“He Should Have Died At Least 81 Times!”

(Part IV of IV)

He Shouldn’t Be Alive:  Here’s the continuation of a TRUE Alaskan wilderness survival story that should have been made into a Hollywood movie.

13 March 1944 (Monday), Albert Ames and 1^st Lt. Crane set off to Woodchopper, 02-days travel time.  Ames hooked up his 20-sled dogs and off they went.  At times, the dog sled couldn’t pull both men, so 1^st. Lt. Crane followed Albert on a set of snowshoes.  The speed he was travelling on those snowshoes was unbelievable.  But when he had his own snow shoes before meeting Albert, he couldn’t figure out how to hook them up to his boots.

See Foot Load Index in this Survival Book.

The men arrived at the tiny village of Woodchopper.  Woodchopper once thrived during the Gold Rush days.  Woodchopper was a magnet for prospectors, sourdoughs (Alaskan who decided to stay), steamboat crews, passerbyers,…  The 02-story boarding house was once alive with boarders, served meals & booze,…

Now it’s just a dusty rundown structure of wood planks.  The only thing that brought life to Woodchopper was the airstrip that imported goods and exported furs and such.

The next day, a plane was scheduled to arrive to secure pregnant Evelyn Berglund (see 89) Radio Weather Forecasting).  Albert took 1^st Lt. Crane to meet one of his friends.  Arriving at the cabin, 1^st Lt. Crane met a living legend – 65-year old Mr. Phil Berail.

Mr. Phil Berail was a big man and known as a ‘Skookum.’  A regional term meaning someone with extraordinary toughness.  Berail avoided doctors and doctored himself.  Like one of his fingers was severed.  Berail doctored himself.  His arm was broken.  Berail doctored himself.  Gordon Bertoson, a Yukon man, stated Berail:  “He could walk for for hundreds of miles, that guy, if he wanted to.  Tough Tough.”

1^st Lt. Crane thanked Berail for saving his life.  Berail’s stocked cabin saved his life.  Berail commented:  “Bah, think nothing of it.  This is why it’s there.”

1^st Lt. stayed in Woodchopper, Alaska with Berail till a plane arrived the next morning to pick him up along with pregnant Evelyn Berglund, Willard Grinnell and their 02-year old boy.

The next morning, bush pilot Bob Rice landed his single-prop Stinson V77 on a Woodchopper snow strip.  The passengers loaded-up along with gear.  The Stinson V77 took-off and 1^st Lt. Crane was finally going home.

Half way to Ladd Field, the pilot Bob Rice got on his radio and patched a call to Ladd Field.  He stated: “They want to know if you are dead or alive Lieutenant.”

The single-prop Stinson V77 banked left over Ladd Field.  Rice was ordered to land on Weeks Field.  Cars were racing towards Weeks Field.  An ambulance for pregnant Evelyn Berglund and a staff car for the celebrity 1^st Lt. Leon Crane were already waiting at Weeks Field.

Ladd Field personnel and reporters were bunched-up waiting to see the man who survived 81-days in the unforgiving freezing Alaskan wilderness.  Just as soon as he planted his feet on the tarmac, 1^st Lt. Crane was bombarded with questions.  1^st Lt. Crane came back with his own questions.  He wanted to know about his friends and fellow crew members.  Where are they?

Sadly, there was no news on any of the other crew members.  He was also told the search teams couldn’t even find the crash site.  1^st Lt. Crane was touched by the very sad news.

A hand came out of the crowd and pulled 1^st Lt. Crane into the staff car.  The staff car took him to Colonel Russell Keillor’s office, one of the commanders on Ladd Field.

At Colonel Keillor’s office, 1^st Lt. Crane was greeted with a long handshake and sincere words from the commander:  “Well done, lieutenant.  Well done.”  Colonel Keillor was so touched on 1^st Lt. Cranes’ unbelievable survival and his return, that he wept tears.

1^st Lt. Crane called home and talked to his father.  After that, 1^st Lt. Cranes’ 81-day survival in the Alaskan wilderness was worldwide news coverage.

