. US Marines who found her plane and Saipan, found her briefcase, who guarded the plane, who drove down from Mt. Tapachou to view the plane, who were nearby and confirmed the same dialog spoken outside the hangar, etc, etc, etc. Who watched as US forces took the plane onto the runway and destroyed it. Who decoded the secret messages regarding finding her plane, flying her plane and destroying it.  

9. Oliver Knaggs went to Mili and interviewed numerous eyewitnesses who saw her plane come down.  I interviewed the cameraman who shot that footage, and he confirmed everything Knaggs wrote in his book.

10. At some point - you just have to say "enough already."  On behalf of those Marines who entrusted me with telling their story - Robert Wallack and Earskin Nabors, veterans Tom Devine and Andrew Bryce and Douglas Bryce - all honest Americans who fought in the war, and don't deserve to have their story swept under a rug either.  Enough already. Stop acting like they didn't see what they saw, or they were deluded, crazy, or any of the other "conflicting reports" nonsense. Nothing conflicting about them at all if you actually listen.






There's more information on this page if you read the posts below or watch the footage to the side.

But no, the dock wasn't built prior to 1936, ergo the argument "it's from a book in 1935" is inaccurate.


MORE EYEWITNESSES CAN BE FOUND IN THE LINK BELOW, PHOTO OF AE IN FRONT OF THE ELECTRA ENTITLED "EYEWITNESSES ON SAIPAN." 
30 MINUTES WORTH.

July 18th, 2017 the Government of the Marshall Islands issued a new press release regarding the recent History Channel program, (I'm told its an amended press release, but does not negate the above information about the date of the docks.)  

It is clearly a message of support for Les Kinney and those islanders interviewed who saw Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan in Jaluit.  There is nothing in this letter that contradicts the original claim that the docks were built in 1936. Either they were - or they weren't. Evidence indicated above shows that they were. 


By the way - I will not post vitriolic replies to any posts. If you've spent the past 31 years investigating this story as I have done, seen footage, seen the documents, verified the details, interviewed the experts - if you've been hired, paid or spent time as a serious investigator (As I was paid by 20th Century Fox to work on "Amelia" and other films) I'm happy to discuss research. If you have a question about my research, I'm happy to answer it.  

I've been doing this for a long time, I'm also familiar with the vitriolic opinions and theories that her story engenders. 

Frankly, I'm not interested in theories or belief or replying to angry pilgrims.  Amelia Earhart landed on Mili, she was arrested, incarcerated and died on Saipan. Sorry if those details upset people. 

Frankly, it's beyond my comprehension to understand why anyone would be upset about it. If it wasn't true, then there's no point to argue with me about it. I've been in the military library in Tokyo, I've looked at the records of every prison camp the Japanese ran from 1936 to 1945. I've seen every volume of records.  

There is only one volume missing out of the 19 I've examined.  It is the records of the prison at Garapan, the site of the Naval Headquarters during the War. 

The reason that volume is not in the official records, (according to the head librarian who told my translator) is because "all prison records went to the US after the war. These are the volumes that were returned to us. So if Garapan is missing, it never returned."

I've been to Saipan. I've been to Ms. Akiyama's home and interviewed her. I've spoken to 15 new eyewitnesses who had never been interviewed before. People who either saw her, had a relative who talked about her, took care of her, got a ring from her, washed her clothes, cleaned her jacket, changed her sheets.  People who saw her plane in Aslito airfield before it was found by US Marines. Countless eyewitnesses, who saw her come down in Mili, saw her in Jaluit, saw her in Saipan.  Not a few. Not contradictory. All saying THE SAME STORY.

I highly recommend looking at the above footage, or the footage to the side of this post. You'll see excerpts of over 30 hours of raw footage of people telling their stories. Family members, and actual eyewitnesses who saw her alive on Saipan. US Marines who found her briefcase and plane.  The story isn't complex, but it is fascinating.

I find it amusing how this upsets people who are convinced that their theory, belief, philosophy is accurate.  

