Evening star., 1925-09-12
PN-9 NO. | FLYERS
ACCLAIMED HEROES
IN SPITE OF FAILURE
Honolulu in Wild Reception to
Weary Airmen as They
End Trip.
SHARKS ADDED HORROR
TO DAYS LOST AT SEA
Crew Rests in Hospital After
0rdeal-Rodgers' Still Called
Factor in Safety,
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
HONOLULU, September 12.-Rested,
happy and asleep, Americas five
heroes of aerial navigation We're at
Pearl Harbor today recovering from
their strenuous cruise, in which they
were cast about by vagrant winds in
Midpacif1c for nine days on the sea
plane PN-9 No. /.
The men were ordered 10 bed at the
hospital last night after their arrival
from Lihue aboard a steamer. They
were received with open arms by the
island populace, headed by Gov. Wal
lace Harrington.
Every member of the crew told
sparkling story of their unprecedented
adventure. John Rodgers, COM
mander, dictated a statement detailing
the sensations which came to him dur
ing the nine-day trip, and his asso-
ciates augmented his story with many
details.
All Praise Leader.
The statements revealed the innate
modesty of every member of the crew
Each declined to take credit for his
own daring acts of heroism, but all
pointed to Capt. Johns" optimism in
the 1aCe OF ulSaSIeT ana pIlNdllOIl DIS
the saving grace of the trying situa-
ton. Capt. john" in turn, poured
his compliments on his subordinates
The presence of sharks which trailed
In the wake of the drifting seaplane,
the ability to hear radio messages tell
ing that the men were believed dead,
the inability to dispell these messages
OF despair by failure of the radio gen.
orator which prevented broadcaSting
all ThaSa n
the hope OF reaching land until aided.
Only when they were picked up
15 miles from land by the submarine
R-4 were they momentarily disap
pointed. For, after drifting 400 miles
they expected to move into land un
assisted.
Lack of Wind Blamed.
Just before retiring a member of
the crew was asked to give his opin
ion on the whole flight. He said that
the aviators had placed too much
reliance on wind conditions in plan
ming the flight
We figured TO pick up the trade
winds 500 miles from San Francisco"
he said, but 1t was more than 1000
miles before we had the wind on
our tail and then it was only a slight
wind
AS for gasoline, we had all the
gasoline we could carry, some 1900
gallons. Without wind we couldn't
have and did not have a chance to
make it. That's all there is to it."
Acclaimed as Heroes.
they came here last night, not as
they had planned, proudly riding
through the air their great seaplane,
as the first to span the broad reaches
of the Pacific, but in the more
prosaic fashion of passengers aboard
the United States destroyer Mac
Donough, the daring sailors of the
aerial argosy were ordered to bed.
The five men insisted they were feel
ing fine, and physical examination re-
Vealed that need of shaves was the
most serious result of nine days afioat
in their crippled plane after it settled
TO the water when the gasoline supply
failed while it still was some 800 miles
from Honolulu. Nevertheless the
Navy doctors were determined to take
no chances, and, with the first con-
gratulations and words of praise still
ringing in their ears, the flyers were
hustled off to sleep and rest. A formal
reception had been prepared, but it
gave way to spontaneity.
City In Wild Acclaim.
AS the MacDonough steamed into
port whistles shrieked and the great
sssemblage at the docks yelled The
reception became no less pretentious,
no less glorious. no less proud than If
they had attained the fullest success
in the greatest adventure of peace
time aviation.
Three hundred persons, most of
them Navy officers. friends of the
aviators and their wives, with a few
prominent citizens, were gathered on
the dock in the harbor within the cir
Gle of the motion picture flares Along
the path made by the searchlight of
the battleship Nevada tied up at an
other dock, loomed slowly the moving
greyhound bow of the MacDonough
Every eye was strained searching
for Rodgers or his fight companions
Il. A. Rodgers, cousin of Comdr
Continued on Page 4, Column L.