Upon the return of 1^st Lt. Crane, hope was rekindled for the other 04 crew members of the Iceberg Inez.

1^st Lt. Crane was given a physical.  Shortly after, a crew set out to find the crash site.  1^st Lt. Crane helped the crew find the crash site.  The bodies of James Sibert and Ralph Wenz were recovered.

1^st Lt. Crane was given leave to go back home to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and rest.  He returned to Ladd Field and resumed his duties as a test pilot.

In a 1990 interview, he stated “God-awful place, Alaska.  Ice and snow and cold as hell.”

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Wilderness Search And Rescue

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WAIT   WAIT   WAIT!!!!

We still have to carry-on with more survival tricks from the Alaskan wilderness.  Let’s start with Ames Fish Wheel.

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73) Ames Fish Wheel:  The Ames family constructed an ingenious fish trap.  The fish trap was placed in the river during the summer months and it was a ‘set it up and forget it’ fish trap.

They constructed a Ferris wheel-like fish trap that was propelled by the Charley River.  The fishing wheel constantly rotated round and round non-stop in the water and captured & trapped spawning salmon.

Sorry, I couldn’t find a photograph of the original Ames Fish Wheel.  What an ingenious fish trap.

Here’s an alternative to the Ames Fish Wheel, the Basket Fish Trap.

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74) Basket Fish Trap:  Here’s a ‘set it up and forget it’ fish trap.  Yep, there’s some easy work to it but it’s workable.

The basket fish trap consists of a twenty-foot anchor line; several sticks, vines, wire, or chicken wire; that are woven into a oblong cone shaped basket that is approximately two feet long and approximately ten inches wide at its widest point in the center.

The basket fish trap has just one entrance; which has several pointed sticks facing toward the interior of the fish basket.  This is so that once the fish enters the basket, it can’t leave because it will continuously run into the pointed sticks or wire.

Insure to mask the scent of all working pieces of the basket fish trap, including your hands.  Bait and channelize as necessary. Secure the anchor line to the basket fish trap and to the shore.

Basket Fish Trap

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75) Warning Sounds:  1^st Lt. Crane learned a few warning sounds of the Alaskan wilderness to warn him of possible threats to his life.  For example:

• Distant Plane Engine: Wolf pack outcry
• Crack and Snaps: Ice breaking
• Snaps: Tree branches breaking – high super freezing winds

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76) Cold Water KILLS:  When the survivor is submerged in water and the water temperature is below 70-degrees Fahrenheit, it drops the body’s temperature faster than cold air.  If the water temperature is just above freezing, exhaustion and unconsciousness could doom the survivor in just 15-minutes.

You must see:

• Water Thermal Conductivity
• Dachau Death Camp Cold Water Deaths
• Hypothermia Water Survival Table
• Killer Physical & Psychological Effects of Equilibrium
• Penguin Survival

in this Survival Book.

Paperback Book—————Kindle E-Book

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77) Canada’s Klondike Gold Rush:  Canada’s Klondike is located Canada’s Yukon Territory.  The famous Klondike Goldrush took place between the years 1897 – 1898.  Here’s the thing about Canada’s Klondike Goldrush, with respect to survival in the sub-artic, most gold prospectors were very poorly prepared for the journey much less the killer freezing temperatures.  It is estimated that Canada’s Klondike Gold Rush had 100,000 gold seekers.  Only 30,000 made it to their destination.  Most gold seekers never made a profit after their own expenses.  See 78) Kephart’s 6th Emergency Food below.

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78) Kephart’s 6^th Emergency Food:  I told you more than a few times before that northern explorers like those of the Alaskan goldrush, died, even when they had plenty of food to eat.  The food they were accustomed to eat from their warm climate.

Their diets had NO FUEL to keep them going.  “When in Rome do as the Romans do.”  But they didn’t.  Eskimos eat large quantities of fat to survive the constant killer cold.