I'm not sure what human quality that is - that despite 200 eyewitnesses who claim they saw her, who saw her plane land on Mili, who saw her transported to Jaluit, saw her aboard a Japanese ship, saw her transported to Saipan, saw her on Saipan, took care of her, buried her when she died - US Marines who found her briefcase and plane - are convinced beyond any shadow of rational doubt that their theory - which may or may not include a stamp on a photo album, includes no eyewitnesses, no physical evidence whatsoever - and yet, they're furious! Upset! Vitriolic! over the idea that they might be adhering to a belief, a philosophy, a theory that is not based on any evidence.  

Not sure what this human quality might be - but having worked on this story for over 30 years, I've seen my share of them, and generally try to avoid them. I've met zealots from both sides of the coin - "she was beheaded!" "she was shot!" "she was tortured!" to "she crashed in the sea!" "She wound up in China!" "She returned to New Jersey!" It's fabulous that people are so eager to attach emotions to their beliefs. But I'm not posting opinions or beliefs or theories. These are eyewitness accounts that can and have been corroborated.

All I can surmise is that there's something deeply powerful or religious about her - something that's beyond rationale thought - or something of a spiritual nature that makes people treat her, treat her story, as if she's some kind of wax figure in a museum. 

I wish that the research showed different results. I wish that the Marshalls agreed that the docks in Jaluit were built in 1935.  I wish that she had come down in the Gilberts and not the Marshalls. I wish that the US revealed they knew she was on Saipan and negotiated for her.  I wish that the US didn't decide to cover up what happened to her.  I could have stopped researching her story back in 1986 when Diane Keaton made a film based on my script, but left out the eyewitness parts.  I wouldn't be here posting anything about this story.  

After all, it's not about how Amelia died - who cares? - it's about how she lived.  Created the equal rights amendment. Single handed did incredible feats of daring. Was a terrific author, poet, explorer. She loved and was loved.  

No one cares about where her body is - least of all her - but it is important to stay true to what really happened to her.  Because she had courage to live through that experience - courage to take whatever slings and arrows that came her way and continued to remain the sweet-hearted soul she always was.

She deserves to be honored for the hero that she is and remains to be.  Just not in the fantasies of some who believe she "screwed up" at the end of her life and "missed her target."  She did not. Just not here to argue opinions, am offering just a small sampling of the vast research already done. 

Stay tuned.

Thursday

Eyewitnesses who saw Amelia Earhart on Saipan

In light of the History Channel show here are some eyewitness reports from folks who saw Amelia Earhart on Saipan after she landed her plane at Mili atoll. (There's an interesting "new" evidence below)

(Full disclosure - I was asked to participate in the History Channel show. They filmed me for the sizzle reel that they used to sell the show to History Channel. Ultimately, based on my 25 years of research, having worked on all the films about Earhart (both Diane Keaton's and Hilary Swank) and my 30 hours of footage and 5k photographs, I decided to hang onto my research, as we're still hoping to put this together in film form.  That being said, I'm friends with Les Kinney and Dick Spink, have interviewed them, have worked and shared notes with them, and what they have to say about AE's journey is accurate and based upon decades of research. 

(This show is based on their research, Les and Dick worked independently of me and Mike Harris, but a few  years back, we all got together and shared notes. Les told me about his photograph, and I've been waiting all this time to see it. And it's mind blowing.)

Here's a short time line of what the research shows based on eyewitness interviews collected over decades. Mike Harris filmed some of these interviews in the 1980's, we filmed more in Saipan recently, and the US Marines I collected over the years.

1. She landed the Electra on Endriken isle in Mili.  Dick Spink found pieces of her plane on a number of occasions - a former NTSB investigator (Jim Hayton out of Seattle) confirmed "beyond a shadow of doubt" that they could only come from her Electra.

2. She was picked up by the Japanese.  A number of islanders saw her plane land (they were fishing the shallow reefs) and the Queen of Mili was filmed and interviewed by a South African journalist in the 1980's.  Many people saw her come down.  On a recent trip to Mili, an island elder recalled that the Japanese had "ordered" 40 islanders to help drag the Electra off the atoll.

3. The Electra was put aboard a Japanese barge and taken to Majuro first. I got that info from a Navy veteran stationed on Majuro who heard it from a stevedore he worked with. He said they'd transported it to the Koshu Maru.  (Note, in the photo of the ship, there's a barge attached to the Koshu. I never thought there would be a photo of that - but there it is.)

