If you don’t think so, I invite you to read “The Crash of Little Eva: The Ultimate World War II Survivor Story” by Barry Ralph. Originally published in November 2004 by the University of Queensland Press in Austrailia, this book details Gaston’s epic struggle for survival after a military plane crash in the Australian wilderness during World War II. Gaston, who died in 1998, was a native of Frisco City, Ala. and was a mailman in the Frisco City area for about 40 years.
In his book, Ralph deftly details how Gaston was the radio operator aboard the “Little Eva,” a B-24 Liberator bomber that was based out of remote airbase in Queensland, Australia. On Dec. 2, 1942, while on their way back from their first mission, their plane was disabled during a severe thunderstorm. As the plane began to run out of fuel, Gaston and other members of the crew parachuted from the plane moments before it crashed in a remote area of the Australian wilderness. Up to that point, Gaston had never parachuted out of anything, much less a moving plane hundreds of feet off the ground, but miraculously he survived the jump. Others weren’t so lucky.
Once on the ground, Gaston found himself in a group of four, who began making their way west toward the coast. Over time, the men slowly began to starve to death and eventually only Gaston was left alive. An extensive search was launched for the plane and the crew, but Gaston wasn’t found until April 23, 1943 when an Aborigine found him walking on the beach. Barely alive, Gaston had survived 141 days in a wilderness that would have killed experienced bushmen and Aborigines in similar circumstances.
Gaston’s ability to survive was mostly due to the fact that he was willing to eat things that his companions would not. With no way to start a fire, he ate whatever he could catch with his bare hands, including raw snakes, frogs, fish and sand crabs. He also fought off wild dogs, drank impure water and lost 70 pounds. He would later describe his experience, which led to him being featured in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!,” as “141 days of hell.”
In the few paragraphs above, I’ve just hit the high points of Gaston’s story, and there is a lot more to the tale than what I’ve mentioned above. The 70th anniversary of Gaston’s rescue is a month from today, and I’d encourage all Monroe Countians to take the time to learn about Gaston’s story. Copies of “The Crash of Little Eva” are available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. So far as I know it is the only book that’s been written that’s totally about the Little Eva crash and its aftermath.
In the end, how many of you have read “The Crash of Little Eva”? What did you think about it? How many of you remember Grady Gaston? Do you have any memories of Gaston that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments section below.
He was hardcore, no doubt about it.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it. Grady Gaston was actually our mail man when I was a kid. I kind of grew up hearing about his WWII experiences. Also, as chance would have it, my brother now owns Gaston's old house in Frisco City, Ala.
ReplyDeleteWould love to hear some of those stories, Lee! I'm a writer researching this for a project. Am also trying to make contact with other members both of his family, and the families of other crew members.
ReplyDeleteHazen Audel has filmed a TV series for National Geographic called Ultimate Survival WWII in which he replicates survival stories from POW's, special operations escapes and air plane crash survivalists. He covered the 'Little Eva' crash and the 4 immediate survivors including Grady Gaston. The pilot and another crewmember bailed out a little later and were rescued 12 days later. Tragically, Grady and the 3 others went the wrong way on their incredible trek and headed into the extremely remote and hostile territory of North Queensland which ultimately led to Gaston being the only survivor. Total respect to his memory.
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