Captain Robert Falcon Scott, a British Antarctic explorer attempted to be the 1st to reach the South Pole but was beaten by Roald Amundsen.  Captain Scott made a 2nd attempt.  On his cold weather explorations, for a survival food, Captain Scott and fellow explorers ate pemmican that was made of 50% meat and other foods and 50% lard.  Lard is animal fat.

The large amount of lard was used as a vital fuel for the body.  Captain Scott and 04 fellow explorers perished on his 2nd attempt to the South Pole.  See When In Rome Do As The Romans Do, Aztec Fat Food, POW Fat Food, and POW Cattail Roots.

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79) Long-Lasting Pemmican:  Pemmican was originally made by Northern American Indians as an emergency food.  Pemmican are strips or patties of meat pounded into a paste.  Berries and fat are added for flavor & nutrition and dried for a long life.

Now here’s how the Cree Indians (north and west of Lake Superior – US & Canada) made pemmican and how they made it last a long long time.

The meat was sliced thin, then it was thoroughly dried (sun or by smoking).  Then it was pounded into shreds of meat where it was mixed with melted animal fat (MMmmmmmm).

It was then placed and sealed in a rawhide container of more fat where it was kept edible not for months but for decades (20 or 30 years)!

Now that’s some long lasting pemmican.  See Life-Span Of Edible Fat.

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80) When In Rome Do As The Romans Do:  Early pioneers in Alaska had to learn the hard way and even that wasn’t enough.  Pioneers ate food they thought would sustain them but they still died.  Why?

Their own diet killed them.  It didn’t provide their body the proper fuel it needed.  Our cold northern friends had the right diet of meat, fat, seal oil and whale fat.  But the pioneers stuck to their home-grown foods and died.  Fat provides the survivor higher energy, better endurance and fuel for body heat (counter hypothermia)!

So if you find yourself in a cold-weather environment you gotta copycat our cold northern friends and eat food high in fat.  See 81) Eskimo Ice Cream below.

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81) Eskimo Ice Cream:  Before you think MMMmmmmm, I’m gonna tell you how our northern friends made ice cream.  You take caribou back fat, caribou meat, cranberries or blueberries and you mix it all up.  If seals are available, seal oil can be used.  This Eskimo ice cream is a lifesaver because it contains the protein and fat your body needs to survive in a cold weather environment.

The previous survival tricks:

• 78) Kephart’s 6th Emergency Food
• 79) Long-Lasting Pemmican
• 80) When In Rome Do As The Romans Do
• 81) Eskimo Ice Cream

are direct quotes from my Survival Book:

https://www.survivalexpertblog.com/52-survival-books/

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82) Search And Rescue Time Limit:  Remember, World War II was raging on in the Pacific and in Europe.  Ladd Field was directly and indirectly supporting both war fronts.  The air crews searching for the downed crew of the Iceberg Inez were dedicated to find them for a period of no more than 01-week.  The odds of anyone being alive in these winter conditions is very slim to none.  Plus, Ladd Field didn’t want to compound the problem by another search plane & crew coming up missing doing an extended search.

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83) Blind Marksmanship:  When I first read this combat action in the book – “81 DAYS BELOW ZERO”, I told myself, “Only a bad ass American GI would do this.”  This is what happened.

Just prior to sun-up on 03 June 1942 (Wednesday), Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base located at Aleutian archipelago (Aleutian Islands southernmost Alaska), was attacked by planes from a Japanese Carrier Group, possibly 02 Japanese Carrier Groups.

The radio tower and oil storage tanks were destroyed along with the barracks at Fort Mears that killed 25 soldiers.

American military personnel were very limited.  The Cold Nose Boys (test pilots) at Ladd Field were mobilized and went into combat action with counterattacks.

Major R. C. Ragle and many other pilots put aside their test pilot skills and were now fighter pilots.  Outnumbered and outgunned they went into combat action against a superior military force from the Empire of Japan who were invading a US territory – Alaskan of the United States of America.