3. Google Earth photos show (from a decade ago) that the drag marks of some large object could be seen from space.  There was Japanese rail equipment found on the island and recovered by Spink, Kinney, Mike Harris and others on a recent trip.  Same gauge equipment Japanese used to haul cane in Saipan.

4. She was transported with Fred and the Electra to Jaluit (where this picture is taken. If you watch the footage you'll see eyewitnesses who boarded the ship and saw her there.)


click to view - about 30 minutes - the links at the end no longer apply

5. She was taken to Saipan - I interviewed Ms. Akiyama a few years back, and this show on Sunday interviews her as well. She's the original source for Fred Goerner's book - and her story has not changed.  I interviewed other islanders (also in this footage) who corroborate her story - one congressman says his father told him the same story of Fred and Amelia being brought ashore.

6. She was held at first in the hospital (interview above) then the military HQ. Fred, according to reports, was beaten, tortured and killed for being a spy. (beheaded)  Amelia was moved from her initial cell which she was a few doors down from Fred (in the footage) to a larger cell closer to the commandant's view.

7. She spent the rest of her days in this cell. She was occasionally allowed to meet with islanders (see "Eye on LA" report in the 1990's for those reports with Chuck Henry) but for the most part lived in a small cell (that is still there, and has a tree growing inside of it.)

8. She died of dysentery.  She was held as a "playing card" for the Japanese to use against the US - but never got around to it. The US invaded June 1944.

9. The Electra was found in a hangar on Aslito field, Saipan June 19th. The man who decoded the messages, guarded the plane, numerous eyewitnesses are cited above in the footage and to the side of this page. Her briefcase was found, dry as a bone,her passport etc, all turned over to the same commander Clarence R. Wallace.  Corroborated reports are cited in the footage.

10. Her body was dug up by two GI's Hanson and Burkes, as reported in Goerner's book "Searing for Amelia" in 1963. However, subsequent evidence points to the fact these two "found an arm and a partial ribcage." Her skull and other bones have not been found or recovered.

11. The Electra, after being guarded for 4-5 weeks in the hangar, was towed to the south end of the field, covered with gas and burned (as reported above.)  It was shoved off the runway into a pit with other planes.  We had permits to excavate that pit a couple of years back, but ran out of the money required to do so. However, I know where the pit is.  According to the NTSB investigator, he could identify the frame of her plane from a field X ray.  That remains to be done.

12. Her briefcase and arm were turned over to the US military.  The next island in the war was Okinawa, and as Robert Wallack points out - "a number of ships were sunk by the Japanese."  Perhaps her arm, rib cage and briefcase went to the bottom of the sea. However, recently, I heard from a reliable source that the briefcase is in the hands of a private collector related to the Earhart family.  That too remains to be seen.


Over 200 people claim to have seen her, nursed her, fed her, washed her clothes when she got to Saipan.  Some of those people are featured in the footage above.  This footage has been posted for years now, and despite being invited to be on the History Channel, I felt that if I did not work on that show, and retained all the rights to my research, I might find another way to tell her story.  And I'm still doing that.


This is not based on a theory, belief or philosophy. These reports are based on consistent eyewitness reports, that have been cross referenced - if one person said one incredible thing (she was shot, she was beheaded) I put it aside to hear corroborating evidence.  When two people said the same thing ("I saw her in the back of a truck in May 1944 being transported by soldiers. I had never seen a white woman in my life, and it's not the kind of thing you forget, even at age 12 - a woman dressed like a man with her arms bound and a blindfold.  She was parked in from of me for 30 minutes.  My brother was next to me." (cited in the footage above.)

Ultimately, people can argue about what people saw or think they saw. Certainly the memory does tricks over the years - but when over 200 people say relatively the same thing, it deserves to be examined. And further - if what they're saying is true - then the US owes her a debt. She was the first victim of World War II and has never been honored for it.

(Sorry that this info disturbs some people - but if you take a look at my other work ("Flipside" "It's a Wonderful Afterlife" and "Hacking the Afterlife" - in which I reveal everything I've learned about Amelia's journey) I go into detail as to why that might not be the case.  

In "Hacking the Afterlife" I submitted the same 20 questions to mediums who claimed they could communicate with AE.  In all three cases, I got the same answers, as well as "new information" that no one knows, that I have confirmed, that could only come from someone who was Amelia, or knew her extremely well.)

