TELEGRAM FROM RUSS TO JERRIE IN BANGKOK, URGING HER TO HURRY TO FINISH AHEAD OF JOAN MERRIAM SMITH
Susan Reid collection
THAILAND AND THE PHILIPPINES
TELEGRAMS FROM Russell Mock poured into the embassy; all with the same message: “Hurry home.” Russ urged Jerrie to chase after her place in the history books, and neglected to inform her that Joan Merriam Smith had been held up. Due to bad weather and a revolution in Brazil, Joan could not leave that country for five days.
Jerrie boarded her plane and set out for Calcutta. She had hoped that soon after takeoff she might get a glimpse of the world famous Taj Mahal, but the beautiful tomb was in a closed air space in which she was not allowed to fly. After about a five-and-a-half-hour flight, she touched down on the runway of the Dum Dum Airport. She was still in the country of India, but she felt as if she had landed in another world. After leaving behind the pleasant weather of Delhi, Calcutta felt like a piping-hot steam room. By the time she reached the terminal, the thick air had Jerrie drenched in sweat. The overwhelming heat made her feel ill as she posed for pictures. All she wanted was a cold drink and a shower.
After all the photos were taken and the paperwork was filled out, some members of the Aero Club invited Jerrie to a gathering. While everyone else sipped hot tea on the torrid day, Jerrie requested a cold cup of tea. As she sipped her beverage, her hosts wanted to talk about Joan Merriam Smith and her whereabouts. Rumors had floated about that Joan was having mechanical problems and weather difficulties. Given that information, Jerrie realized that Joan was not going to get to Pakistan as soon as she had hoped.
While the others discussed Joan’s mechanical problems, Jerrie worried about her own. Charlie still needed its brakes repaired, but because a plane lands against the wind, and Charlie was a light plane, it slowed down naturally along the runway. What she needed most was a motor for the radio’s long-distance antenna, but none were available.
Jerrie went to the Lalit Great Eastern Hotel to relax in an air-conditioned room. An American woman named Mrs. Roy stopped by, along with her daughter-in-law and grandchildren, to escort Jerrie on a shopping trip among the local bazaars. Jerrie admired the colorful saris worn by the women. After purchasing some jewelry and a sari of her own, Jerrie returned to her room and collapsed. Her 3:30 a.m. wake-up call came all too soon.
Jerrie was driven to the Dum Dum Airport so she could leave Delhi and head to Bangkok, Thailand. At such an early hour, Jerrie expected the rest of the population of Calcutta to be sound asleep, but she never expected to see so many sleeping in the streets. She recalls, “Sleeping all over the place! Hundreds of them. Whole families were stretched out side by side, for block after block, on the sidewalks. In some places they were wedged so close together I doubt they could move without waking those on either side.”1 Entire families filled streets, without a home, and without hope. Some awoke from their slumber and washed in the public water fountains. The helplessness of the men, women, and children upset Jerrie. It saddened her, and the sadness was life-changing.2 Jerrie had never known such poverty existed, and, from that moment on, she knew that she would always be a more compassionate person.
TELEGRAM FROM RUSS TO JERRIE IN BANGKOK, URGING HER TO HURRY TO FINISH AHEAD OF JOAN MERRIAM SMITH
Susan Reid collection
Once in the air, Jerrie crossed into East Pakistan, leaving behind a view of rice paddies. She flew over a leafy jungle canopy, and on to the Bay of Bengal, known for its fierce weather. But the day was calm, with blue skies and puffy clouds. After flying over mile after mile of jungles, Bangkok finally came into sight. As she set Charlie’s wheels onto the tarmac of the Don Mueang International Airport, she realized the farther south she flew, the more oppressive the heat became. Once again, she arrived drenched in sweat, and with a mighty thirst. All she could think of was soaking in a cool tub of water. Jerrie could hardly hide her disappointment when she learned that Bangkok’s water supply was turned off during shortages and this happened to be one of those times!
Jerrie finally broke away from customs, fees, and paperwork by late afternoon. Before leaving the airport, she had the airplane refueled. An English-speaking couple, Mr. and Mrs. Bundit Watanasupt, introduced themselves and offered to take her around Bangkok. They took her to the beautiful parks and the bustling city. She had hoped to see the Buddhist temples of Old Siam, but the attraction was shut down for the night. The Watanasupts treated Jerrie to dinner. Jerrie was thankful that she had learned to eat with chopsticks before leaving Ohio. They ate exotic dishes such as shark’s fin soup and abalone stew. It was one of the most interesting and delicious meals she had ever eaten.
After dinner, she returned to the Plaza Hotel to a room with a faulty air-conditioning system. She had difficulty sleeping in the muggy room. She awoke to a loud banging on the door at 3:30 in the morning. She wished the noise would stop, but then she remembered that she had requested an early wake-up call due to the 1,300-mile flight ahead of her. The best and most direct route to the Philippines took her south of Cambodia, east towards Saigon, then across the South China Sea. After a weather briefing, she went through customs and immigration, and took off for Manila by eight o’clock, leaving the Don Mueang Airport behind. She flew past Cambodia and over Vietnam. She knew that down below a war raged, but from the skies above the jungle canopy, all looked quiet and undisturbed.
