Evening star., 1942-08-07

2, the Associated Press.

| 2, the Associated Press.
Two daring rescues of Is stranded
Army airmen from the treacherous
ice cap of interior Greenland were
disclosed by the Navy yesterday in
an announcement crediting the ac-
complishments to 1t. Col. Bernt
Balchen of the Army and 1t. A. Y.
Parunak of the Navy.
Thirteen of the men were men,
bers of a crew of Bit flying fort
ress," which had been forced down
about 100 miles inland from Navy
base They were taken out safely
on July 6 after Col. Balchen led
them across Alpine-like icefields to
a temporary lake on top Of the ice
where 1t. Parunak picked them up
in his Navy patrol plane Next day
the lake which made this rescue
possible had disappeared.
Two weeks later similar oper-
alton by 1t. Parunak and Col. Bal
chen brought about the rescue of
Col Robert w. C. Wimsatt of Wash
ington and his sergeant, unidenti-
fed. Their light plane had made a
forced landing on the edge of the
ice cap, near regular lake, while
they we're on ptarol duty. Col VIM
satt was injured in the landing and
the speed Of the aerial rescue prob
ably saved his life. Col. Balchen
decided 1t. Parunak and he should
designate their joint enterprises as
the Greenland Cooperative SAL
wage Co."
Balchen Promoted.
incidentally, the War Department
announced that Col. Balchen, IA
nous flyer who won renown as a
pilot on several Arctic and Antarc-
tic expeditions, had been promoted
to the temporary rank of colonel
1t. Parunak, 80, of Pitman, N. j.,
and Warrington, Fla, learned of the
forced landing of the Army bomber
when a weak radio message came
through in late June. The loca-
ton of the plane was fixed at 100
miles inland from the Navy air force
safety patrol base where It. Parunak
was stationed but the intervening
ice, slashed by thousands of deep
crevices, made land rescue virtually
impossible and the men apparently
could only be reached by air.
1t. Parunuk consulted with Col.
Balchen at nearby Army base and
the latter advised giving the men
necessary supplies. After dropping
the supplies, 1t. Parunak made sur
vey flights over the territory for a
week, seeking primarily a place to
land with his big flying boat. Then,
the Navy account said, miracle
happened. About IL miles from the
crippled Bit "dimple" formed on
the ice and filled with water run
ming from the slopes around it.
Stripped His Plane.
This lake was discovered on July
8 and 1t. Parunak decided it was
deep enough to support his plane
and just barely long enough to per-
NIT take-off. At his base camp he
stripped the plane of all possible
equipment and took aboard a mini
mum amount of gas and snowshoes
for the stranded crew.
The ply airmen who accompa-
MED 1t. Parunak on the flight we're
Ensign John c. Snyder, "a, Of Men,
phis, Tenn; Oliver L. Leininger,
aviation machinist's mate, first class,
of Mason City, Ill, and Frank r.
McEnroe, aviation radioman, first
class. of Washington. The plane
also carried Col Balehen and Sergts.
Joe Healey and Dutch Dollerman of
the Army Air Forces, all three vet
erans Of the North.
The plane alighted safely in what
the Navy called the first Intentional
landing" on an ice cap lake. Col.
Balchen, Sergt. Healey and Sergt.
Dollerman were put ashore. 1t.
Parunak then took off and dropped
the snowshoes and other supplies
for the Bit crew.
Decided to Return at Once.
The overland rescue party reached
the Bit on the morning of July S.
Col. Balchen decided to make the
return trip to the lake with the 13
airmen quickly. Otherwise storm
might break and prevent the rescue,
or worst of all, crevice might open