Amelia Earhart by Cassandra Ramsey

    In July, 1937, the world’s first woman aviator miraculously disappeared into the unknown. Amelia Earhart was the outstanding woman who journeyed our various geographies only to vanish into thin air. Many believe that she was a spy for the United States and was shot down to be captured by the Japanese and sentenced to her death in the Garapan Prison. Others say she was stranded on Nikumaroro Island after British Colonial Service Officer, Gerald Gallagher, discovered partial skeletal remains of an unidentified person. It is also heard that her navigator, Fred Noonan, was a severe alcoholic and was unable to operate the plane’s equipment, causing it to crash into the Pacific Ocean. Now, let’s explore the background of our dear Mrs. Earhart and the unsolved mystery of her disappearance.

Who was Amelia Earhart? She was described as the short-tousled hair, “Lady Lindy,” the ambitious and determined woman who would impact the history of women forever. Amelia Mary Earhart was born on July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas, with the mind of a dreamer. In her early years, she attended Hyde Park High School and Columbia University; majoring in medicine after serving as a Red Cross nurse’s aide, until she was driven towards her true inspiration while experiencing the sight of the Royal Flying Corps practicing in a nearby airfield. Earhart’s passion for flight eventually led her to many numerous aviation records and awards, one being the first female to fly the Atlantic Ocean in 1928, as well as involvement in organizations such as the Ninety-Nines; which advanced women involvement in the field. “Earhart gained international fame after becoming the first woman to cross the Atlantic as part of a team in 1928, although she did not pilot the plane herself (King).” And after that enormous recognition, she would attempt to become the first woman to fly the circumference of the globe and obtain an outstanding notice.

But before all this fame and glory, Amelia had the external conflict of poverty as a young lady. She worked a variety of jobs, “from photographer to truck driver” in placement for her unemployed, alcoholic father for family necessities, as well as flying lessons after taking a plane ride that “transformed her life” at ten years old (Amelia Earhart). During this economic struggle, Amelia and her family moved around continuously, neglecting her of friends and the comfort of a stable home life. Meanwhile, this circumstance also lead her to become “independent and not rely on someone else to ‘take care’ of her (Amelia Earhart).”

Another external trait was her conflicting relations with a dearest friend and work partner. Amelia had been close contacts with Dorothy Putnam and George Putnam, who she had been rumored to have had an affair with, even with them stating that their relationship was “strictly professional (Amelia Earhart).” Though, Dorothy had actually been having an affair and it happened to be with their son’s tutor. The couple were officially divorced in 1929, where George then thoroughly pursued Amelia, who only declined him in response. Eventually, the two were wed on February 7, 1931 in Connecticut (Biography.com).

After her bond to George, an internal conflict shown through when Earhart wrote Putnam a letter stating, “I want you to understand I shall not hold you to any medieval code of faithfulness to me nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly (Amelia Earhart).” Earhart was indeed in love, but even so, her passion for aviation overcame the full dedication to relationships. She was destined to her planes versus her marriage and depicted that with her head-strong attitude and commitment to the adventure.

To the entire world of women, Amelia Earhart was an inspiration within everyone’s heart. She was a determined aviator who strived to conquer the flight of the globe’s circumference. And with that – a catastrophe struck.

The first conspiracy theory suggest that Amelia Earhart was covertly a spy for the United States and was shot down on her flight; captured by the Japanese and sentenced to her death at Garapan Prison. This story evolved from an interview with a former captive and his experience in the prison. Previous farmer on Saipan, Jesus Salas, had been put in Garapan Prison in 1937 until released by the U.S. Marines in 1944. Salas told interviewer, Loomis Goerner, that “a white woman was placed in a cell next to his for a few hours in 1937 (King, Roberts, Cerniglia).” Goerner also spoke to Ana Villagomez Benavente, a resident of Saipan, whom had detailed that “while visiting her brother at Garapan Prison, she saw an American woman captive there (King, Roberts, Cerniglia).”

Looking into these encounters, Mike Campbell researched Thomas Devine’s photograph received by Earhart scholar, William Gradt. Gradt had provided “a copy of a photograph of etchings found on a wall inside a cell in the Garapan Prison (Gradt).” The illustration depicted a so called inscribed “A” and “E,” but was researched later in 2004 by Campbell to be only a mere deteriorated part of metal on the cell door. Even with the witnesses having spotted an “American woman,” their experiences cannot be traced to Amelia Earhart ever having been on Saipan due to the lack of hard evidence in the prison.

The second conspiracy theory proposes that Earhart was stranded on Nikumaroro Island after British Colonial Service Officer, Gerald Gallagher, discovered partial skeletal remains of an unidentified person. “The reason why they found a partial skeleton is that many of the bones had been carried off by giant coconut crabs (Richard Gillespie).” In 1940, Gallagher found human remains and had sent them off to Fiji for examination; which identified the bones as a tall, Caucasian female (Vintage News). It was said clarified that “the skeleton was found to be consistent in appearance with females of European descent in the United States today, and the stature was consistent with that of Amelia Earhart (Karen Burns).”

Besides the evidence of Earhart’s bones, other items had also been found to prove her inhabitance on Nikumaroro Island. “Baby oil, hand lotion, and a rogue compact” were all discovered on the terrain “along with the freckle cream which was unearthed on the island in May (Farberov, Gye).” The freckle ointment had originally been “a glass container” “found broken in five pieces (King).” “Another crucial find came in the form of two slivers of glass which appear to be part of a compact mirror from the 1930s U.S. (King).” Two bottles have also been discovered, one green, containing a sort of skincare product, the other, a St.Joseph’s Liniment mosquito repellent (Farberov, Gye).