Jerrie took out a food bar and had a sip of water. She wished she could have had the long-distance radio repaired before journeying across nine hundred miles of the South China Sea. She watched cloud formations as she flew, becoming so familiar with all their variations that she could now predict headwinds and other weather conditions. She decided to take the time to write some letters, but stopped when she heard a strange noise. Charlie’s motor no longer purred. It sounded rough. Could sand from the storm have found its way into the engine? Sweat beaded up on her forehead as she pulled on the carburetor heat to allow more air into the engine. With the increase of airflow, the engine smoothed out. Charlie ran better for a few hours, but with the carburetor heat on, the engine used more gas. The strong headwinds also made the gas consumption greater than she had figured. Jerrie made some mathematical calculations and discovered that she would run out of fuel unless she transferred the fuel in the cabin tank to the right wing tank. Relocating fuel midair was risky. The interruption of gas could stall the plane, and the last thing she wanted was to stall while flying over the South China Sea.
Jerrie’s hands shook as she turned on the transfer pumps, letting the gas flow from the cabin tanks to the right wing tank. She wiped the sweat from her brow. Charlie’s engine sputtered, then it purred, but then it sputtered again. The plane hesitated. Charlie’s nose dropped. Without the sound of an engine, all went silent except for the beating of Jerrie’s heart. It thumped in her chest as she took a deep breath, waiting for the gas to flow to the wing. Finally, the transfer was complete. She turned off the pump. Charlie’s engine hummed once again, along with the beating of Jerrie’s heart.
With the crisis over, Jerrie took a deep breath and plopped down on the pillow, utterly exhausted. It had been ten hours since she left India. She looked out into the darkness. There was not a star in the sky, and no sign of the moon. Jerrie prayed, over and over again. Thirsty, but nearly out of water, she worried about drinking what she had, in case she found herself in a life raft drifting for days. She heard a faint noise over the short-range radio, and, less than an hour later, she was finally over land. Soon she would be in Manila.
Greeted by clapping and cheers, Jerrie got out of her plane. Many in the crowd had speculated that her flight over the ocean had ended in disaster since her landing was so far behind schedule. She posed for photos and signed autographs. Reporters and journalists came around and asked her lots and lots of questions.
“Mrs. Mock, what do you think happened to Amelia Earhart?
“Mrs. Mock, do you think you will disappear in the ocean the same way Amelia Earhart did?”
“But Mrs. Mock, your plane is so small. Smaller than Miss Earhart’s.”3
Jerrie did not want to even think about the disappearance of Amelia Earhart or her recent fear over the dark ocean waters. Despite her troubles, she had total confidence in Charlie, and she preferred to think positively. She sat down with the reporters and assured them that she was not worried. She believed in her plane, and she planned to fly around the world, so that’s what she was going to do.
JERRIE’S PASSPORT WITH VISA STAMPS FROM THE UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC AND THE PHILIPPINES
Susan Reid collection
Terry Bernadino and her father, Dr. Emiliano C. Ramirez, stopped by and introduced themselves as friends of Jerrie’s sister Barbara and alumni of the Ohio State University. They offered to drive Jerrie to the hotel. The reporters ignored the interruption, followed the car to the hotel, and continued their questioning in the hotel lobby.
The next day, April 9, was a national holiday in the Philippines: Bataan Day. There was a Cessna service shop in Manila, but it would be closed all day. Jerrie was told the parts she needed had arrived, but she would have to wait until the following morning for the long-distance radio and the brakes to be repaired. Jerrie realized there was nothing she could do to change things so she went to a beauty shop and enjoyed a lakeside lunch in a lovely lodge in the mountains.
JERRIE ENJOYS THE HOLIDAY OF BATAAN DAY IN THE COUNTRYSIDE OF MANILA
Courtesy of Phoenix Graphix
The following day she ate at a country club while watching golfers through a window. It felt very much like home. After lunch, she checked on Charlie. All the repairs had been made, but her belongings were scattered all over the ground. Jerrie began the daunting task of squeezing maps, spare parts, emergency equipment, and the rest of her supplies back into the tiny plane. With half of her belongings still on the ground, Jerrie was told that Russ was on the phone. She stopped what she was doing, and answered the call. Russ was upset she was still in Manila and he insisted that she needed to leave immediately. Jerrie tried to explain about the holiday, Charlie’s repairs, and her total exhaustion. Russ kept insisting that she leave since Joan could still beat her. As they continued to argue, the operator came on and the connection went bad. Jerrie slammed down the receiver. “I wished I couldn’t hear him. What a stupid conversation. I stamped my foot at the phone, the operator, and Russ. Oh, well, even if he could hear me, it probably wouldn’t matter. He just wanted a ‘first.’ Not me.”4
Western Union Telegram
April 11, 1964
—Apparently you couldn’t hear. Hope you still plan to depart immediately or during the day. Smith in Bangkok. Described direct Lubon Guam to pick up time. You can win if you don’t spend two days anywhere. Can you take it only day and a half in Honolulu. Don’t forget you need 2,500 miles stateside. She doesn’t. Russ5
DID YOU KNOW?
A sari is made of silk or cotton and is draped around the waist and over one shoulder. In the Hindu tradition, girls begin to wear saris at age twelve, and continue to wear them for the rest of their lives. The men wear dhotis, a white cloth draped around their waists and legs.
