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Amelia Earhart Conspiracy Theories

 

     Amelia Earhart was an awe-inspiring pilot and best-selling author with incredible accolades. She was one of the most famous women in the world at the height of her career. In 1937, while attempting to fly around the world she went missing. Did she crash into the sea; was she captured and killed by the Japanese? Could she have faked her death and assumed another woman’s identity? What happened on July 2, 1937? – The day of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance.

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Character Analysis -                                                                                                                                   

     Amelia Earhart was an audacious person and an activist. She was resilient and daring. A famous female aviator and best-selling author, Amelia Earhart broke many world records for aviation. In 1937, she went missing during an attempt to fly around the world. Amelia was an activist for women’s rights. Earhart was instrumental in the creation of an organization called the Ninety-Nines. The Ninety-Nines are a worldwide organization of licensed pilots whose goal is to cultivate equal rights for female pilots. Amelia was the first president of the Ninety-Nines.

     Growing up, Amelia had a rocky home life. Her mother overbearingly wanted her to be formal. Her father was an alcoholic. Because her father was changing jobs often, moving from town to town was consistent in her childhood. From a young age, she learned to rely on herself. Amelia went to junior college in Pennsylvania but was expelled for getting on top of the roof in a nightgown. Fitting in was not important to Amelia. Participating in risky stunts was common for Amelia. A popular story about one of Earhart’s daredevil escapades’, was told by biographer Doris Rich in the PBS documentary – (Porter, 4:38). “She had a new sled. She went to the top of the hill with her sister Muriel, and instead of sitting on it, as her grandmother had said one must, she flung herself in a manner called belly slamming and went tearing down the hill. A horse and wagon was crossing on the cross street. She went right under that horse’s belly. She missed both sets of legs and she emerged triumphant, waving at her sister afterwards. This is an indication that came up again and again later in life that she took good luck for granted.” Amelia preferred to live her life on the edge to accomplish a feat or stunt, even if it was risky or life-threatening.

     Amelia spent a lot of her time reading. She educated herself on engineering, mechanics, and successful women.  The women she read about inspired her and helped to shape her values. When World War I started, she received training to be a nurse and helped wounded soldiers. She saw suffering and death. This experience changed and matured her. In 1920, Amelia went to her first air show with her father and was inspired and in awe by what she saw. It was not long after that she took her first flying lesson. She found her life’s passion and decided to pursue a career as a pilot. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic. There was considerable interest amongst the public for a woman pilot to fly across the Atlantic. George Putnam, an acclaimed publisher, and promoter reached out to Amelia Earhart and asked her to take on the role. Most of the pilots who had attempted to fly across the Atlantic like Lindbergh had crashed or died. Amelia decided to go along with the publicly promoted flight because she was passionate about flying and wanted to make a difference for women. Male pilots flew the plane for this flight, and Amelia was the passenger. However, she made sure the public knew. She wrote about the flight and became a published author. Amelia ended up marrying George Putnam. She wrote a letter on the morning of their marriage which paints a picture of a woman who values independence in marriage for both parties. She did not want her or her husband to be constrained, but rather to live their lives. “On the morning of their marriage, full of fear and dread, Amelia presented George with a letter that read in part: You must know again my reluctance to marry, my feeling that I shatter thereby chances in work which means most to me . . . On our life together . . . I shall not hold you to any medieval code of faithfulness to me nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly . . . Please let us not interfere with the others’ work or play, nor let the world see our private joys or disagreements. In this connection I may have to keep some place where I can go to be myself, now and then, for I cannot guarantee to endure at all times the confinement of even an attractive cage.” (“Amelia Earhart – Leading Women into Flight” 17).  Earhart had become a celebrity. She was named the associate editor for the cosmopolitan magazine. She used her role as an editor to advocate for women’s rights in aviation and all other occupations. Amelia dedicated herself to standing up for women’s rights. Amelia was dedicated to achieving her goals. She remained calm and true to herself in the face of difficult challenges, and public criticism. Her efforts in advocating for women’s rights and showing through action what a woman can achieve inspired other women to do the same, and for men to be more accepting of women.

