Ric, not in any way challenging your concept that FN had a drinking problem, but I would enjoy knowing a bit more, specifically what your sources are for his drinking at the time of his departure from Pan Am.
Do we know if there was any reference to alcohol in the police reports of the vehicle accidents?
You're free to challenge me on anything I say. Fred's drinking has long been a scape-goat in the Earhart disappearance. Stories abound and can be found in most of the Earhart biographies but what has always been lacking is any kind of contemporaneous written documentation that Fred had a drinking problem. There is certainly no indication of anything like that in the records of his maritime career and the police reports of his automobile accidents reportedly do not mention alcohol.
Eight years ago I received an email that seemed to indicate that written proof does exist. It came out of the blue addressed simply to info@tighar.org; subject Fred Noonan.
"Hello,
This may sound very crazy but I am in possession of letters from Fred's wife
Jo detailing his drinking, and partying on his flights to Honolulu. I have a
letter written by Fred to my wife's grandmother(my wife's stepfathers father
was Frank Brown, who was an early figure in PAA. Frank died in Central or S.
America of appendicitis while establishing PAA routes in the late 1920's and
early '30's). We have a framed 8x10 professional portrait of Fred which is
autographed to my wife's grandmother. The last item, which I never saw
before today is a postcard in an envelope, my wife's grandmother wrote the
following on the envelope, "This card was written by Mr. Noonan on his
fateful flight with Amelia Erhart on her round-the-world trip when they both
lost their live. This was the last communication anyone received from either
of them before they perished at sea when their plane failed to reach a safe
landing port after leaving New Guinea, homeward bound" Fred expected to
reach the states before the card.
My wife's mother recently passed and left her these items and we are
exploring possible options. We are interested in a possible sale or a tax
deductible donation. If interested we can scan a few items.
Thanks,
Wm. Schildgen & Teri Noland-Schildgen"
I immediately replied:
"Hi,
Thanks for writing. Your email does not sound a bit crazy. We knew that Fred Noonan and his first wife Josephine were having trouble and I always suspected it was due to the pressure Fred was under at Pan American. That Jo would have written to close friends about her concerns is hardly surprising. As you probably know, Fred and Jo were divorced in early 1937 and Fred re-married almost immediately.
The letters you describe would be very interesting to us. Fred's drinking problems have long been the subject of rumor, stories, and speculation - but very few contemporary written sources have come to light. Your letters could shed important light on that subject.
We also know that Fred wrote many letters and post cards home to friends and family during the world flight. Several of these have surfaced in recent years and have given us a much clearer picture of Fred Noonan's life and personality. Your letters could be an important addition to that fund of knowledge. That the postcard is "the last communication anyone received from either of them" is rather doubtful. Earhart made a telephone call from New Guinea to the Herald Tribune in New York and sent several telegrams prior to her departure. Nonetheless, all of these primary source documents are historically important. Whether they are financially valuable is a different question.
Despite the continued public interest in the Earhart mystery, original documents relating to the case do not bring significant prices at auction. Case in point: An item was recently put up for bid on eBay that was described as "Amelia Earhart's Original Flight Plan" for her 'round the world flight.
(
http://cgi.ebay.com/AMELIA-EARHART-ORIGINAL-FLIGHT-PLAN_W0QQitemZ220031316514QQihZ012QQcategoryZ378QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
The winning bid was $26. Fortunately, the winning bidder was one of our researchers. The item turned out to be not "Amelia Earhart's Original Flight Plan" (of course) but a transcript of the personal diary kept by one of the wire service reporters aboard the Coast Guard cutter ITASCA. A tremendously important discovery from an historical perspective, but even as "Amelia Earhart's Original Flight Plan," it brought only $26 on eBay.
As historical researchers, our interest is in the information contained in the documents, rather than in the physical documents as collectibles. We are, however, able to - and often do - accept contributions of original documents. We're a recognized 501 (c) (3) public charity and all contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. We would give you a letter with a generous estimate of the dollar value of your contribution. We're not a licensed appraiser of Earhart-related historical documents, but neither is anyone else and getting an appraisal of something like this would probably cost several times what the collection is worth.
One of the biggest concerns about a newly-discovered collection like yours is that it not end up in the hands of a private collector or Earhart buff who will keep the information private. As a nonprofit historical foundation, it is our policy and practice to make new information publicly available via our website (
www.tighar.org) and in our journal TIGHAR Tracks. My recently-released book "Finding Amelia - The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance" (U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2006) includes a DVD with hundreds of primary source documents - letters, telegrams, reports, maps, ships' logs, etc. If you like, I'll be happy to send you a complimentary copy.
I hope you'll decide to donate the collection to TIGHAR. In the meantime, I would very much like to see scans of the material and I'll be happy to answer whatever questions you may have. You can reach me at this email address or by phone during the east coast business day at 302-994-4410
Best regards,
Ric"
Schildgen did phone me and we discussed the letters. He read me several passages but he never sent me scans and then he stopped replying to my emails. I don't know why. I think the letters are probably genuine and, from the bits that Schildgen read to me over the phone, it sounds like the brutal schedule of the transpacific Clipper service combined with the generous pay the crews enjoyed was more than Fred could handle.