Regarding the latest hullabaloo about "the 1937 photo in a 1935 book." Some observations:

There are many things unusual about the photo cited in the History Channel report from the National Archives, that was "found in a book dated 1935 by a blogger in Japan."

It's actually not a book by the way. It's from a loose leaf portfolio of pictures. (If you follow the link to the cover, you'll see what I mean.) That portfolio has a separate copyright page from 1935. The photograph on the docks is not dated. Nor are any photos in the book.



Hand tied portfolio of photos not bound. 

Yet, the exact same photo is in a classified Office of Naval Intelligence file. (Full disclosure, my grandfather Edward A Hayes, National Commander of the American Legion, served as Assistant Sect of the Navy Frank Knox, and in the Office of Naval Intelligence from 1940-1944) How did the exact same photo get into a classified file (if you go to National archives, they have it on their main page.)  More importantly, why?





How'd ONI get the actual negative? It's the exact same photo. Why was it classified? (From my research, it was because they had so few pics of the region of actual docks.) 

There was an issue of docks that precipitated the war - as the Japanese claimed in their permission to mandate the islands (prior to leaving the League of Nations in 36) they would not fortify their docks for war. (They did, and killed people who reported that detail.)   


Photo from the net "Jaluit harbor in the 1930's"
Before they'd been fortified by the Japanese.
Note the pier included in the above foto. Fortified.
If the two westerners in the photograph are not Amelia and Fred -  what male/female westerners were traveling in Jaluit in 35? Someone somewhere must recognize Uncle Pete and Aunt Betty. Jaluit was an odd destination. It was Japanese territory. Completely off limits. (So - this letter came to me today - which I'd seen before, but never transcribe... a French explorer whose ship was confiscated off Mili in 37, who claims to have seen AE in custody). 

But there is proof they were on the docks, as depicted in the photograph in this letter.


(Oliver Knagg's book Chapter 11 AE: Her Last Flight 1983
has a slightly different (inaccurate) translation, but this is the original doc in English)
The message reads: "January 7th, 1939. Report of Amelia Earhart as Prisoner of the Marshall Islands." 

"Mr. Happenot, the chief of the French Foreign office, allowed the writer to read some papers found in a bottle washed ashore near Bordeaux. This communication... will be delivered to the American embassy here." 

He then describes a fellow walking on the beach along the Atlantic "On 30th October (1938), a Mr. Barret, aged 37" found a bottle that was half pint sized, with wax on over the top.  There was a sample of chestnut brown hair inside, with a note that said "May God guide this bottle, I confine my life and friends to it." 

Then in French, here in English;  "Have been prisoner at Jaliut (Marshalls) by the Japanese in a prison at Jaliut. In the prison there I have seen: Amelia Earhart (aviatrix) and in another cell her mechanic (a man), as well as several other European prisoners held on charges of alleged spying of the gigantic fortifications erected on the atoll."

(A key detail, as they were forbidden by the League of Nations to build fortifications for war, in their being allowed to mandate the islands. The photo above is of a fortified docks - as in ready for war.) 

"Earhart and her companion were picked up by Japanese hydroplane and will serve as hostages, say Japanese.  I was a prisoner because I disembarked on Mila (sic) Atoll.  My yacht 'VEVEO' sunk, crew (3 Maoris) killed, my yacht (85 tons, sailing ship) was equipped with radio." (Another detail - she was transported from Jaluit to Saipan in a seaplane, as has been reported elsewhere)."

On the other side of the note he continues: "Having been kept a long time at Jaluit as prisoner, I was forcibly enrolled as stokehold hand, (coal shovel) simply fed, on board 'Nippon Noa?' (his question mark) bound for Europe.  Will try to escape when ship near to coast.  Carry this message to Gendarmerie immediately in order so that we can be freed. " 

"This message is to be thrown overboard probably near Santander (Spain), and should arrive in Brittany or at the latest, October, 1938. (Wow. He had that correct.) This is message No. 6. To have a good chance of freeing Miss Earhart and her companion, as well as other prisoners, police should arrive incognito at Jaluit I shall be with (name indecipherable in text above, in book it's "Jo....eux") and if I succeed in escaping.... because if the Japanese are asked to free the prisoners they will say that they have none are detained at Jaliut. One must be tricky."

