May 2001 The Megaphone Page 5
Journey To Guam
Somewhere Over the Blue Pacific
I looked out the window as we began to roll. Me, a young wife and mother, prepared to go to the ends of the world to reunite my family. I could not have been happier or more excited than I was at that moment. I had every confidence and faith this journey was going to get us to our destination in due time. I mean ... after all, what could possibly happen now? The troublesome car was on its way by ship after making it all the way across the country, costing me too much money in non-essential repairs and worry ... a hole in the gas tank ... chewing a whole pack of gum at one time ... and getting to know something about a couple of people in Gold Run, California.
Surely there would be no more eventful happenings. Life just isn't made up of one adventure after another ... like the movies and television. Mine was just a life, small town, not much different than anyone else's ... or was it to be ... something quite different???
I fastened our seat belts and settled in for the flight to Honolulu. My first cousin, Dorothy Nell [Holtsclaw] Barker, class of '52 in Anderson, married to a Marine, was living there and we had planned to see each other for a small visit.
As the plane left the ground I noticed a grass fire, out of control, right at the end of the runway. Now, that I look back over the years ... was that an omen of things to come?
We kept our faces plastered to the window as we flew over houses and large buildings and finally the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge, and yes ... YES ... it was shimmering golden in the sunlight.
After that ... nothing but blue water and lots of it, no land in site as we climbed higher and higher, right into the clouds and over the tops of them. I thought to my self, how fun it would be to jump out the window and land on a fluffy cloud and bounce around. [This was before trampolines made an appearance.]
All in due course our dinner [supper] was served. It was fun eating and flying at the same time. Those cute little airline plates with their little sections made for each thing we had. The drinks were warm and the food cold, but I hardly noticed because I was almost there, reunited with my husband!
Six hours later we came down through the clouds, sometime around midnight and landed ... WHAM, [hard] BUMPITY BUMP BUMP on the runway in Honolulu. Later I heard it was a very rough landing, but at the time I assumed it was normal. My first flight, what did I know?
The stewardess came on the PA system saying we were not to leave the airport and would re-board the aircraft in four hours. As we walked down the steps, a large ... LARGE ... Marine shouted at me, ran up the steps and swooped Mark and I both in his arms swinging us around before setting us back down on firm land. Bill Barker, was a teddy bear of a man ... a mean bite, as a drill sergeant but a kind and generous Christian man, husband and father to four children.
We immediately jumped into his car and left the airport heading towards the nearby Marine Base and his and Dorothy Nell's home. Ten minutes and we were all hugging again as they ushered us inside. I peeped at the children but didn't wake them as it was after midnight.
Visiting, catching up on family matters, and eating for a couple of hours ... it was all too soon to say good by, and wondering where we would meet again. I didn't know this was to be my last farewell to Bill as he died an early death. Dorothy Nell, today, is in Las Vegas and we meet each time I travel North or South ... twice a year.
They were boarding as we pulled up. The last ones to climb aboard, after another big hug and kisses from Bill and a firm promise to write, we again settled into our seats for a very long haul straight to Guam.
Continued ...
Part 6
A Wing and a Prayer
We settled into our seats again, for the very long haul, non stop, flight to Guam, the first passenger plane ever to do so. Before today, all planes stopped at one of the small islands and refueled midway between Hawaii and Guam, but today we would make history with our magnificent plane with it's huge engines, fuel tanks and larger that usual propellers.
The fun part was that the date had just turned to September first, a Monday, so today was Labor Day. Crossing the international date line immediately put us into September second. OOPS, no Labor Day for me this year.
We all settled in for a night's sleep with blankets and pillows. Seat spaces were larger in those days so we were very comfortable. Looking out my little window I could see the reflection of the moon shimmering across the water below as we flew at 35,000 feet. A cloudless night, all was as it should be, quiet, calm, with a sky of black velvet, filled with twinkling stars. All was well with my soul. Mark had gone to sleep immediately upon boarding so I had not disturbed him by removing his seat belt. Mine was off along with the rest of the passengers.
Early - Pre dawn - Sound Asleep - Falling Out Of My Seat
Everything in the overhead compartments falling on me ... screaming ... disorientated ... not in my seat ... people sitting, laying in the aisles ... along with the stewardesses.
I crawl back into my seat ... brain not functioning ... look at my child ... sound asleep ... unaware of the noise around him ... thank God!
And then I see IT. OH MY GOD!!! Our seats are slightly in front of the wings. The wings hold the propellers. The moonlight reflects off the metal of the propellers ... the silent ... still propellers ... non-moving metal "paddles." I sit there, 35,000 feet off the ground ... oops ... no ground ... Pacific Ocean, looking at the propellers. It was like I was trying to "will" them to start spinning again as they sat there on the wings. I could see all the dents, scratches and shape of that stationary piece of metal outside my window.
The seat belt sign had gone on and the pilot came on the loud speaker saying, "We are having mechanical failure. Please stay in your seats with your seat belts on. A life jacket will fall from above you. Please put it on and help those that are injured with theirs."
The stewardess was there right away taking the lifejacket from above Mark and tossing me a smaller one made for a child. I slipped it on my little angel, thanking God he still slept.
Only now, I began to realize that earlier, the plane had turned over while we all were sleeping, as the two propellers stopped. We all kept watching the left side of the plane to make sure those two props kept moving. " So far so good," I thought to myself. A stewardess was heard on the loudspeaker telling us not to scream or be loud as we would panic others. If someone yelled out again ... they knew how to stop them with a slap in the face. Right at that time a woman screamed, "We're all going to die," in a very loud voice. Her husband brought his hand back, slowly, made a fist and punched her right in the face and nose. I was more shocked by that than the idea of a broken plane. [Over a year later he almost killed her in a beating.]
Then the unthinkable ... another propeller stopped. IT JUST STOPPED...!!! We began to slowly tilt ... out of control. Well, guess I wasn't really worried before ... now I thought of my situation a bit differently.
I looked down at my beautiful child. Mark was just three years old with very blond hair and a slight frame. His blue eyes were closed in sleep and his lashes lay against his chubby babyish cheeks.
The thought came quietly but most assuredly, we were going to die. It was not upsetting ... and yet sadness overwhelmed me. I thought of David, my husband, whom I loved very much. He would be left with no family, losing us all in one swoop. With a finger I touched Mark's cheek and hair ... trying to tell him how much I loved him. I tried to find my purse in order to get paper to write on. Not thinking clearly, I wanted to scribble a note to David. The purse was gone.
Julie (Stout) Duffitt '57