5. SOUTH PACIFIC CROSSING

After fifteen days of sun and fun in beautiful Hawaii we received orders from Admiral Dufek to depart for the city of Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand, where we were to make final preparations for our long flight to McMurdo Air Facility in the Antarctic. We departed N.A.S. Barbers Point on the island of Oahu on September 27th and headed first for the tiny atoll called Canton Island. The island was an American possession, located near the Equator, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 19

Sometime during the long flight to Canton Island, Eddie started moving the flight controls forwards and backwards rapidly so that the aircraft pitched upwards and nosed downwards steeply. He admitted after a few moments that he was simulating a condition where the air around us had become very rough, although it had in fact been very smooth since we had left Hawaii. He had coaxed the navigator to advise him when we were crossing the Equator and when that happened he decided to let us know that we were doing something out of the ordinary. If we had been on shipboard at the time of crossing the Equator there would have been a real ceremony held to honor Father Neptune. Everyone aboard a ship crossing the Equator for the first time would have had to face a difficult and perhaps degrading initiation. Fortunately for us, traveling as we were, at high altitude in a cramped cockpit, there wasn't the time or the opportunity to take the usual amenities. Still it did leave an impression on all of us pollywogs.

The flight to Canton Island required over twelve hours of flying and while it was made mostly in daylight over water, the landing took place after dark. I still have a vision of my first over water night landing. Because there was no moon out that night and no surface lighting except for the runway lights everything beneath us, was inky black. Using the cockpit instruments I was able to tell my attitude, airspeed and altitude, however, when I looked outside the cockpit the runway seemed like a tiny spot in an black void. There would be almost no visual clues to help me land the aircraft until the aircraft crossed over the end of the runway. The ocean below us must have been glassy smooth because I could see no whitecaps to assure me where the water began. As I approached closer to the airfield I slowed the aircraft, lowered the landing gear and wing flaps and gently lost altitude. Still it seemed that we were not moving, but that we were suspended in midair with the runway still a long way ahead of us. Finally, after what seemed a small eternity, the runway started getting larger, giving me some idea of what I had to do to effect a landing. After I finally got the aircraft on the runway I realized that it would take a lot of practice before I could consider over water nighttime landings for me a routine event.

Canton Island at night was not a very intriguing place, to say the least. Except for the runway and a few adjacent buildings there seemed to be little except sand and palm trees. The air was heavy with humidity, and except for the two or three Polynesians who helped us refuel, it might have been a deserted atoll island anywhere in the tropics. We remained on the ground for about an hour before departing again, this time for the Fiji Islands. 20

The flight to Nandi Airport on the main island of the Fiji Islands was accomplished mostly at night. On this jump across the ocean we were airborne for 7.6 hours. We landed on this beautiful island just after sunrise after first flying low over some magnificent coral reefs, which circled the island. The best of artists could not have captured the brilliant colors of the reef, for they were more varied in hues than a canvas might ever portray.

Just inside the outer reef, the water was a light green that was as pure a color as I had ever seen. It is no wonder that certain men find a lifetime of contentment in living around such beauty with little of the stress you find in our modern society. 21

After our arrival at Nandi Airport, we were told that we were to delay our takeoff for New Zealand for three days, a decision I was not willing or desirous of questioning because I wanted to see something more of the Fijis than the airport, if I could. After a short ride into town, we checked in at a British hotel, the best to be had on the island. Our room assignments and the hotels provisions proved to be most comfortable and the service we received from the hotel staff was outstanding. Had an opportunity arose to keep me there I would have been content to have remained there for a week or more.

Since we had been awake for over thirty hours, when we arrived at the hotel, we all turned in immediately for a well earned rest, even though it was still early morning. We were waked a few hours later for tea, and a bit later for a lovely supper in the hotel restaurant. After supper we all got together for a few drinks at the bar, but we didn't last long at this activity because we were still worn out from the long flight from Hawaii - so it was back to bed for all of us.

It was still dark outside my hotel room, and I presume around six in the morning, when there was a light tap on my door. Before I could answer the knock a tall, black native woman entered my room, carrying a tray with my early morning tea. Since this was an island, steeped in British tradition, I presume that tea at sunrise was a tradition, however, I would have preferred to have remained asleep instead. The same event reoccurred every morning while we were in the Fijis so we all learned to accept it as part of the hotel fare, even though several of the pilots in my group chased the serving women from their rooms when they failed to see the importance of their accepting tradition over additional sleep. All of us may have been flying fools, but in between flying chores we loved the solitude of sweet sleep like a drunk loves his bottle.