"The hair (enclosed in the bottle - where did he get that? from her? a brush? or asked her for it?) is Miss Earhart's and will prove the veracity of this story and that I have seen Amelia Earhart (-) supposedly dead. This bottle will serve as a float for a second bottle containing some objects of Miss Earhart. (!!!)"    
"I am writing on my knees because I have only a little paper,  some left over when police took finger prints." (Finger prints? On Jaluit? Cool. Let's find 'em.) Bottom of the page reveals: Letter was stamped at the bottom with initials V. B. 2


A good friend of mine forwarded this to me. There are other verifiable details to this letter. The explorer Eric de Bisschop, who was also detained in Jaluit in July of 1937, says that when he told the Japanese authorities he had been sailing near "Mila Atoll" (sic) they became suspicious and searched his boat (the Fou Po) for spying equipment. Later Bisschop was asked by the French military if he had seen Earhart while he was detained in Jaluit. While he said he had not seen her, he confirmed that he'd heard of others who had been detained.

But beyond that - the details of this letter confirm a number of details that are in the photo, and in the eyewitness reports .


First it's really an odd artifact. (It was found in a bottle on the beach in Brittany)  This explorer claims he was taken prisoner in Jaluit in 1937, where he saw Earhart and "her mechanic" in custody. (Sorry Fred, we can't all get credit even in death).  

But he notably reports he was arrested for spying on the "fortifications of the atoll" (getting ready for WWII in 1937) and that she was "taken away in a seaplane."

Fred Goerner's book in 1963 spoke to a number of people who saw a "silver plane" fly overhead just prior to her arrival on the island. (In the footage above, Ms. Blanco Akiyama, and a Congressman from the Marianas whose father saw the same event).

The docks where Ms. Blanco saw AE was at the seaplane dock in Garapan (as noted in the History Channel episode)  A small but notable confirmation that this fellow is accurate. (Other than the fact that he was a famous explorer and later lauded for his exploits. Not anonymous. A real human person who spoke about what happened to him later in life.)
 

Back to the photograph of Jaluit: two British citizens were executed in the Marshalls for spying in 1936. It's not exactly a place you stop off during your trip. A male and female dressed in men's clothing, black pants - not exactly the outfit worn by sailors either. 

People have claimed the ship is not the Koshu Maru. Is it the Koshu? The show claims it is - but so does the  portfolio pic. (In the caption it's called "Koshu.") So the ship is identified as the Koshu. What's it doing with a 38 foot long plane on a barge?

If you explore the footage link above, (eyewitnesses) you'll see Andrew Bryce, Navy Vet talk about the stevedore in Majuro who told him he moved the Electra by Japanese barge to Jaluit and a Japanese ship parked there. You'll see Bilimon Amaron talk about boarding the ship. You'll see his business partner defend his reputation.


The match of Fred's nose was pretty clear as per the show.  A match of her shoulders too. If it's not them who are these mysterious westerners out for a cruise in Jaluit in any year prior to World War II? 


So this photograph is not dated - it's in a portfolio, not a book, and the identical photo is in a classified file in the Office of Naval Intelligence. How'd it get into Office of Naval Intelligence? 

(I love that Tighar has found a shoe, found turtle bones, demonstrated a photo of a plane part in the ocean, found a body that was identified as male but is now female - (9 expeditions?) and has now got cadaver dogs searching the island. When I spoke to the editor of National Geographic in an hour long interview, I was told "When people come to us with a new Earhart story, we're told to run in the opposite direction."  I guess not anymore.)

Nat Geo did report on Les Kinney and Dick Spinks' (with Mike Harris, Jim Hayton) trip to Mili to find more plane parts (sponsored by Alcoa).  And now they're allowing Tighar to use their name (and her legacy with National Geographic) to continue this story. 

Yet, in a single day, because a blogger (who has posted on Tighar) says that the photo is from a 1935 book (it's not from a book! It's from a hand tied portfolio! none of the pix are dated!) everyone rushes to "debunk" "discredit" or the millions of other things that people say when faced with another narrative. 

Ignoring all of the people who corroborate what's in the photograph.

