Here we go again — it seems that around every five years there is a “new discovery” about the Earhart “mystery.” In the one in your April 20 issue (e-Bay purchase sparks new interest in search for Earhart) it seems that, after 70 years, a typewritten copy of a diary has suddenly been discovered on the Internet, supposedly written by a high school student stationed on the USS Itasca as a correspondent for the AP. Lost for 70 years? A typewritten copy? One can find almost anything on the Internet.
The myth that Earhart and Noonan landed on Gardner Island, which consists of a narrow strip of coral surrounding a lagoon, and lived for some time is pure rubbish. Where did they get their food? Most important, where did they get fresh water to drink? There was none on that atoll.
This TIGHAR group wanting the public to give them money so they can make their ninth trip to the South Pacific? That would make a nice vacation. After eight trips and 70 years, just what do they expect to find?
Why can’t people accept the fact that Earhart ran out of fuel and was forced to ditch in the ocean, with tragic results? I was in on the search as a member of the USS Colorado and read the radio logs between the USS Itasca and Earhart. There was no mystery.
JAMES R. LEARD
ex-U.S. Marine
Klamath Falls, Ore.