| P-MAN IX Update #19 Hello Everyone! Lessons Learned
11 March The day started at the crack of 0615. No alarm was set but I’ve gotten into this demonic routine out here of being up before 0630 every morning. Part of me would like this to continue when I get home. I’d get so much more done in a day. Then the rest of me says wait until the sun hits your face to get up. Our bedroom at home is on the west side of the house. We had breakfast as a group and then started debriefing. We went over everything we've done this year and discussed targets we’d like to look at next year. We kept this up until Rich Wills from JPAC showed up. We gave him a data dump so that his job as an investigator is a bit easier. He got photos, reports and miscellaneous information pertaining to MIAs in Palau. Hopefully he can develop recovery missions from this stuff. When Rich left, we went back to debriefing. Worked until about noon and then went out for lunch. Then back at it and I think we got done, including assignments to accomplish once we get home, about 3pm. One of the items on our agenda is to develop better briefing guides for each mission we do. The idea is to maximize safety, but also so we don’t forget stuff. We also want to revisit the concept of mandatory versus nice-to-have equipment. I think as we get older, more safety items will become mandatory. As was quoted by Cynthia, DOB’s wife, “Nobody in this group has the 'what if' gene.” I ran a couple of errands and then packed my stuff for shipment home. Rather than lug a 70-lb. bag as I fly standby around the world, I’m mailing my stuff home. And unlike my boots that I ordered with a rush delivery, which I still haven’t received, I can ship my stuff home slowly. Dan said he would take my bag to the Post Office. Tonight we hosted a dinner party for the JPAC teams that are out here. The crew included a large contingent of Navy Divers from MDSU and the military and civilian members of JPAC. We had the dinner at Bandidos and they closed the restaurant for us. Margie and Dave worked hard, yet they still seemed to enjoy it. Dave laid on carne asada as a special for us and it was great. So if you ever get to Palau, do go to Bandidos Mexican Restaurant. Mexican food in Palau? Yes!
We took some photos:
Ate some food, drank a margarita or two and then before you know it, the place was empty and Bob took me to the airport. The plan for my return is to allow enough time for the hitches that always seem to plague me on my journeys. I’m leaving Palau on the 12th, so that I can catch a flight out of Japan on the 13th. If everything goes my way, I can make it all in one day. However, as some of you may recall, things don’t always go my way. That’s why I’m allowing that extra day for traveling. Then when I get home, I’ll have a few days to decompress and get my body on the right time zone. This is definitely the worst part of the trip to Palau: the return. The flight to Guam leaves at 0145. I got there way too early, but was still 20th in line. I had checked the available seats before going to the airport and it looked like there would be no problem with me getting on. Then the gate agent said it did not look good for me. The only thing worse than this 0145 departure is staying until 0145 and not departing. And then having to do it all again the next night. I put on my best smile and decided to hang until the bitter end. One of the gate agents said that if I did not get on, that she would give me a ride back to town. Well, at least I had that going for me. 12 March The reporting I do should really be related to what is done out in the field. So before I tell my tale of travels, here’s the itinerary for the rest of P-MAN IX: 12 March - Interviews. 13 March - Hiking into some jungle somewhere. 14 March - Taking a boat to Peleliu to investigate one possible new site, and showing Rich Wills the TBM Avenger that the BentProp team found last year, and showing him the prop we found this year. Also, there will be a showing of Dan and Jennifer’s film “Last Flight Home” for Palau at The Coral Reef Institute. 15 March - The Team probably will do a mini scrub of the last few days, pack out and go to the airport for their departures on the morning of the 16th. Now back to my story. With 15 minutes to go, the counter agents made a P.A. announcement for all of us standby people to go to the gate for possible boarding. Then I saw what my problem was tonight: 20 other standby passengers who all had a higher boarding priority than me. Immigration didn’t want to stamp my passport until they knew I was going. And with 37 seconds to spare I was given a seat assignment. One of the gate agents ran my passport to Immigration while I ran to the plane. She swore I wouldn’t leave without my passport. She caught me, returned my passport and as I stepped on the plane, they slammed the door shut. On time! Whew. I wasn’t the cause of a blip in the system. Off we went. Not a wink of sleep until 10 minutes out from Guam. Then I slept through the landing, the reversing of the engines and the parking of the jet. When the passengers around me started walking off the airplane, I woke up. Out through U.S. Immigration, in through security and then it was 5 a.m. Guam time. This is way too early. But I was lucky on the first leg of my journey. If I can get on this first flight to Tokyo, I’ll be lucky twice. Then, maybe I can get lucky for a third time and get on the flight to Detroit. I’m not thinking that’s going to happen so I’ve got a hotel in Tokyo lined up. I got on the early Continental flight out of Guam! It’s really rare that happens to me. And it was quite the opposite experience in Guam vs. Palau. Normally, I get my boarding pass early in Palau and they wait until the last minute to give it to me in Guam. This morning, as soon as I showed up in Guam I got a seat assignment. The flight was uneventful. And here I am in Tokyo. A few hours to kill, five to be exact. I went to the public showers again. The price has gone up to $5.00 (500 yen works too) for a 30 minute refreshing shower. But it’s the best deal in all of Japan this morning. Put fresh clothes on and I felt like a new man. Now it’s a few hours later and I’m about to hit the wall. I got up at 0630 yesterday and it’s now 1430. That’s a long time for me to be up with only a little plane nap. (Time warp forward) I am enroute again. I got on the direct Detroit flight! I left Palau at 0145 on the 12th and will arrive at 1450 on the 12th. The dateline definitely works in our favor going east. So allowing extra days for travel means I get through without many problems. If I waited until the last possible moment to return, I would not have had a smooth a trip. I’ll arrive in DTW feeling worn out. I just know it. But I will be home. 13 March I arrived on time on the 12th and felt pretty good. Rebecca picked me up and we went home. I decided not to try and finish this yesterday or do any financial work. I hit the wall sometime after 6:30pm. I went to bed at 8pm. I had no choice. Of course I was up at the crack of 0430. But I did get a lot accomplished today. I tried to find out what the guys are doing out in Palau so I could report that to you. But I’m not out there anymore so I guess I don’t get early information. We’ll all have to wait for Derek to tell us via the update what they’ve done. Which means I still don’t know about my boots. And that brings you up to speed about my travels out to Palau. We did some great work out there with the discovery of a Corsair and an unknown prop. Maybe some day we’ll find out what plane the prop belongs to and find out that JPAC has found the pilot from the Corsair. But until then, we’ll just keep on searching the jungles and waters of Palau for our fallen heroes.
Blue SKies, Flip |
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