About a half hour after being awakened for tea and after drifting back to sleep, there came a second shock. Outside our rooms there was a large hollow log placed on the grass next to the green garden wall surrounding the hotel. There were two large wooden clubs placed on the ground adjacent to the log and when breakfast was ready to be the serving a tall muscular black man in native costume started hitting the log with the clubs. He started with a slow steady beat which gradually increased in frequency until the clubs were moving faster than the eye could follow. If there was any sleep left in me after this racket, it quickly evaporated in that crescendo of sound. As a form of communication, it carried a urgent message which was stronger than the need to sleep.

The town, surrounding Nandi Airport, was not very large, and except for one block of East Indian-run stores, there were only a few government buildings and native homes in sight. Adjacent to the hotel was a large fenced-in courtyard which was used by the native police force. Every day that we were on the island the black policemen, some of whom were over six feet in height, did precision marching on this parade ground. Their British style close order drill and the precision they demonstrated in handling themselves and their rifles was very impressive.

When Sunday rolled around I located a Catholic church, which was within walking distance from my hotel. I arrived just as Mass was beginning and sat amongst the congregation of mostly black natives. When the gospel time came around and everyone stood up for the first time I was amazed to find that all the native Fijians were much taller than I was. Everyone, including the women, seemed at least six feet tall and their bush-like hairdos made them seem even more giantesque. For the first time, in all my travels, I felt like I was the pygmy and the natives were the tall ones.

On October 1st we received a message from the Admiral's staff which directed us to take departure for New Zealand. We boarded our aircraft in short order and were once again airborne for another long over water flight. The trip to Christchurch, New Zealand took over eleven hours and was mostly done above the clouds. It wasn't until we reached the northern tip of New Zealand that the weather cleared enough so we could see what the surface looked like below us. From the air New Zealand appeared to be a country of many beautiful vistas. Mountains and valleys abounded and it all appeared inviting to the curious traveller. After a few hours we left the North Island and crossed the straits which separated the North Island from the South Island. 22

At last we arrived at the naval air station called Wigram Field, our destination, where we would make final preparations for our long and dangerous flight to the Antarctic. It was here that we would concentrate on getting our aircraft into near perfect working order. We also took time to reacquaint flight crews of their duties, especially their in-flight emergency procedures. It was here that the weathermen would study the weather patterns so we could select departure times to give us the best weather situation possible for the flight southward. 23

After checking in at the base Officer's Quarters we found that our room assignments would place us in buildings several blocks apart from each other. Eddie was given a room in the senior officer's quarters - I was given a room in one of the junior officer's quarters and our navigator was placed in a second junior officer's quarters. This was the first time since leaving Rhode Island that we would not be within earshot of one another and resulted in each of us enjoying Christchurch in different ways, ways governed by age and maturity. All three of the officers attached to our particular R4D went our own ways and each of us saw a different bit of New Zealand. Later, in comparing our experiences we were amazed at the variety of things we had seen and done.

My B.O.Q. room was adequate in size but my body had been acclimatized to tropical weather in Hawaii and Fiji so the damp and cold of that New Zealand spring permeated the building walls and even with the heat they gave us I was uncomfortably cold most of the time. New Zealanders seem to be enamored with fresh air and were always throwing open windows, even though it might be raining and near freezing outside. I couldn't leave my room, but for a few moments, only to find my windows opened wide on my return. The New Zealand officers living in the building where I slept seemed immature and unruly by my standards. They came and went in sizeable groups it seemed and whenever they were around they generated a great amount of noise. They were quite athletically inclined and it seemed that they were always on their way to some sports activity or other throughout the entire working day. What they were in training for still remains a mystery to me for there was little flying around the field other than what we did in testing our aircraft.

I am able to recall one morning when their habits made me quite uncomfortable for a brief time. I had slept in late and on awakening I was pleased to note that the building was unusually quiet, indicating that the young N.Z. lads had gone off to one of their daily sports activities. I decided that I would take this opportunity to get my first hot shower since my arrival in New Zealand. I rushed from the warmth of my quilted bed to the half frozen communal bathroom. I closed the windows and turned on the hot water in all three showers so the steam would quickly fill the room and make it as comfortable as possible, so I could strip down and get my shower. Climbing into that steamy shower was a real delight and in moments I felt overwhelmed by the feeling of total warmth, the first I had experienced since arriving on this island. Unfortunately my joy was short-lived because the young officers returned suddenly and someone gasped, "What the hells going on here! - and before I knew it all the windows were thrown fully opened and the New Zealand icy damp was upon me in a flash. I rinsed off and dressed as quickly as possible and rushed back to the relative warmth of my room. I decided then and there that there would be no more hot showers taken surreptitiously during my stay in New Zealand.

