 The Cavalcade of America, sponsored by Dupont, maker of better things for better living through chemistry, presents Dean Jagger in Nine Men Against the Arctic. Before we begin our show, here's news of an invention from a Dupont research laboratory. Dupont paint technicians have developed a new instrument called a Profilograph, so delicate that it will draw the outline of a film of paint only one-fiftieth the thickness of a dime. By pointing out the lows and highs in a film of paint, the Profilograph helps Dupont paint laboratories to supply better finishes to the Army and the Navy. Tonight, the Cavalcade of America presents Dean Jagger in an authentic documentary story as starkly dramatic as the courage of the men who enacted it in real life. You will hear from one of these men, Lieutenant W. F. O'Hara, at the end of our play. Our scene is the great ice cap of Greenland, a wilderness of ice as far as the eye can see. Our radio play was written by Paul Peters and in the role of Captain Armand L. Monteverdi, it stars Dean Jagger. Over the ice cap of Greenland, zoomed an American B-17 flying fortress, searching for an army transport plane long overdue. It circled the ice cap in vain and started down the eastern coast. As the weather closed in, Captain Armand L. Monteverdi anxiously turned to his co-pilot, Lieutenant Harry E. Spencer. You know, Spence, I don't like this place. Sure is a long way from Texas. Can't see anything. All this whiteness everywhere. No horizon. I reckon we're plenty high. Can't be sure. Like flying through milk. Yeah, yeah it is, but I don't like it. What exploded? It's like supercharging me. You know what I think, Spence? I think we're... Spence, huh? Spence, are you hurt? Well, let me feel my legs first. How could we crash? We had altitude, didn't we? I just thought we had. Well, let's see what happened to the crew. Right. I come on back to the bomb bay. Great scarp, look at that fuselage. It's busted, smacked in half. Oh, Hera? Lieutenant Hera, are you all right? Yeah, I think so. But everything back here has been smashed to pieces. I call her old, Spence. Tutuoni. Yeah? Now answer how you're hurt. I'm just kind of bumped up, sir. How is it? Arms lame, sir. Is it broken? No, sir. There's a Charlie hose to guess. Waddell? Feels like I got a shiner on my left eye, sir. Am I right? Yeah, you're right. Best? I think I cut my head a bit, sir. Take a look out of my hair. Where are you? That's a beetle. Spina? Where's Spina? There he is. But he's knocked out. He's alive, though. Looks like his arm's broken. Get a blanket for him. How are you feeling, Spina? Oh! Yeah, let me see that arm. Does this hurt? A little. Don't say a little. If it hurts, holler. It hurts. It's a multiple fracture above the wrist. Let me rig up a splint for him. Yeah, all right. Thanks, Vince. Best? Huh? Hang up a top pole and keep out the wind. Yes, sir. Howarth, collect the rations. Yes, sir. I look fellas. Now, being stranded on an ice cap and a 40-below blizzard is as new to me as it is to you. So we'll just have to work out our problems together. Can't we communicate with our base? Radio's smashed, but... Howarth, now, start tinkering on it in the morning. How long do you think we'll be out here, sir? Well, we can't be more than 25 or 30 miles on a weather station. I'd say two, three days, five at the most. Boy, when I get back to Waco, I'm gonna strip my backyard and just soak up that good Texas sun. New Texans. In California, you don't have to go in the backyard for sun. Yeah. Well, I think we ought to turn in, Captain. We can keep pretty warm if we wrap up in parachutes and huddle together. Hell, that's right, man. It's three o'clock and the sun's going down. All right, find yourself a roost and perch. Shut up, everybody. Our tomorrow will look to join over. Then if you've got to get up at night, don't step on the bodies. For three days, the Willowar wind held them locked like a jailer in that frozen plain. Snow blew into their shelter and sifted into the seams of their clothing. Damp and cold, they waited for the Arctic to relax its grip. But the fourth day dawned bright and clear. Like living in a box of rock candy. At the time I get out of here, I reckon I'll have seen enough snow to last me the rest of my life. Let's take a walk around and see what we can see, huh? Pick up on that. We'll be back soon, buddy. Well, I don't go far now. I'm outside, man. Everybody outside. Turn around on the snow and