I suggest following up these questions. Follow up the eyewitness reports I've posted above. And ignore the hysteria about every new detail that comes across the transom. There will be future reports of "cadaver dog finds." (In my interview with Elgen Long  for the film "Amelia," he predicted they eventually run out of options and "discover" a plane part (one he says is tied to AE that he's already examined) I recently heard a "nasty rumor" that "someone" may "plant an artifact" of Fred Noonan's (size of a fingernail) to indicate/prove the search has been on the right island all along. It hasn't happened yet, it's a nasty unfounded rumor, but if or when it ever does, you'll have heard it here first. (7-14-17) It was Elgen who first alerted me to the concept "something could be planted" to justify the expense of these searches.  His words, not mine.)

It's taken 80 years to turn this ship in the correct direction, it's going to take more to get there.  (More eyewitnesses in the footage posted above.)


Addendum:

Some photographs that corroborate the argument made above.

1. Jaluit Harbor in 1906.  
SS. Germania 1906 Jaluit
Wooden Dock in Jaluit 1906. 

2. Jaluit Harbor in the 1930's when Japan was still in the League of Nations.
Photo caption "Jaluit Harbor in the 1930's. 


3. Jaluit harbor after it's had "fortifications" done - i.e. building a dock and a port for battle ships.  Strictly forbidden by the League of Nations which Japan left in 1936.
New dock - note the metal posts for tying up large ships. 
It's not the people that make this classified - it's the dock.
Closer. With the Koshu (as identified above) with a plane on a barge.
Just noticed this.
Is that fellow in the middle with the long hair, 
the French Sailor who penned the note? "VB2"

4. Jaluit Harbor in 1947.  Same dock from a different angle.


Jaluit Dock looking towards shore 1947
Jaluit Dock - 1947

5. The reason the photo was in the office of Naval Intelligence was because it proved that Japan was fortifying the docks illegally to prepare for war.
Note they're standing on the newly fortified docks. Office of Naval Intelligence

6. The above letter states the same details - fortifications for war, and seeing Amelia and "her mechanic" Fred on the same dock in 1937.
Which makes me wonder. Is the Frenchman who wrote this letter
in the photo above?
Wouldn't that be amazing?  All three of them in one photo.

Wednesday

Boom! Les Kinney produces solid evidence of Earhart in captivity

Life long Earhart researcher, former Federal investigator Les Kinney, has shared some of his research with History Channel.  A photograph of Amelia Earhart in custody.

Les has been working on this case for a long time. A dogged investigator he's turned up a number of items that will be revealed in the History Channel show. But finally, after all these years, some solid photographic evidence of Amelia in custody.

Mike Harris was in the Marshall's in the 1980's when he began filming locals who claimed to have seen Earhart.  Mike and I went to Saipan to interview 15 new eyewitnesses, and I've gathered 6 US veterans who claim to have found her plane on Aslito airfield in Saipan.  Three are US Marines, one guarded her plane, one found her briefcase, one decoded the messages when the US military found her plane.

Finally, at long last some photographic evidence of Amelia in custody.   There's more out there, it's just a matter of determination to find it. Les has more documents that prove what happened to her, Dick Spink found pieces of the Electra on Mili Atoll where she brought the plane in for a landing.

More to come, but I wanted to share this amazing photo, and the NBC expert who has verified it.

From NBC: 

