For those of you unfamiliar with Gaston, a native of Frisco City, Ala. who died in 1998, he endured an epic struggle for survival after a military plane crash in the Australian wilderness during WWII. In the early days of the war, Gaston served as the radio operator aboard the “Little Eva,” a B-24 Liberator bomber that was based out of a 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.”
Not long after his rescue, in May 1943, Gaston provided the military with an official statement of what happened to him and his colleagues in the Australian jungle, and today I provide you with the second portion of that official statement. This portion of this statement picks up after the death of Lt. Dyer in the second portion of Gaston’s statement, which can be read at http://leepeacock2010.blogspot.com/2013/04/part-two-of-gastons-official-statement.html. The first portion of his statement can be read at http://leepeacock2010.blogspot.com/2013/03/part-i-of-gastons-official-statement.html.
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PART THREE:
We kept up our search for something to eat but by this time there was very little left to be found. On Feb. 20, Lt. Speltz went across the river to find some passion fruit. When he left on these trips he always said that I should not worry if he did not return because it would be due to the rising tide.
He did not return that night but I did not worry much about it, but when he did not come in by about 10 o’clock the next morning I started down to the river to see if I could find him. It was raining extra hard that day, and I was forced to return to the cabin. By two o’clock that afternoon the rain had let up some, and I returned to the river where I found him lying on the beach.
He was so weak from crossing the river and lying so long in the rain that when he tried to stand up, the wind would blow him down again. I also was very weak and knew I could not carry him so I tried dragging. It took me quite a long time, but I finally got him back to the cabin.
I gave him water and fed him what few passion fruit we had on hand and also a melon or two and a few cockerels. During the night, he seemed to improve and by morning he was able to sit up. After a couple of days, he began to pick up quite a bit, but his legs and ankles had swollen to twice their normal size.
We did not know the cause of this but made the best of it and on Feb. 24 on my return from the waterhole I asked him how he was feeling. He said ‘Feeling OK,’ and we talked for a good long while. During the night, I felt him grab me by the wrist and thinking he might be dreaming I laid his hand away and as usual before daylight I started on my way to find food for us.
On returning to the shack I called to him as usual but received no reply, so I hurried to our hut but it was too late. He had passed away. I finally got him down to where I had put Lt. Dyer but just about collapsed in the attempt from weakness. ‘That left me alone,’ for how long no one would ever know.
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To read the rest of Gaston’s statement, please visit this site next Saturday, when I will post the fourth portion of Gaston’s official statement about the “Little Eva” incident. If you don’t want to wait that long, you can read his entire statement at the following address, www.dropbears.com/a/aviation/docs/SgtGradyGaston-LittleEva.pdf. If you’re interested in more details about Gaston’s ordeal, I’d also encourage you to read “The Crash of Little Eva: The Ultimate World War II Survivor Story” by Barry Ralph, which was originally published in November 2004 by the University of Queensland Press in Australia.
In the end, 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.
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