Thanks to Lou Sapienza and the George One Recovery Team
Please visit
http://www.george1recovery.org/
for more information.
Lost in Antarctica
By Shawn Zeller, CQ Staff
CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY
A Cold Navy Case
CQ WeeklyÑVantage Point
Oct. 29, 2007 - Page 3142
The militaryÕs battlefield vow is to leave no soldier behind. But thatÕs been hard to honor in the case
of three U.S. servicemen whose remains have been buried since 1946 in a makeshift grave of snow and
airplane debris on Antarctica. Now a group of adventurers led by Seattle photographer Lou Sapienza
want to recover the bodies of the Navy aviators, who died after crash-landing their PBM-5 Mariner sea-
plane, the George One, during a mapping mission.
Sapienza wants the Pentagon to provide $1.3 million for the mission and has been asking members
of Congress to pressure the military for the money. HeÕs also lined up support from survivors of the
three, Ensign Maxwell A. Lopez, Aviation MachinistÕs Mate First Class Frederick Warren Williams
and Aviation Radioman First Class Wendell K. Hendersin, the first Americans to die in Antarctica.
Six others survived the crash and were found by another Navy plane after a 13-day ordeal. But rescuers
were unable to retrieve the bodies of Lopez, Williams and Hendersin, which were buried under one
wing of their plane.
The military has demurred on a recovery effort, citing the safety concerns and logistical challenges
of locating the remains below 90 to 150 feet of snow and ice on AntarcticaÕs Phantom Coast. But Sapi-
enza says his crew can do the job relatively quickly and cheaply with a conical drill that uses hot water
circulating in copper coils. (Sapienza, who photographed a 1990s expedition to Greenland that recov-
ered a World War II-era P-38 Lightning known as ÒGlacier Girl,Ó learned about the Antarctica case
from the SmithsonianÕs Air and Space Magazine this past summer.)
His lobbying campaign is yielding some results. This month, Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of
Wisconsin Ñ where lost aviator Hendersin was from Ñ broached the subject with the Navy and was
told to expect a decision soon. And Betty Jean Spencer, HendersinÕs sister, persuaded her representa-
tive, Illinois Republican Mark Steven Kirk , to press the Defense Department to fund the mission. ÒI
think it offers an opportunity for good PR for the Navy,Ó Kirk says, while also providing some comfort
for the families. ÒRight now their loved ones are underneath a glacier.Ó
Source: CQ Weekly
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© 2007 Congressional Quarterly Inc.