"A newly discovered photograph suggests legendary aviator Amelia Earhart, who vanished 80 years ago on a round-the-world flight, survived a crash-landing in the Marshall Islands.
The photo, found in a long-forgotten file in the National Archives, shows a woman who resembles Earhart and a man who appears to be her navigator, Fred Noonan, on a dock. The discovery is featured in a new History channel special, "Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence," that airs Sunday.
Independent analysts told History the photo appears legitimate and undoctored. Shawn Henry, former executive assistant director for the FBI and an NBC News analyst, has studied the photo and feels confident it shows the famed pilot and her navigator.
 Amelia Earhart mystery may have new clue in never-before-seen photo 6:25
"When you pull out, and when you see the analysis that's been done, I think it leaves no doubt to the viewers that that's Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan," Henry told NBC News.
Earhart was last heard from on July 2, 1937, as she attempted to become the first woman pilot to circumnavigate the globe. She was declared dead two years later after the U.S. concluded she had crashed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, and her remains were never found.
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart sits in her Electra plane cabin at the airport in Burbank, California, on May 20, 1937. Albert Bresnik / Paragon Agency via AP
But investigators believe they have found evidence Earhart and Noonan were blown off course but survived the ordeal. The investigative team behind the History special believes the photo may have been taken by someone who was spying for the U.S. on Japanese military activity in the Pacific.
Les Kinney, a retired government investigator who has spent 15 years looking for Earhart clues, said the photo "clearly indicates that Earhart was captured by the Japanese."
Japanese authorities told NBC News they have no record of Earhart being in their custody.
The photo, marked "Jaluit Atoll" and believed to have been taken in 1937, shows a short-haired woman — potentially Earhart — on a dock with her back to the camera. (She's wearing pants, something for which Earhart was known.) She sits near a standing man who looks like Noonan — down to the hairline.
"The hairline is the most distinctive characteristic," said Ken Gibson, a facial recognition expert who studied the image. "It's a very sharp receding hairline. The nose is very prominent."
Gibson added: "It's my feeling that this is very convincing evidence that this is probably Noonan."
A newly discovered photo shows a woman who resembles Amelia Earhart and a man who appears to be her navigator, Fred Noonan. National Archives
The photo shows a Japanese ship, Koshu, towing a barge with something that appears to be 38-feet-long — the same length as Earhart's plane.
For decades, locals have claimed they saw Earhart's plane crash before she and Noonan were taken away. Native schoolkids insisted they saw Earhart in captivity. The story was even documented in postage stamps issued in the 1980s.
"We believe that the Koshu took her to Saipan [in the Mariana Islands], and that she died there under the custody of the Japanese," said Gary Tarpinian, the executive producer of the History special.
"We don't know how she died," Tarpinian said. "We don't know when."
It is not clear if the U.S. government knew who was in the photo. If it was taken by a spy, the U.S. may not have wanted to compromise that person by revealing the image. 


This webpage examines the eyewitness accounts and other evidence that shows Amelia and Fred were arrested and taken to Saipan. There were over 200 individuals who claimed they saw her, this site examines who they were, and what they heard or saw. It includes details of evidence the Electra was found on Saipan, interviews with people who saw her and the Electra before and after they were taken to Saipan. Interviews with over two dozen Saipanese who claim they saw her there and over a dozen US Marines who claim they found the Electra, her passport, briefcase and other details.

EYEWITNESS REPORTS

THE EYEWITNESS REPORTS VIDEO IS NOW .99 CENTS

Eyewitness Accounts: Published

EYEWITNESS: THE AMELIA EARHART INCIDENT BY THOMAS E DEVINE WITH RICHARD M DALEY

Pg 40. “Glancing out on the runway ramp.. an area not the main part of Aslito Field, but an extended arm of the airstrip at the southwest corner… Near an embankment was (AE’s plane). (LATER) .. a muffled explosion at Aslito Field erupted into a large flash fire… I crouched and crawled toward the airfield. When I could see what was burning, I was aghast! The twin engine plane was engulfed in flames! I could not see anyone by the light of the fire… in July 1944.”

THE SEARCH FOR AMELIA EARHART BY FRED GOERNER

Goerner gathers dozens of eyewitnesses to Earhart’s incarceration and second hand info about her execution.

AMELIA EARHART: LAST FLIGHT

Amelia reveals she did not know Morse code (and neither did Fred Noonan)

AMELIA EARHART:HER LAST FLIGHT

By OLIVER KNAGSS

South African journalist gathers numerous eyewitnesses at Mili, Majuro and Jaluit. There is footage of these interviews, but it exists somewhere in Miami – still trying to locate the negative.

AMELIA EARHART: THE MYSTERY SOLVED By ELGEN M LONG AND MARIE K LONG

Elgen shows how the original plan devised by radio man Harry Manning was adhered to by the Coast Guard Itasca – they didn’t know Manning got off the plane in Hawaii and wasn’t on the electra. So 90% of all their communication was in Morse code – something neither AE or FN knew.

