The Mystery of Amelia Earhart by Hailey Willard

             July 2, 1937 at approximately noon, was the last time Amelia Earhart would be seen alive. She departed from Lae, New Guinea and never arrived at her next destination on Howland island. (Sherman 1). The following radio messages were the last to be received in the hours that followed: "KHAQQ calling Itasca. We must be on you but cannot see you...gas is running low..."

"We are in a line position of 157- 337. Will report on 6210 kilocycles. Wait, listen on 6210 kilocycles. We are running North and South." (1). Of all the conspiracies circling around Amelia Earhart, there are only a few that actually make sense. Theory #1 claims that Earhart ran out of fuel, crashed and perished in the Pacific Ocean. (Hanes 1). Theory #2 argues that Earhart’s flight was an elaborate scheme to spy on the Japanese, who captured her after she crashed (1). Theory #3 concludes that Earhart survived a Pacific Ocean plane crash, was secretly repatriated to New Jersey and lived out her life under an assumed name (1). These theories are all possible solutions to Earhart’s disappearance, so the questions still remain; what happened to Amelia Earhart, a female pilot who set world records and was such a prominent role model in America? Why had the first woman to ever attempt such a brave journey, suddenly fall off the face of the earth? What is the mystery of Amelia Mary Earhart?
           Amelia Mary Earhart was a young woman greatly known for her fame and success, as well as beauty and charm. Her tall thin stature, golden hair and grey crystal-like eyes were entrancing to people all over the world (Gillespie).  She gained the nickname “Lady Lindy” after her similar resemblance to Charles Lindbergh, another famous aviator of her time ("Introduction: Amelia Earhart").  Though she was widely admired across the globe, Earhart faced many struggles throughout her lifetime. She faced internal and external challenges as a child including her struggled to fit in at school as well as her conflicted home life where she lived with her grandmother due to her father’s alcoholism and her parent’s divorce. As she grew older Earhart faced more conflict with her struggle to find her true passion in life and once she did, she struggled to finance it and truly breakthrough as an independent woman in her career.

As a child her grandmother raised her to be proper and Victorian child which she continuously rejected (“Introduction: Amelia Earhart”).  She lived with her grandparents for a portion of her childhood where she was adventurous and loved the outdoors ("Timeline: Amelia Earhart, 1897-1937"). Amelia was quite the tomboy as a child and participated in boyish activities including shooting rats with a .22 rifle ("The Life of Amelia Earhart”). She would also ride imaginary horses, climb trees, and sled (“Timeline: Amelia Earhart, 1897-1937”).  In school Amelia was known as “the girl in brown who walks alone,” and did not have many friends (“1”).  This negative external feedback, caused internal self-doubt and Earhart’s confidence suffered greatly.

As she grew older, she learned to adapt to different environments that is, until the year 1911 when her grandmother died (“Timeline: Amelia Earhart, 1897-1937”).  Having been her rock as a child, her grandmother’s death was very hard on Amelia and sent her into light depression. She moved back in with her parents who had trouble in their relationship due to her father’s struggle with alcoholism (“1”). Because of this, the family struggled financially and eventually Amelia’s parent divorced and her mother took the children and moved out (“1”). When Amelia was old enough to move out she did so and worked as many different jobs including a truck driver, photographer, and stenographer (“1”). She internally, she struggled to find her niche in society and didn’t find her true passion until the age of 23 (“1”). Frank Hawks took Amelia up in a biplane, a ride that would change Amelia’s life forever (“The Life of Amelia Earhart”). She claims, “As soon as we left the ground, I knew I myself had to fly. 'I think I’d like to fly,’ I told the family casually that evening, knowing full well I’d die if I didn’t,” ("Introduction: Amelia Earhart").

As Amelia gained more and more fame she faced many internal struggles that held her back a little from her later flourishing success. Externally, Amelia was still having financial issues and could not afford her own plane. She had to continue working multiple jobs in order to save up enough money to do what she loved (“Introduction: Amelia Earhart”). Amelia became more well-known because she flew alongside with many famous pilots (“1”). This was not satisfying enough for her. Often times she stated, “I was just baggage, like a sack of potatoes,” feeling like she needed to claim fame alone as a confident female aviator (“1”). All Amelia Earhart ever wanted was to be successful in a man’s world (“1”). This idea is what motivated her work harder to be successful.

