Post on 18-Dec-2015
Courage
o jumped out of the aircraft, having never used a parachute
o doesn’t panic
o survival attitude
o removed the word “fear” from his vocabulary
o confident of rescue for the first 8 days
o thought civilization was just around the next bend in the river
o never gave up hope
Resourcefulness/Creativity• Goes to the river (stays 8days)
– Source of water– Landmark– Cities , towns located near rivers– Animals go there to drink and eat
• Builds a fire using a letter + matches + spruce boughs, sleeps in 2 hour intervals
• Keeps parachute = lifeline― Uses it for warmth, wrapping himself in it like a cocoon, mittens protecting his
hands― Uses it to make weapons—bow and arrow, sling-shot― Makes a spear― Later uses it to patch clothing and a knapsack
• Chews on moss, but doesn’t swallow = conserve energy• Once at the Cabin
– Uses candle wax to protect his hands– Sleeps 18 hours a day– Rations his food, eating 2 meals a day– Makes a sled to carry items on his journey
• Kills a ptarmigan (bird) ― examines its stomach, finds berries looks for bush with berries to kill more
Good Fortune
• Only one to survive & not injured in the bail out
• Landed near a river
• Had a Boy Scout knife, matches, and letter with him
• Weather was relatively good
• Cabin # 1, well-stocked, stays 6 wks.
• Finds food, clothing, mittens, gun, ammo., other supplies
• *Finds a map when a calendar falls off the wall
• Finds magazines with Phil Berail’s name and address—knows where he is
• Cabin # 2, modestly stocked, stays about a week
• Finds a toboggan trail that leads to Cabin # 3
• Cabin # 3, finds Al Ames and his family
• Al Ames takes him to the nearest settlement , Woodchopper, where
Crane is flown to Ladd Army Air Field
Leon Crane survives 80 days in the Alaskan Wilderness.
The Final Chapter
• 2nd Lt. Harold E. Hoskin is shown in 1943. Lieutenant Hoskin was one of five men who were flying in a B-24 Liberator that crashed while on a test flight Dec. 21, 1943, out of Ladd Field in Fairbanks, Alaska. Lieutenant Hoskin's remains were discovered in August 2006 and identified in April 2007. He was buried in a ceremony September 7, 2007 at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.