“WITH OUR OWN EYES – EYEWTINESSES TO THE FINAL DAYS OF AMELIA EARHART” MIKE CAMPBELL WITH THOMAS E DEVINE

PG 32. Robert Sosbe, 1st battalion 20th Marines, 4th marine division) Sosbe said he saw the Electra before and during its destruction) “on or about D+5 after our infantry had captured Alsito, the night before, then were driven off, only to capture it again, our Co was called up to fill a gap between our infantry and the 27th Army infantry. The trucks carrying us stopped off the opposite side of the runway from the hangars and tower about 3 to 5 hundred yds. This two engine airplane was pulled from the hangar to off the runway where it was engulfed in flames from one end to the other. I can still remember exactly the way it burned, how the frame and ribs because it was visible. It was about half dark. It burned approximately 15-30 minutes.”

Same page: a letter from Earskine Nabers: “I am seeking Marines who were placed on duty at Aslito to guard a padlocked hangar containing AE’s plane. The hangar was not one of those located along the runway. It was located near what may have been a Japanese administration building, and an unfinished hangar at the tarmac, in the southwest corner of the airfield.

The follow up letter (pg 33)

…”we had to get Col. Clarence R Wallace to sign all the messages that came through the message center.) Hq 8th moved back to bivouac area. I was dropped off at the Hangar for guard duty at the main road that went by west side of hangar. The road that went out to hangar, I was placed on the right side, just as it left the main road….

Pg 34 The best I can recall the plane was pulled on the field by a jeep.. the plane was facing north after the plane was parked and jeep moved. A plane came over real low and on the next pass he strafed the plane and it went up in a huge fireball. (We were sitting on the west side of the airfield about one hundred yards from the plane. We were on higher ground. As far as I remember, the (men) that pulled the plane on the field and us guys from H & S 8th were the only ones there.”

Pg 36 Marine Capt Earl Ford of Fallbrook, CA, artillery master sgt with 2nd Marines. Interview 6-7-88 by Paul Cook. “The aircraft was about 100 yards (from me) maybe less. We all saw it. No way we could miss it. A civilian twin engine. No way it was military. American aircraft in civil registration… some officers were saying it was Amelia’s… it had only two windows on the side, back here.”

Arthur Nash, Air Corps Corps, P47 group on Aslito. Claims he saw the plane on July 4, 1944 (book says 1945, must be a misprint based on following) pg 40:

“After landing on Isley.. at 2:30 pm, Japanese soldiers were running around the airstrip, one killed himself in the cockpit of a P47D with a grenade…” I slept fairly well (in the hangar) and (in the morning) wandered over to a large hole in the hangar wall facing the other hangar. The hangar floor and the area between the hangars was littered with debris, displace with siding from the hangars, maybe 65 yards apart, but close enough to get a good look at a familiar aircraft outside the other hangar. My eyesight was acute and what I saw was Amelia Earhart’s airplane!... the next morning I went over to see it but it was gone.”

Jerrell Chatham, 1st platoon, I company, 3rd regiment, 2nd marine deivions: “I was driving trucks .. on Saipan… when we went ashore I saw the hangar where Amelia Earhart’s plane was stored, I also saw the plane in the air. They told us not to go close to the airplane hangar and we did not…”

Pg 44: Howard Ferris, US Marines: “Sent to Saipan for guard dutey… an old hangar structure at end of a runway. This hangar was not large,.. small trees in front of big doors.. (then he recounts the same Marine argument that Devine and Nabers recount – where some Navy brass attempted to get in, but a Marine (Nabers) refused them entry.)” Howard was not present at the fire, but one of his buddies was. The buddy said a truck arrived with many gas cans and the guards saturated the entire hangar.. and it burned totally.

Pg 50 Robert Sowash, 23rd regiment 4th Marines Division: “I saw a plane in a building that was not a military plane.. I remember other Marines saying it was the same as Earhart’s. Later the place was cordoned off..”

Pete Leblanc, 121st Naval CB’s, 4th Marine division: “some of our guys were sneaking over towards the airfield to try and see (AE’s plane). We heard there were guards there. Then it was burned up later.”

AMELIA EARHART: LOST LEGEND - DONALD MOYER WILSON

Over 200 eyewitnesses as gathered by all the different authors with the various reports of her landing on Mili, being brought to Jaluit and incarcerated in Garapan prison.