On one mission, flying out of dense cloud cover, they were surprised that they accidently meshed into a formation of 07 planes from the Japanese Empire.

The B-17 had no tail gunner.  The waist gunner observed a Japanese plane closing in from behind the B-17s tail.  The waist gunner pulled his .50 caliber light barrel Browning machinegun from outside the B-17 aircraft and swiveled it inside the aircraft, pointing to the rear of the B-17.  The waist gunner holding the .50 caliber light barrel Browning machinegun, looked outside the aircraft so to eyeball the attacking Japanese plane and aim his machinegun.  And he let em’ have with a series of 07-round bursts of ‘.50 cal.’

Then BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM       BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM       BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM       BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM       BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM       BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM       BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM       BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM BAMM   !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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AMAZINGLY, AMAZINGLY, the waist gunner NAILED the attacking Japanese plane, killed the crew and destroyed the Japanese plane by shooting at it with Blind Marksmanship by shooting at it from inside the B-17 without hitting any critical parts to the B-17.

After landing, they counted about 50+ .50 caliber bullet holes (1/2-inch diameter) in the B-17 aircraft.  The waist gunner was worried he’d have to pay for the damage to the B-17.  Only a bad ass American GI would do such a CRAZY HEROIC ACT.  The waist gunner’s actions saved their B-17 and the crew.

I feel they should have decommissioned that B-17 right then & there and put it in a military museum.  Incredible.  OK, let’s carry-on.

WAIT WAIT, before we carry-on, let me tell you about some more REAL SURVIVAL not related to 1^st Lt. Leon Crane:

• 84) Counter Swarming Mosquitoes
• 85) Killed By A Swarm Of Mosquitoes
• 86) Crazy American GIs
• 87) Alaskan WWII Combat Actions
• 88) Evading Soldier Survival

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84) Counter Swarming Mosquitoes:  If there is one serious threat to you after cold temperatures are swarms of mosquitos.  When Spring arrives so do the swarms of mosquitos.

I’m not talking hundreds but THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF MOSQUITOS ATTACKING YOU!  The continuous 24-hour attack is impossible to tolerate by animal or human.

Moose and caribou have ran themselves to death trying to get away from the biting swarms of mosquitos.  Dogs have gone mad or died from the bites of thousands of mosquitos.

Here are some tricks to keep your sanity when swarmed by mosquitos.

• AVOID: AVOID extended outdoor activity during Alaskan Spring and Summer months
• Indoors: All doors must be closed, all windows closed, all vents closed, all cracks sealed,…
• Shelter: A good manufactured tent is another option.  But you have to come out sometime!
• Clothing: Double and even triple clothing must be worn to include gloves and head & face protection.
• Smoke: Smoke is a temporary remedy but may cause respiratory problems to the survivor.  And fire is also a threat to the survivor.
• Water: Critters go to water to find relief.  For humans, this may cause quick hypothermia.
• Repellent: Pile it on whether you use the ones I gave you or a commercial brand.
• Relocate: Critters move to higher elevations (colder temperatures).
• Home-Made Repellent: A few drops of creolin mixed with moose fat.  Smear it all over exposed portions of body.
• Mosquito Net: A mosquito net helps.  A mosquito headnet also helps but may hinder vision.

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85) Killed By A Swarm Of Mosquitoes:  Most people don’t know this but Germany and the Soviet Union were allies and both invaded and divided Poland.  The invasion of Poland was the start of World War II.

Germany and the Soviet Union remained allies till Germany executed Operation Barbarossa – the invasion of the Soviet Union.  Now the Soviet Union and the United States had a common enemy – Germany.  The Soviet Union and the United States soon became allies.  This is where Ladd Field, Alaska comes in.

The United States made a deal with the Kremlin.  It was called the Lend-Lease Program.  The Soviets were low on war materials.

So in order to maintain the fight against Germany and advance westward towards Germany, the Lend-Lease Program sent stockpiles of military supplies and planes to Ladd Field, Alaska.  Soviet pilots would then fly the planes full of supplies back to the Soviet Union.

