Amelia Earhart
July 2nd, 2018 marked the 81st anniversary of the tragic disappearance of Amelia Earhart as she was on her journey to be the first woman to fly around the world. Earhart is remembered as a courageous and driven young woman, who was determined to prove that women could do everything that men could do—and that same willpower is seen throughout women today. Kansans have a special tie to Earhart as her birthplace is Atchison, Kansas, and Atchison holds great pride of that fact. Her birth city, along with numerous other memorials and monuments in her honor, let Earhart’s spirit live on throughout the generations.
Almost immediately, Earhart began setting records up in the air. She became the first woman to fly at an altitude of 1,400 feet, the first woman to cross the Atlantic (after three other women had died trying to accomplish this), and placed third at the Cleveland Women’s Air Derby. After marrying George Putnam in 1931, the two of them set off planning how Earhart could become the first woman to fly around the world and across the Atlantic solo. In the process of testing flights and making this dream a possibility, Earhart set even more records—becoming the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, setting an altitude record for auto gyros of 18,415 feet that stood for years, and in 1935 she became the first person to ever fly solo across the Atlantic.
Finally, in early 1937, Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, set off to accomplish her biggest goal of them all—to fly around the world. The world watched and kept close track of her as she progressed on her incredible journey. By June 29th, all but 7,000 miles of their trip had been accomplished. As they set off in the early morning hours of July 2nd, 1937, she was headed from New Guinea to the Howland Islands—which they knew would be their most difficult leg of the trip yet.
They prepared by stocking up on as much fuel as possible and unloading everything from the plane that did not need to be on board. Earhart was in contact with ITASCA and the US Coast Guard the entire morning as the weather conditions were not favorable, and they were trying to provide her with guidance. The last message they received from Earhart was at 8:45 am when she said, “We are running north and south.”
Since that fateful day, the world has been searching
for answers as to exactly what happened to Earhart, her navigator, and
her plane. There are many theories out there and, even recently, her
name has again popped up in the news as scientists believe that remains
of a body found on an island has the potential to be Earhart’s. They are
a long way from proving this, but Earhart is still in our hearts and on
our minds as we try and seek answers 81 years later. One thing is for
sure, although her last days are uncertain—her life leading up to her
death was one of heroic ambition and determination.
Young girls and women looked up to her then as they still do today. In a letter she left for her husband in case her final journey did not succeed, Earhart left the world with these words: “I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”
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