     While Amelia appeared reserved and shy, she was passionately determined to individuate herself from other pilots, authors, and activists. She was a role model of resilience and courage for women around the world. She would use her public persona to promote women’s rights in aviation and all workplaces. Amelia was determined to be a distinguished pilot. In 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. From the years 1930 to 1935, Amelia set 7 different speed and distance records for female pilots in various planes. In 1937, Amelia was determined to become the first person to fly around the world. She organized a flight crew. On March 17, 1937, the crew attempted to take off for the first part of the flight. However, the plane was severely damaged during takeoff. Earhart and her husband George Putnam managed to secure new funding for another plane to attempt the flight again. The plane took several months to be repaired. Earhart had grown tired from the delayed flight. Due to severe weather conditions, the crew altered their flight plan. Earhart and Noonan flew from Oakland to Miami, then took off from Miami. The plane flew towards New Guinea. In New Guinea, Amelia developed a stomach virus that lasted several days. Amelia recovered from her illness. Her crew worked on their plan. They were to fly to Howland Island. The island is very small and difficult to see. Earhart and Noonan would use celestial navigation to keep them on their flight path. In the case of bad weather, they were communicating by radio with a coast guard ship that was posted off Howland Island. After aligning themselves with Howland’s position, they planned to fly back and forth, looking for the island and the pillar of smoke in the air sent by the coast guard ship. Earhart’s crew had made a few last-minute decisions before the plane took off. Radio equipment with shorter wavelength frequencies that broadcasted radio signals at longer distances; was left behind. They were 50 gallons short of the plane’s necessary fuel. There were overcast conditions which would have made it difficult to use celestial navigation. Amelia was determined to meet her goal of flying across the world. Amelia, Noonan, and the crew that was helping them dealt with some considerable miscommunication during the last part of their flight. Although Amelia, had dealt with a debilitating stomach virus in New Guinea she still tried to complete her flight in her scheduled amount of time. It is a testament to Amelia’s will and dedication to her craft.
 

Conspiracy Theories –
     There are several theories about what might have happened to Amelia Earhart when she went missing in 1937. It has been commonly speculated by conspiracy theorists that Amelia Earhart crashed on the Marshall Islands where she was captured by the Japanese. Conspiracy theorists have different ideas as to what might have happened after she was captured.

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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     One conspiracy theory is that Amelia Earhart was captured and killed by the Japanese after crashing on the Marshall Islands. Bill Sablan, a man currently living in Guam who has ties to Saipan, says his uncle- (Tun Akin Tuho) worked at the prison where Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were taken, prisoner. In 1971, Tun told him of a man and woman taken to a Saipan prison in the mid-1930s by ship. When they arrived, there was a lot of commotion. Tuho claims Earhart and Noonan were in the prison for several days before being executed. Tun Tuho said he remembers the man and woman because Caucasians were rare on Saipan. According to Bill Sablan, “They had no reason to be there.” (“Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were prisoners on Saipan and killed, according to uncle's tale” 2). Tun was not the first person to claim to have seen Amelia Earhart after she crashed on the Marshall Islands. In July 2017, a woman named Josephine Akiyama who grew up on Saipan said she saw Earhart and Noonan when she was a child. In an interview with NBC Akiyama says, “I didn’t even know it’s a woman, I thought it’s a man.” She was referring to the fact that Amelia wore men’s clothes. Akiyama then says, “Everybody was talking about her. That’s how I know that she’s a woman. They were talking about a woman flyer.” (Crane 2). Akiyama who was 12 when she saw them, claims she later heard Earhart had been executed. The fact that two sources claimed to see Amelia on Marshall Island/Saipan proves that this story is credible. Josephine Akiyama saw Amelia and Noonan as a child and then heard the execution being talked about around the time she was executed. The other source, Tun Tuho was at the prison where she was executed and recalls significant commotion about their arrival.

