ijanes2004@yahoo.com

Amelia Earhart and Austin Collins

In July 1937, after hearing Amelia's last radio message Austin Collins left the Itasca and went searching for Amelia Earhart with six Hawaiian colonist from Howland Island in a small boat.

The Itasca knew Amelia Earhart had over shot Howland and landed on Mikumaroro which was in Japan possession. The US can't invade the Mikumaroro island to rescue Amelia. The entire World was waiting on Amelia Earhart's Howland landing. So all the searches of the time could reveal was that Amelia Earhart was missing.

I can't remember my Grandfather saying Amelia Earhart was a spy for the US. What I do remember is the US plan was for Austin Collins and the six Hawaiian young men to land on Mikumaroro to pick up Amelia Earhart.

At the time the Hawaiian's had a good relationship with the Japanese and that small landing party was Amelia's only hope. Amelia had accomplished the one landing location the Japanese didn't want celebrated.

Amelia had made the Mikumaroro famous whether she crashed or landed there. In missing the Howland, Amelia lead the world to a small reef in Japanese territory. Would the Japanese have staged her crashing in the middle of the ocean, if the Hawaiian landing party hadn't arrived so quickly? When you think about how large the Pacific Ocean is and the ill fate for Amelia to land on Mikumaroro Island. The Japanese had to keep Amelia and send the Hawaiians on their way.

Why would the Japanese keep Amelia? Because Amelia made her landing location infamous. Releasing Amelia with the Hawaiians would have bought unwanted attention to the Japanese territory.

The US doesn't have pictures of Amelia Earhart or her plane to share with the waiting public who are eagerly awaiting either a landing or a crash landing of her plane. The entire press had written how dangerous finding the tiny Howland Island would be. Amelia Earhart's last radio transmission verifys she is on the correct Latitude and Longitude for Howland Isands and states we are upon you but can't see you.

The Itasca chimmeys were marking the Howland's island location with smoke yet Amelia could not see the island and flew right over the Howland island. Amelia was desparately low on fuel and her flight only lasted until the reef of Mikumaroro.

At the same time the Hawaiians found Amelia Earhart alive they found the Japanese who occupied the Mikumaroro. My Grandfather had been on the Itasca Cruise Equatorial Islands Swain's - American Samoa exposition continuing from January through March 1936. His fluent Hawaiian language skills and leather skin from the island sun made his identify believable.

In 1936 President Roosevelt issue an executive order to claim the islands of Baker, Howland and Jarvis as US territories. So the Kamehameha School for Boys, Judd trustee of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, Hawaiian Scientific Academy, and The British Covert Expedition started their journey in the Pacific.

My Grandfather who had been trained by the Army in mapping and drawing of airfields always said the Jarvis had the better airfield. Jarvis was his favorite of the islands and is the island he built Fort Collins on which still stands today.

The Hawaiian Group landed on Nikumaroro and were blind folded and held by the Japanese until the Japanese decided what to do with them. After a period of time the Japanese let them go. Why not let them go, who would believe them.

For my Grandfather who made nine trip back to Washington from the Pacific reporting on the Japanese activities in the Pacific it was horrible that he could prove the Japanese were planning an attach and nothing could be done about it. Still today I can see his anger and disqust with Washington.

Austin was ranting about hearing the building sounds, the digging of the airfield, the noises of an army. Austin Collins spoke several languages and before his assignment in Hawaii, he had spent ten years in Asia and surrounding countries.

As a young girl this is what Austin Collins my grandfather told me about Amelia Earhart. For years I told my story about Amelia Earhart and everyone thought what an imagination I had or what an interesting lie I was telling. I went on telling the same story time and time again.

Then in 2007, I finally decided I wanted to prove my story about Amelia Earhart. I stopped my busy life and went to Bronte Texas to get my Grandfather scrapbook.

For me the scrapbook was magical with all the different characters on an experience of a lifetime. I wasn't concerned over the politics of the era, I was too young to give it a thought about it, however I do find it surprising these facts are buried in files and the colonizing of the Islands forgotten from our memories.

While I was searching through Austin Collin's belongings, I was looking for any items he might have of Amelia? I did find one thing that is Amelia, a mermaid in the shape of the Mikumaroro Island, artistically drawn at Latitude 4° S and Longitude 174° W map of Itasca Cruise Equatorial Islands Swain's - American Samoa exposition continuing from January through March 1936.

I was twelve when my Grandfather died with full military honors in 1964. Until that time I was an Hawaiian on the Jarvis Island being trained by Austin Collins. I learn Hawaiian and Jujutsu and continued his adventure in the Pacific.

He treasured his time in the Pacific the most. But Amelia is only one chapter in this spy story.

Amelia Earhart Stories Resources

http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wof... http://www.jarvisisland.info/index.html http://kapalama.ksbe.edu/archives/histor... http://books.google.com/books?id=xGmyAAA... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Isl...