One Man SurvivesLeon Crane’s Journey in the

Alaskan Wilderness

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.