I’ve said this a hundred times.  Skirmishers, battles and wars are won on attrition.  With the Soviets being supplied by the United States via the Lend-Lease Program, their attrition of war supplies was reversed.  With the US of A and Allies attacking Germany from the west and the Red Army advancing from the east and Germany’s attrition of manpower and war supplies dwindling every hour, Germany’s days were numbered.

What you just read is why a Soviet crew was flying over Nome, Alaska.  Early July 1943, a Soviet crew flying an American A-20 Havoc fighter-bomber located over Nome, Alaska, reported that one of their crew members was missing.

Lieutenant Constanta P. Demianenko was in the plane when their plane took-off and now he’s gone.  The A-20 Havoc fighter-bomber was flying without any problems, but Lieutenant Constanta P. Demianenko was missing.

It turns out between Galena and Nome, Alaska, Lieutenant Constanta P. Demianenko somehow got catapulted through an open hatch in the plane.

A search was initiated.  Major R. C. Ragle (see 83) Blind Marksmanship), flying a pontoon plane that was designed to land and take-off on water joined the search.  Following the same flight path as the Soviets, they quickly spotted Lieutenant Constanta P. Demianenko’s yellow parachute.

Landing the pontoon plane, one of the airman jumped from the plane.  Turns out he was in a bog, an ocean of mud.  He immediately sank up to his armpits.  In his own words: “I thought I was a gonner.  And believe me, I was really scared.”

Turns out, Lieutenant Constanta P. Demianenko landed in the bog and was working his way out of it.  He was swarmed by mosquitoes.  He didn’t die from suffocation by mud.

Lieutenant Constanta P. Demianenko’s body was pulled aboard the plane.  His body ‘looked like a pincushion from mosquito bites.’  He died from the swarms of attacking mosquitoes.

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86) Crazy American GIs:  I thought this was real funny.  American GIs stationed at Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base located at Aleutian archipelago (Aleutian Islands southernmost Alaska) had only one place to go to have a drink and relax when off duty.

It was Blackie’s Bar.  At Blackie’s Bar, you can get a shot of whiskey for .50 cents.  And here’s quote:

Blackies was always so crowded that one veteran noted that “regardless of how drunk we got, there was never enough room in the place to fall down.”  See 83) Blind Marksmanship.

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87) Alaskan WWII Combat Actions:  Most people don’t know this, but in the beginning of World War II (WWII), the Japanese Empire attacked the United States.

The Japanese Empire didn’t execute a major attack on the United States mainland, but one of her territories – Alaska, namely the Aleutian Islands.  Alaska didn’t become the 49th state till 03 January 1959.

By the way, as you already know, the Japanese Empire already attacked another property of the United States – Hawaii, on 07 Dec. 1941 at 0755 hours Hawaiian time.  Hawaii didn’t become the 50^th state till 21 August 1959.

Out of great respect for our World War II veterans and allies, let me briefly cover the unknown combat actions that took place in the Aleutian Islands.

On 03 June 1942 (Wednesday), just before dawn, Dutch Harbor Naval Base and Fort Mears located at Dutch Harbor were attacked.  Japanese planes bombed and strafed a radio tower, oil storage tanks and a military barracks.  25 soldiers were killed at the Fort Mears barracks.

Military personnel were very limited.  The Cold Nose Boys (test pilots) stationed at Ladd Field were alerted and deployed to execute counter-attacks against Japanese ships.

Note:  After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 07 Japanese submarines patrolled the west coast of the United States.  The Japanese submarines attacked and sank 02 merchant ships and damaged 06 others.

On 23 February 1942 (Tuesday), the same day President Roosevelt made a speech, a Japanese submarine, advanced on the Santa Barbara, California coast.  It launched a single torpedo at the Ellwood Oil Field.  The torpedo caused minimal damage, but American citizens were fearful of an impending major Japanese attack.

