Amelia Earhart And John Wooden—Connected To A Carrier
Amelia Earhart disappeared somewhere in the western Pacific Ocean 88 years ago today. Accompanied by her navigator, Fred Noonan, she was attempting to be the first woman to fly around the world. This morning, NBC’s Today Show featured a story about a new theory that may lead to the discovery of part of the wreckage of her Lockheed Electra.
In 1935, Earhart joined the Purdue University faculty as “an aviation advisor and career counselor to women.”1 Later, the Purdue Foundation covered the cost of the aircraft she used in her around-the-world attempt.
Her connection with USS Franklin (CV-13), an Essex-class carrier, was through the ship’s navigator, Commander Stephen Jurika. When she disappeared, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered something close to an “all hands on deck” search for her. Jurika was a pilot stationed on USS Lexington and participated in the search for her.
Amelia Earhart and John Wooden’s Connection
Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in history. Additionally, his books on leadership have positively impacted thousands of people over the years. As captain of the Purdue basketball team, Wooden led the team to two Big-10 championships, and in 1932, they won the National Championship. After graduating, he taught high school and played professional basketball. Answering the call to arms, he joined the Navy after the Pearl Harbor attack.
Ordered to report to Franklin in late 1944 as the ship’s athletic officer, Coach came down with appendicitis. Another man took his place on Franklin, coincidentally, one of his fraternity brothers at Purdue, Fred Stalcup. Stalcup died in the 19 March 1945 attack on Franklin. Wooden, of course, went on to become a legend.
It still awes me when I think of how close Wooden came to never surviving World War II. As for Amelia Earhart, I hope this current attempt to solve the mystery of her disappearance succeeds.
Did you arrive here via a search engine? I am the author of the forthcoming book Heroes By The Hundreds: The Story of the USS Franklin (CV-13). In addition to writing about the bravery of the crews that saved her, I will discuss the lessons we can learn in leadership and decision-making, and the changes the US Navy made because of those lessons.
Feel free to follow me on Facebook. There, I am M. Glenn Ross, Author. I also write a monthly newsletter, Glenn’s Action Report, about subjects I find interesting in my research. You can sign up for it below. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. Thanks for reading.
-Glenn