We remained at Wigram Field for sixteen days before the weather conditions between New Zealand and the Antarctic improved enough for us to consider making the big jump to the Ice. During my short stay I was able to meet many New Zealanders and to witness their sincere hospitality. In many ways this was the nicest part of our entire trip. We found ourselves being stopped by the natives on the city streets of Christchurch and being offered the hospitality of their homes and their friendships. Everyone wrote down our names and after a day or so we found ourselves deluged with phone calls from our newly acquired friends, offering us options on what we might do with that day's free time. In short order it was impossible to satisfy all the invitations which we received and we had to disappoint a lot of eager folks every day.

The New Zealanders seemed to like Americans in a most unexpected way. To them we must have seemed like young heroes, since we were headed toward South Pole adventures. Still they went out of their way to show us a good time. Their social customs were very modest in nature and not given towards doing extraordinary things. Rather, they did routine things in an extraordinary manner. They sensed that we were facing great adventures in the months ahead and they seemed to want to make us feel that they could share in our excitement and thus live a part of it with us. None of us would ever forget their hospitality.

We were fortunate to meet the owner of a tobacco store in center of downtown Christchurch, who took a liking to some of us who visited his store. We were surprised when he offered us the loan of his automobile for a trip to the nearby mountains. He suggested that we visit a hot springs resort, while we drove through the mountains, since this was a popular place for natives and tourists alike. We picked up a enough food for a picnic from a local delicatessen and drove the fifty miles or so to the spa. The waters in the spa smelled vile, however the hot water provided my half frozen feet the first good thawing since I had arrived in New Zealand. The automobile ride through the mountains and sheep herding country of the South Island was idyllic. It was surprising to me that this beautiful country was not visited more frequently by the tourist trade since it seemed to me to be one of the most beautiful places I had visited in my military experience. With the advent of plentiful and economical air travel during recent years, perhaps New Zealand has since assumed its proper place as a tourist mecca.

Christchurch, the jewel of the South Island, deserves special mention here because it is distinctive and unique. As a town it appears to be an exact copy of an ancient English village, with a river that winds its way through the heart of the town. Both sides of the river's banks have been planted with trees, gardens and lawns. Paved sidewalks parallel the river and are a haven for cyclists, runners and promenaders. There are benches along the way for those who prefer to sit and rest. In addition to this the stream abounds with ducks and geese making the park a charming place to visit. The rest of the city is cozy and the people seem unrushed as they go about their daily tasks. After work a goodly part of the male work force gathers at local inns and quaff a few beers before heading home. There is good cheer in their voices as the workday unravels and strangers, such as us, were welcomed as friends, and not strangers.

While in New Zealand we took only one local flight and that was for the purpose of flight checking our aircraft and radio equipment. Everything worked satisfactorily so in all regards we were ready for our flight to the Ice. One of the R5Ds went on a local flight with the intention of doing further training of our parachute teams. These teams were to be available in rescuing any survivors of a crash in the Antarctic wastes if such a crash occurred where a rescue aircraft could not land, such as in mountainous areas. One by one the parachutists jumped from the R5D landing on Wigram Field's grassy area. The last to jump was the U.S. Marine Captain who was the leader of the survival team. Unfortunately his parachute opened a bit to early and it snagged on the horizontal stabilizer of the R5D. The R5D flew in circles around Wigram Field for about thirty minutes before the Captain was able to wrest his chute free of the aircraft. He made a routine landing on the airfield and sustained no injuries as a result of the incident, but all this was, in a way, like a warning of tragedy yet to come on the Ice.

Antarctic Facts
- The Transantarctic Mountains extend across the continent, dividing the ice sheet into two parts. The larger, eastern part rests on land that is mostly above sea level. It has been there at least 14 million years, and scientists do no think it is ever likely to melt. The smaller, western part is on land that is mostly below sea level. Scientists think that if the world were to warm a little, as it has in the past, the western part could melt - perhaps in as little as a one-hundred-year period. The melted ice would raise sea level throughout the world about 20 feet.

Other mountain ranges include the Prince Charles Mountains and smaller groups near the coasts. The Antarctic Peninsula has many mountains. The Ellsworth Mountains are Antarctica's highest, the Vinson Massif rising 16,864 feet above sea level. Mountains with only their peaks showing through the ice (called nunataks) are found in some areas. Several active volcanoes on the continent provide spectacular and scenic landforms at many places and are located near the Antarctic Peninsula and the Transantarctic Mountains.