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Another conspiracy theory is that Amelia Earhart was a spy for the US Government and crashed on or near a Japanese-controlled island where she was captured by the Japanese, held for a time on Saipan, and transferred to the Weixian internment camp which was operated by the Japanese. She remained at the internment camp until the end of World War II when she was repatriated with other surviving prisoners. She was then released and assumed a new identity with the help of the US Government. She assumed the identity of a woman named Irene Craigmile Bolam, a New York City banker. An author named Rollin Reineck who wrote a book about his Amelia Earhart theory believed Amelia Earhart was captured by the Japanese, secretly moved to the US, and lived the rest of her life under the identity of Irene Bolam. Reineck believes Franklin Roosevelt and the American Government wanted to find out what the Japanese were doing in the Pacific, so they coordinated with Amelia Earhart to land. Reineck believes there were two plans, “Plan A: Earhart would leave Howland and secretly fly to Niihau Island, a small privately-owned island in the Hawaiian chain. She would follow a circuitous route that would take her near the Marshalls. While in the vicinity, she would falsely declare she was having engine trouble and was going to try to make it to the Marshalls. She would then observe total radio silence. Our government now had an excuse to look for her in the Marshalls and do a little reconnaissance at the same time. After a reasonable time, a cover story would announce that she and her plane had been found and returned to Honolulu for her to complete her flight around the world. Plan B: If she failed to find Howland Island or communicate with the Coast Guard cutter Itasca, she would observe radio silence and head for the Marshalls and wait for the Navy to find her. The evidence is that she actually did follow this scenario, but the Japanese found her first,” writes Reinick. (Rasmussen 5). In 1965, Joe Gervais a retired fighter pilot met Irene Bolam at an assembly for a group of Aviation Pioneers called the Early Birds of Aviation. Joe Gervais thought she looked very similar to Amelia Earhart. She was wearing two aviation pins that were the same as what Earhart had worn. Gervais checked to see if Bolam was a member of the two aviation clubs that she claimed to be a member of, however, there was no record of her being a member of either club. “In Gervais’ letter of inquiry to the Japanese government to see if a passport or citizenship papers had been issued in the name of Amelia Earhart or Mrs. George Putnam, Japan responded that the papers for Irene Craigmile, Earhart, or Putnam were not for release. Gervais [had] never even mentioned the name Craigmile.” (Rasmussen 6). A book was written by Joe Klaas promoting the theory that Irene Bolam is Amelia Earhart was published in 1970. That same year, during a press conference Irene Bolam said that she is not Amelia Earhart. Irene Bolam filed a 1.5-million-dollar lawsuit and filed an affidavit to have the book removed. The book’s publisher Mcgraw Hill pulled Klaas’s book from the market. Several years later, the defendants offered to settle the case for 2 million dollars if Bolam would provide fingerprints by the witness of a judge. Instead, Irene Bolam dropped the lawsuit. Before Irene Bolam died, she donated her body to science with the firm directions that she was not to be fingerprinted or identifiable. Bolam’s body was cremated. Her ashes were buried in a grave with no markings. Her death certificate listed her parents as unknown. In 1991, Reinick interviewed a man named James Kelley, who was a retired psychologist and clergyman. James Kelley claimed to be commissioned by Francis Joseph Spellman to bring Amelia Earhart back to the United States after WWII and help her assume a new identity. Spellman was designated as a military priest for the United States by Pope Pius XII. Two of Msgr. Kelley’s friends claimed to know that Irene Bolam was in fact, Amelia Earhart. One of Kelley’s friends was a woman from New Jersey named Helen Barner who spoke with Reinick. Barber said, “She was adamant that she no longer wanted to be identified as Amelia Earhart. He [Kelley] gave no reason for her inflexibility in this regard but said only that this was her very strong demand.” (Rasmussen 7).

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Conclusion -

     While there is no definitive evidence, given the theory that Amelia Earhart crashed on an island controlled by Japan such as the Marshall Islands, she was most likely captured and executed by the Japanese. This theory has more definitive evidence because several sources could be linked to seeing Earhart after she crashed. The theory that she assumed another identity makes less sense because you would assume that one of Msgr. Kelley’s friends would have had more publicity than a sentence in a statement given to Rollin Reinick. Reinick also writes that when Msgr. Kelley died in 1996, and a few items were found. One of the items found was a folder that said, “Amelia Earhart” on one side and “Irene Bolam” on the other side. (Rasmussen 7). A note was also found where Kelley wrote to himself, “It’s too bad that her mother never knew she had survived.” (Rasmussen 7). This piece of Rollin Reinick’s writing could be perceived as controversial because these items were never claimed to have been found by anybody outside of Rollin Reinick. There was also no photo evidence of these items. Because there was never a body or DNA recovered whether she had been executed in Japan, or cremated as Irene Bolam in America, there is no guarantee of any theory related to what became of Amelia Earhart after July 2, 1937. Given the two theories detailed, it is probable that Amelia Earhart crashed on the Marshall Islands, where she was then captured and executed by the Japanese.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

S “Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan Were Prisoners on Saipan and Killed, According to Uncle’s Tale.” Pacific Daily News, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/11/25/amelia-earhart-and-and-fred-noonan-were-prisoners-saipan-and-killed-according-uncles-tale/894412001/. Accessed 12 May 2022.

S Crane, Emily. “Woman Claims She Saw Amelia Earhart in Japanese Custody.” Mail Online, 6 July 2017, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/~/article-4671418/index.html.

S Editors, Biography.com. “Amelia Earhart Biography.” www.biography.com, A&E Television Networks, 2 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/explorer/amelia-earhart.

S Iodice, Emilio. “The Passion to Fly and to the Courage to Lead: The Saga of Amelia Earhart-Leading Women into Flight.” The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, vol. 12, no. 2, June 2019, p. 226. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.libaccess.hccs.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.597515445&site=eds-live&scope=site.

S Porter, Nancy. “Chapter 1 | Amelia Earhart | American Experience | PBS.” YouTube, uploaded by PBS, 30 Apr. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2hdnvImXok&ab_channel=AmericanExperience%7CPBS

S Rasmussen, Cecilia “A New Take on Earhart Mystery.” Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2003, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-23-me-then23-story.html.