Another conflict Amelia faced was that of her love life. She was afraid of losing her independence and making such a serious commitment. George Palmer Putnam proposed to Amelia Earhart six times before she finally agreed to marry him (“Introduction: Amelia Earhart”). She had worked extremely hard to establish herself as an independent woman in her career and did not want to jeopardize this reputation with a marriage. She emphasized to the public that her marriage was a strict partnership and both her and Putnam had equal control in the relationship (“1”). 
As Earhart’s confidence in her career grew stronger so did her fame and success. She overcame most of the internal and external conflicts she faced throughout  her childhood and in her early life and went on to become a strong independent woman who was well known across the globe for her achievements in aviation as well as her determination to show the world that women can do anything they set their minds to.
As a woman of great prominence and fame, Amelia Earhart was well known and admired around the world making her disappearance all the more shocking. Conspiracies immediately began swirling around her death, some outrageous and some reasonably puzzling.

The first conspiracy suggests that Earhart ran out of fuel and crashed in the Pacific Ocean where she perished (Hanes 1). This theory is the most common and has been accepted as the most reasonable explanation for Earhart’s death. Researchers say that Earhart and her navigator Noonan drifted off course and could not find their way to Howland Island where they were to refuel (1). As they circled back and forth in search of the island, most believe that Earhart’s plane eventually ran out of fuel over the pacific and plummeted into the ocean, where both Earhart and Noonan died instantly. This conspiracy would leave no remains of bodies or the plane in that the craft would fill up with water and sink into the icy darkness (1).

Conspiracy number two is a more extreme approach to Amelia Earhart’s disappearance. It argues that Earhart’s flight was an elaborate scheme to spy on the Japanese, who captured her after she crashed (Hanes 1).  A 1943 film called “Flight for Freedom” brought up this conspiracy implying the President Roosevelt planned Earhart’s flight to spy on Japan during the war (1). This conspiracy cannot be supported because Amelia Earhart’s flight passed nowhere near Japan, and her flight was nowhere close to a secret mission (1).

The last conspiracy, and the one proven most logical, concludes Earhart landed safely on Gardner Island but died before she could be rescued (Hanes 1). This conspiracy claims that when Earhart could not locate Howland Island, she spotted and landed on Gardner Island. Earhart landed safely and lived on the island for several days before she eventually died before rescue (1).  Scientist have investigated this island and found an empty jar of the freckle cream used by Earhart, a piece of Plexiglas from the Lockheed Electra airplane Earhart was last seen in, fish turtle and bird bones remained near what once was a fire, and the forest dispersed among the island would provide a water source for Earhart to live (Lorenzi 1). Neither Earhart nor Noonan’s body or the airplane were ever discovered on the island, however it is reasonable to conclude that the plane could have drifted back into the ocean and sank, while animals and nature disintegrated the bodies.

Researchers have conducted seven different excursions to Gardner Island and are still searching for evidence of Amelia Earhart. As scientists and historians everywhere try to decipher what really happened to Amelia Earhart, the world still ponders on her mysterious disappearance and wonders what happened that day that lead to the devastating loss of a world renowned superstar, forever.

Amelia Earhart’s legacies are carried through history by her loyal admirers who still wonder, what truly happened to her. Some believe that Earhart ran out of fuel and crashed in the Pacific Ocean where she perished, others that her flight was an elaborate scheme to spy on the Japanese, who captured her after she crashed. Though these are possibilities, there is a very slight chance these actually occurred. The most logical case scenario is that Amelia Earhart landed safely on Gardner Island but died before she could be rescued. Researchers have found artifacts believed to have been Earhart’s but nothing has been officially proven. Some like to believe this conspiracy is the truth because it would be hard to believe that a strong, fierce, brave woman would not go down without a fight; She would defy the odds of nature for as long as possible with hope that she could someday resume her flight safely. Although these theories are popular, they are in fact just conspiracies. No one rightly knows the truth behind the mystery of Amelia Earhart, the remarkable aviator who broke records as a woman and as a pilot and inspired the lives of so many all over the world.
                                                                  Works Cited
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            earhart.com/about/bio.html>.Gillespie, Richard E. "Amelia Earhart." Tighar. Web. 29 

            Sept. 2015. http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers
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Hanes, Elizabeth. "What Happened to Amelia: 9 Tantalizing Theories About the Earhart

          Disappearance." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2 July 2012. Web. 29 Oct.

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           "Introduction: Amelia Earhart." American Experience. PBS. Web. 6 Oct. 2015. <http://
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            Lorenzi, Rosella. "Amelia Earhart May Have Survived Months as Castaway."      
                        News.discovery.com.  27 Nov. 2012. Web. 5 Nov. 2015. <http://news.discovery.
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           Sherman, Stephen. "Amelia Earhart: Pioneering Woman Aviator, Lost on Flight over the
                       Pacific." Ace Pilots. 17 Jan. 2001. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <http://acepilots.com/
                       earhart2.html>.
          "The Life of Amelia Earhart." History Net. Web. 6 Oct. 2015. <http://www.historynet.com/
                       amelia-earhart>.
        "Timeline: Amelia Earhart, 1897-1937." American Experience. PBS. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
                      <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/earhart/>.