collect all supplies. Oh, sure, it takes you wind. Yeah, my feet are numb. I like walking on stilts. Where are you from, O'Hara? Pennsylvania. Scranton. Married? No. Just got out of college. You? Yes, sir. Three months. Name's Patsy. Cute as a bug. Little, but oh, my, oh, my. Mrs. Lieutenant Harry E. Spencer. That's what the mailman calls her. Man for Mrs. Lieutenant Harry E. Oh! Hey, Monty. With Spence, he just disappeared. A hole opened and he disappeared. Spence. Hey, Spence, are you down there? I see you. Hey, take it easy. That ledge doesn't look too solid. Far isn't to the bottom. Get me out of here. All right, Spence, just keep quiet. Here comes Monty and the crew with a pile of rope. I got 100 feet of parachute shroud line. How far down is he? Well, that ought to make it. Here, best. You're from Texas. Make a sling harness. Give it here. You don't have to wash these ice crevasses. They're covered with snow. You step on them and bang down. You go like falling down an elevator shaft. All right, sir. I know it's good for steers. All right, Spence. Spence, slip this harness on. Here it comes. You see it? Keep on coming. Will it reach? I swear it will. But you got it? Always the way. And I'll take it easy, man. All right. Pull. Hold it a minute. You all right, Spence? Just keep on pulling. All right, then, once more. Pull. Pull. We won't let you down. Can you reach my hand? Yeah. I got it. All right. Now. Now. How's it feel, Lieutenant? Feel. Feel like falling in a cube compartment with a great big refrigerator. Next time I go underground, I want to be deep in the heart of Texas. Five days. Six days. Eight days. Ten days. With tireless patience, they thought out their radio, patched it up, and sent their anxious voices ringing over the frozen air to the nearest weather station. Back came the reassuring answer. Cheer up, man. We're sending sleds and dogs. Out of a bomb site, they built a stove to thaw their rations. With wires, they secured the tail of their plane to the forward part when they discovered their shelter slipping into a crevasse that yawned at their very door. O'Hara's feet were now frozen and he had to be put to bed beside the injured spina. Filled with hope, but set by problems, they fought the elements. And then came Thanksgiving. Another helping of that turkey, please. You'll have half a ration K and lichen. Would you consider me a hog if I asked for just a little more of that chestnut dressing? Oh, Lieutenant, cut it out. What's the matter, Waco? Stomach weak? When I think of the way Patsy used to call... Keep quiet, I mean... Excuse me, Lieutenant, but I... I keep hearing a motor. Ah, go on, Howard. That's just the electric fan and the parlor. You mean the oil furnace in the basement, don't you? Don and I do hear a motor. It's an airplane. Listen, I tell you! Hey, he's right here. Hey, look out. Hey, look out. You're stepping on a harrow. Hey, Chugaroni, take your mittens. Wanna freeze your hands? It's a C-54. Boy, oh boy, ain't that pretty. Look, look. He's wagging his wings at us. I think he's dropping some. Yeah, it's falling on the other side of the crevasse. Inside, Howard, get that radio coin. Wait, I'll go with you. C-54. C-54, come in. Come in, C-54. C-54. This is C-54. We hear you, C-54. Go ahead. It's Brent Fortune, the Arctic Explorer. Here's the mic. Thanks. This is Captain Madaverdi. Be careful, Colonel. We're surrounded on all sides by deep crevasse. Can't land it. No, they fell on the other side of the crevasse. All right. I'll circle back and drop some more. Or fly low, you'll have to do precision bombing. Right. Well, Spina's wrist is healing, Colonel, but O'Hara, I'm afraid. Tell him I'm all right. Well, I'm afraid O'Hara's feet are frozen. We've got to get him out of here. We have your precise location now before the nearest shore with it. That's all, that's all we've got, Colonel. Patience. But don't make it too long, please. Right. They fished round in the snow for those precious rations. Can chicken, sausage, soup, and a carton of candy bars. The tea and sugar were scrambled, but they strained them apart with mosquito netting from a jungle kit. American ingenuity found use for even a jungle kit in the Arctic. November 29th, a hopeful day by sled, by boat, by plane. Rescuers approaching. I'll try again. We've got to reach them, Howard. We've got to. B-17 calling Grumman amphibian. Come in, please. Grumman, come in. He wants to know if he can come down. Tell him