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88) Evading Soldier Survival:  On 07 June 1942 (Sunday), approximately 500 Japanese soldiers attacked a U.S. Weather Station on Kiska Island located approximately 200-miles from mainland Alaska.  At this U.S. Weather Station, there were 10 soldiers and a dog.  One soldier evaded to the wilderness.  He survived for 50-days in the wilderness.  He ate:

• Earthworms
• Grass
• Plants

After 50-days of surviving in the wilderness and weighing-in at only 80-pounds, he surrendered to Japanese soldiers.

Note:  I attempted to identify this American evader but I came up empty.

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89) Radio Weather Forecasting:  I annotated a similar weather forecasting trick in my Survival Book below.  But here’s how they did it in Alaska.

Evelyn Berglund was brought up and raised in the Alaskan wilderness.  She wrote a book about her growing-up in a cabin near the Arctic Circle.  The book covers the adventures of Evelyn and her 02 sisters trapping and hunting.  When she was 11-years old, she witnessed her first bush plane.

When she was 15-years old, the Berglund family got their first radio.  Their radio worked great.  It got great reception.  But when it rained, the radio couldn’t pick-up any radio stations.

I don’t know the directions of the radio stations they were listening to nor the distances.  But say for example one radio station they listened to was on a certain frequency say 1500.

And the distance to that radio station was 300-miles due south.  If a storm was over the radio station, or between the radio station and the Berglund home, the family has no reception.

They have a good indicator that a storm may be on the way, whether it’s rain, snow,…

OK, OK, I’ll give you the weather forecasting trick using a radio.  To better understand how to use a radio to predict weather, see 90) AM Radio Weather Forecasting below.

The following is a direct quote from my Survival Book – “77 International Forecasters Of Weather, Earthquakes, Tornados And More!”

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90) AM Radio Weather Forecasting:  Here’s a weather forecasting trick that was used after World War II (WWII) using AM (Amplitude-Modulated) radios.  AM radio enthusiasts called the “clicks,” “cracks,” “grinders,” and “hisses” atmospherics, which was later shortened to sferics.  These noises were found to warn of certain weather conditions.  After WWII, these sounds were used to forecast weather!

The following is a guide to use to help you forecast weather.  It is only good for AM radios cause FM (Frequency-Modulated) are constructed to filter-out the atmospheric noise.

• Hiss Noises: Hissing noises warned of hail storms.
• Violent Cracking Noises: Violent cracking noises warned of approaching cold-front thunderstorms.
• Weak Cracking Noises: Weak cracking noises warned of frosts and drops in temperatures.

Now that you know what those noises translate to, here’s a technique to use your AM radio as a weather forecaster to tune it & aim it in the direction of the weather.  Just tune your radio to a “blank reception spot.”

Then aim it till you get the strongest atmospheric static.  That direction is the direction of that type of weather storm or forecasted temperature according to the atmospheric noise you’re picking up.

This radio forecasting deserves more research.  In the future, there may be more data concerning this interesting subject.

https://www.survivalexpertblog.com/52-survival-books/

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91) Alaska Bush Pilot Plane Trick:  You folks in the U.S., if you live in the Dakotas or the northern New England area, you already know the winters are brutal.  Here’s an Alaska Bush Pilot Plane Trick you could use on your own vehicle.

Bush pilots in Alaska already know the performance limits of their planes.  And one of their limits are super freezing temperatures.  And worse yet the super freezing temperatures at night.

The temperatures get so cold, the plane’s battery has no charge and even the oil becomes congealed.  The plane really is ‘grounded.’

So to insure their planes are flyable the next morning, bush pilots disconnect the battery and drain & collect the oil and bring both inside to warm temperatures.  The next day, the battery is reconnected and the oil poured back in the engine.  The plane is ready-to-go.  All the bush pilot had to do next was do a good pre-flight check, get a good favorable weather conditions and they’re ready to take-off.

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92) Build It Or Freeze To Death:  October 1993, Willard Grinnell and Ben Moreland departed Fairbanks, Alaska.  Both set out to do some trapping in the Alaskan wilderness.

