During the early days of World War II, Greenland, that great frozen island of the North Atlantic, was of strategic importance as a stopping point for trans-Atlantic flights and as an indicator of the weather destined for Europe. But while it important, it was (and is) a treacherous landscape, especially for pilots, as "milky" conditions created by cloudy skies, unbroken white landscape, and blustery blowing snow cause paralyzing disorientation. And in 1942, that is exactly what happened. First a C-53 crashed over Greenland in the milk. Shortly thereafter, a B-17 in the midst of its journey to Europe to enter the war was sidetracked and tasked with finding the wreckage and locating any survivors. Loaded with its ferrying crew and a few volunteer spotters, the bomber goes down and becomes a second wreckage on the ice. The fuselage is torn in two, but the crew all survive, and thus begins their ordeal. They are eventually located, and another B-17, at great peril to itself, begins resupply flights as often as the weather allows. But even though their location is known, they are unreachable. Dogsled teams attempt the journey but are turned back by weather, as are rescuers on motorsleds. Their ordeal stretches through months of arctic winter. A bold rescue plan is hatched by a Coast Guard vessel off of the coast. The crew of their Grumman Duck (a small float aircraft) volunteers to attempt a belly-down landing on the snow and ice of Greenland to pick up the men. Though they make it successfully once, they then become the third wreck on Greenland that fateful winter. The harrowing winter of the men on the ice continues, and hopes are dim for a rescue.
In
Frozen in Time, Mitchell Zuckoff intertwines the fateful tale of the men on the ice and the heroic attempts at their rescue with the modern-day tale of efforts to organize and carry out a search for the lost planes, and especially the Grumman Duck, which still holds the remains of its three occupants. Both stories make for adventurous reading. The loneliness, hopelessness, and despair are matched by heroism, innovation, and perseverance. It's the historical tale that especially shines (the modern-day search is interesting but less compelling). Zuckoff opens an interesting chapter in history and a fascinating location on the globe.
Thanks to the publisher and the Amazon Vine program for the review copy.