no. Don't land, Lieutenant. Ice crevasse is all around. No. You can't come down, Lieutenant. No. Captain Monteverdi says no, Lieutenant. He's going away, sir. Yes. He's going away. You are listening to the Cavalcade of America. Sponsored by Dupont, presenting Dean Jagger as Captain Monteverdi of the United States Army Air Corps in Nine Men Against the Arctic. As our play continues, nine Army flyers marooned on the Greenland ice cap with their plane crashed have just watched a rescue plane turn back after Captain Monteverdi advised them that a landing would be sheer suicide. But one hour later... Hey, somebody's calling. They're here. They're here. Boy, is this going to be your welcome? Yes, I'm Monteverdi. I'm Lieutenant Pritchard from the Grumman Amphibian. It came down a mile away. It took an hour to walk it. You shouldn't have landed, Lieutenant. You may not be able to take off again. I'll have to move fast before the floats freeze in. Two are all I can carry, Captain. You? Only two. I'll be back again. Besides, a couple of motor sleds are coming over the ice cap for you. They ought to be here by midnight. Well, are you ready, Captain? No, not me. I want to get my sick man out. Can they walk it in this wind? We'll have to test for crevasses every inch of the way. Yes, yeah, I guess you're right at that. To Charani. Yes, sir. Do you feel strong enough to walk that mile? Captain, I never felt strong in my life. All right. And for a year, how about you? Captain, I'm a born walker. All right, Lieutenant. There you're in. You better get going. Goodbye, Captain. I'll be back soon. Bye. Hey, Charani. Send a wire to my folks on the cross. Don't forget for a year, Mrs. Lieutenant Harry E. Spencer in Dallas. November 30th. Richard came back in the Grumman when Monteverdi saw a fog rolling in and sent Howarth, the farm boy, to warn him to take off at once. Howarth was to fly back with Richard. They wagged their wings merrily as they soared over the camp and crashed to instant death five minutes later. Now only the sleds remain, but they did arrive. At 1 a.m., manned by Lieutenant Demarest of the weather station and Staff Sergeant Don Tetley. Next morning, O'Hara and Spina ready to go? Yeah, I got them bundled up like papooses. Spence? Spence, do you see something? No, what? See, there's only one sled now. Everybody, step on it. Best. We're down. Bring some rope. What happened? Where's Demarest? Gone, huh? Just like that. He's disappeared. Sled, no. Hang on to me. I'll look over there. No, look out, Monty. You'll go in. Hang on to my legs. You see anything, Captain? The tail end of the tow sled. How far down? About 200 feet. She will never get him out. Demarest. Demarest. Can you answer Demarest? He's gone. Just a minute ago. Keep quiet. Demarest! It's no use. No. Let me down on a rope, sir. We've been out here three weeks, man. We haven't the strength. Can't we do something, sir? A rope ladder, maybe. Well, we get enough rope. We can't just leave him here. He gave up a good job to come out of here. He knew Greenland. He loved it. Now Greenland's taken his life. Come on, boy. Storms and blizzards. Not even Pappy Turner, the veteran Greenland pilot who dropped them rations, could fly. Food ran low. O'Hara, sickened with gangrene feet, began to waste away. Still, the blizzard hemmed them in. Silently, each by himself. They fought to spare. December. January. January 7th. At last, a still, clear day. With O'Hara snogging a sleeping bag on the motor sled, Spencer, Titley, and Waddell were trudging behind, taking him out to safety. You know, I've been thinking, and this war's over. I'm gonna buy me a farm. Storm's nice if you like it, Waddell. I like it. My wife's gonna have a baby sometime this month. He'll like it, too. Warming up, O'Hara. How far do you say we've gone? Oh, a mile, maybe. Grab a sled. I'll take the sled safe here. Let's go back and look for him. See anything? Not a chance. Fritchett and Howarth and Demeris. No, Waddell. Greenland. Seating us up, one by one. Wife's gonna have a baby sometime this month. Gonna buy a farm when he got back. Hara's fast asleep. Hey, what's this brown stuff on the snow? Looks like oil to me. What do you know about that? Feed lines, buses. Oh, can't we fix it? I doubt it. You ask me, this sled's finished. What do we do now? Dig in. Make a snow house. Wait, wait, wait, wait. That's all we do, wait. How much can a human being endure? January passed in an agony of