Grinnell was an all-around experienced woodsman.  Moreland was an out-of-work school teacher.  The bush pilot dropped off both men and he headed back to Fairbanks.

They built a brush lean-to and got their wood stove going.  In their kapok sleeping bags, they survived the first night.  That night the temperature dropped to 30-DEGREES BELOW ZERO FAHRENHEIT.

The next morning the men started to work on building a cabin.  Neither Grinnell nor Moreland had experience in building a cabin.  In Grinnell’s own words:  “It was build or freeze,.  So we built.”

Moreland eventually headed back to Fairbanks.  Grinnell stayed in the Alaskan wilderness.  ‘It was in his blood.’  His father was a one of many prospectors during the 1898 – 1899 gold rush.

49-years earlier, 1^st Lt. Crane had his own Build It Or Freeze To Death moment.  Building his home-made sledge to search for help, saved his life.  He could have stayed in Berail’s cabin and waited for help.  But his found supplies would run out and he’d eventually freeze to death.

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After Stats of 1^st Lieutenant Leon Crane

Test Pilot:  Carried-on with test pilot duties at Ladd Field

Married:  Married Lt. Wilma Koehrsen, stationed at Ladd Field

Left the Service:  December 1945

Children:  06

Aeronautical Career:  Boeing Vertol

Home Building Career:  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Death:  1^st Lt. Leon Crane died on 26 March 2002 (Tuesday)

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If I Was In-Charge!

I’m (author) extremely impressed with 1^st Lt. Leon Crane’s survival actions.  He beat the odds a BILLION to 01!  Any bad ass mountain man like Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Jedediah Smith, John Colter,… would surely be VERY IMPRESSED by his savvy survival actions and his EXTREME STUBBORNESS TO SURVIVE.  May be 1^st Lt. Crane was a bad ass mountain man in his prior life???!!!

Back then, I don’t think the United States had a Survival School dedicated for cold weather environments.

If I was in-charge back then (Secretary of Defense or something), I would have promoted 1^st Lt. Leon Crane to the acting rank of full bird Colonel (O-6) – Colonel Leon Crane.  I’d request an initial 25 million dollars to start a cold weather survival school called Survival Actions Freezing Environment Training (SAFET).

Colonel Crane would be in-charge and hand-pick 25 SAFET cadre from the ranks of the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy and Coast Guard.  There would also be 50 other military support personnel.  Colonel Crane would also have the authority to hire local natives who are already survival experts in the Alaskan wilderness.  They would act as Guides and Teachers.

Once the SAFET curriculum is established (Classroom, Field Environment and 02-man Isolation Phase), all hand-picked cadre will go through the 01-month SAFET course under the guidance of Colonel Leon Crane.

The SAFET course would run 08 consecutive classes each year – January – September with a gap of 01-week between classes for a refit.  The other 02-months are for leave time for cadre and refit for the SAFET course for the coming year.

A 250-acre compound would be built for cadre, students, support personnel and on-compound training site.  100,000 acres of Alaskan wilderness (military reservation[s]) would be dedicated to the SAFET course.

A 01-month course would have slots for 50 students.  Students would be military pilots stationed and flying in cold weather environments and other military personnel stationed and working in cold weather environments or plan on being stationed in a cold weather environment.

The SAFET course is also open to Allied military personnel.  The host unit for each student would transfer military funds of $1,500 to SAFET for room & board, cold weather gear and training.

Upon Graduation, SAFET graduates will be awarded an Official Military Certificate of Training with a copy inserted into their Official Military Record.  Selected SAFET enlisted graduates would be offered a job as SAFET cadre in the near future.

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“Alaskan Wilderness Survival Part 1, II, III & IV” are annotated in the Survival Book below to include “179+ Emergency Cold Weather Survival Tricks And More!”

Paperback Book—————Kindle E-Book

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Here’s a musical dedication to 1st Lt. Leon Crane and all his comrades and family.

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