Not only did they find Earhart’s personal belongings, they also discovered reminisce of the Lockheed Electra Vega. “To put it simply, the place is crazy with aircraft aluminum;” which is unusual for an underdeveloped village to have.

Some of the aluminum is from a B-24; it's got part numbers that match B-24 specifications. A B-24 crashed on Kanton Island, northeast of Nikumaroro, and there was some travel between the islands during and after the War, so the source of these pieces is easily nailed down. But much of the aluminum, especially the small, cut-up pieces, doesn't appear to be military. No serial numbers, no zinc chromate paint. And some pieces have rivets that match those in Earhart's Electra. (King)

What this evidence proposes is that, Earhart’s plane could have in fact crashed into Nikumaroro Island and left her stranded to live out her days. With all of these new discoveries that relate directly to her inhabitance, evidence points very clearly to Amelia Earhart actually having have been on Nikumaroro until death.

The final conspiracy theory points to her navigator, Fred Noonan, had been a severe alcoholic and was unable to operate the plane’s equipment, causing it to crash into the Pacific Ocean. “The stories about Noonan’s drinking seem to have begun in 1966 with the publication of The Search for Amelia Earhart by Frederick Goerner and are totally without documentary support (TIGHAR).” This statement proves factual, especially since the rumors of Noonan’s alcoholism arose way after his death. Fred was a very skilled pilot and had never been noted to be recklessly hungover before flight, until Goerner’s publication. A “film of Earhart and Noonan boarding the airplane that morning show a bright and cheerful Fred Noonan helping Amelia up onto the wing (TIGHAR).” The fact that there is film of Noonan, sober and cheery the day of the flight, qualifies as evidence to him become completely capable of managing the plane’s equipment.

After reviewing each conspiracy theory in detail, a clear resolution to our inquiries shines through. Amelia Earhart’s disappearance was due to her isolation on the Nikumaroro Island, after she was stranded on the land mass from an aircraft accident. Reminisce of her belongings, such as freckle cream, a rouge compact, and lotion, were all discovered in the area of her thought death. Along with personal possessions of an American citizen, there was also a partial skeleton of a tall, Caucasian woman found by Gerald Gallagher. And even on top of this outstanding evidence, researchers from TIGHAR uncovered fragments of a non-military aircraft that had pieces that lined up with Earhart’s Lockheed Electra Vega. All of these discoveries collected over the course of various years can only justify what truly happened to Amelia Earhart and where she had disappeared to.

After posting a survey for twenty people, it came back that 95% of the individuals agreed that Amelia Earhart, having disappeared into the Nikumaroro Island, as the best and most realistic conclusion to her vanishing. Some justified themselves by stating that a woman in that day in age could not have been an important government figure such as a spy for the United States. At that, there were only few well known women aviators then anyhow. Others regarded that with no factual evidence of Fred Noonan being an alcoholic, that indeed, there was no way he could’ve been one. Coming to the most logical conclusion, with evidence provided, most of the survey attenders believed that Amelia had lived out her days on the Nikumaroro Island. Hopefully in the future, this theory will be confirmed to be true.

Currently, TIGHAR researchers still look into Amelia Earhart’s disappearance, and hope to one day actually ratify what happened to such an inspirational and encouraging female figure that’s mystery will forever impact our American history.

After examining the whereabouts of Earhart’s last sightings, people are still left to question:

1.      Was she a spy for the United States and shot down by the Japanese to be sentenced to her death in the Garapan Prison?

2.      Was she was stranded on Nikumaroro Island to the end of her days?

3.      Was her navigator, Fred Noonan, a severe alcoholic who was unable to operate the plane’s equipment and allowed it to crash into the Pacific Ocean?

Even after substantial evidence hinting towards Amelia’s inhabitance on the Nikumaroro Island, researchers have still yet to solve the fascinating location of our beloved aviator’s disappearance. And as curious spectators, we, along with the TIGHAR researchers, hope to uncover the truth behind Mrs. Earhart’s final resting place. 

 Works Cited

Biography.com Editors. "Amelia Earhart." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 18 May 2016. Web. 21 Oct. 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/amelia-earhart-9283280#!>.

Farberov, Snejana, and Hugo Gye. "Does This Beauty Kit Prove Amelia Earhart Crashed on Desert Island? Make-up and Lotions Found at 'crash Site' Weeks after Discovery of Anti-freckle Cream." Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers, 14 July 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2173446/Amelia-Earhart-Beauty-kit-desert-island-Pacific.html>.

Heller, Jake. "8 Crazy Conspiracy Theories About Aviator Amelia Earhart’s Demise." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 21 Mar. 2012. Web. 01 Oct. 2016. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/21/8-crazy-conspiracy-theories-about-aviator-amelia-earhart-s-demise.html>.

King, Thomas F. "Did Amelia Earhart Crashland on a Pacific Island--and Survive?" About Education. About Inc., 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://archaeology.about.com/od/pacificislands/a/king_ae_2.htm>.

King, Thomas F., Thomas A. Roberts, and Joseph A. Cerniglia. "Amelia Earhart in the Mariana Islands." Amelia Earhart in the Mariana Islands. TIGHAR, 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/AEinMarianas.html>.

Lorenzi, Rossella. "Earhart's Final Resting Place Believed Found." Seeker. Discovery Communications, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://www.seeker.com/earharts-final-resting-place-believed-found-1766067187.html>.

"The Remains of Amelia Earhart May Have Been Found on an Island." The Vintage News. The Vintage News, 20 Sept. 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <https://m.thevintagenews.com/2016/09/20/remains-amelia-earhart-may-found-island/>.

"Was Fred Noonan a Alcoholic?" Fred Noonan. TIGHAR, 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/FAQs/noonan.htm>.