blizzards. February and wind drifts and nights of ruthless cold. March. Spring equinox. And the days going out. O'Hara delirious. Monteverdi's suffering from frostbite. Spina's arm healed, but he was weak and helpless. How much suffering can that bundle of muscle, nerve and brain we call a man endure? April 5th. A Catalina flying boat dropped out of the sky. Her wheels retracted. Her wing floats lowered. Monteverdi? Colonel Balchen. It took us a long time, Captain. But we got here. Well, that's the main thing, Colonel. You got here. We want you and your men to drop everything now, Captain. We'll tuck you in and take care of you. I guess we won't object to that, Colonel. We're just so darn tired of fighting. Dean Jagger. A little later, our star will come to light. A little later, our star will return to introduce Lieutenant O'Hara, one of the real life heroes of tonight's dramatization. Meanwhile, we want to tell you how chemical rubber is helping to defend American cities and war industry centers from hostile aircraft attack. For the first time, barrage balloons now float in the sky over vital points in American cities. They call them rubber cows. And they do look a bit like cows, but they aren't made of natural rubber. And in that fact, there's a story we think will interest you. Two years ago, the task of training men to handle barrage balloons was handed to the Coast Artillery. A training center was established. Balloons were tested and specifications given to manufacturers. When the Army was reorganized in March a year ago, the anti-aircraft troops were given the barrage balloons as one of their anti-aircraft weapons. That's what they are, a defensive weapon. Their cables form a sky-riding net through which an enemy bombing plane flies at the risk of having its wings torn away and its propeller entangled. They force the enemy bombers to fly high where the bomber's aim is poor. That's why, although it comes as news to many people, American anti-aircraft units have flown barrage balloons for more than two years, and they're flying over more than one American city tonight. Barrage balloons are sausage-shaped with fins that keep them pointing into the wind like weather veins. They're made of fabric treated with neoprene, and they're made of cotton pots, chemical rubber. Neoprene is used not merely to save rubber, but because neoprene, a man-made rubber, is much more resistant to sunlight, weather, grease, and oil than the rubber made from the sap of trees. In this particular case, man's chemistry is better than nature's. Or, as the War Department says, quote, in many respects the neoprene balloon appears to have definite advantages over the rubberized balloon. It is believed that neoprene fabric is better. The diffusion rate of neoprene fabric is generally more favorable than that of rubberized fabric, unquote. We of DuPont are glad the Army has found still another wartime job for one of our peacetime better things for better living through chemistry. And here is Dean Jagger, star on tonight's Cavalcade. The real stars of tonight's Cavalcade are those brave men whose story we have reenacted for you tonight. And not all of those nine men came back from the Arctic. Those who did will carry the marks and scars of those harrowing months, all their lives. Such a man is Lieutenant W. F. O'Hara of Scranton, Pennsylvania. In order to save his life, it was necessary to amputate both legs. Lieutenant O'Hara has left Walter Reed Hospital in Washington tonight to speak to the Cavalcade audience. It's my honor now to present Lieutenant W. F. O'Hara of the United States Army Air Force. During Cavalcade's reenactment of those days on the ice cap, it has been pressed in eternity of waiting into less than half an hour. Of the seven men who came back, three, Lieutenant Spencer, Sergeant Spina and Tutcheroni, are still serving on the fairly command from our old base near Wilmington, Delaware. Captain Monteverdy is on duty on the West Coast. Staff Sergeant Tately is an officer's candidate school while best and prettier are on active duty, if I don't know just where. He brought us out, is still in the Arctic. With the passage of time, I have regained some of the hundred pounds I lost in weight, and the experience grows more and more unreal. A bad dream that one wants to forget. The only reality now is a reality of the day-by-day winning of the war. Each of us has to help in his own way, in our money ways, being blood donors, buying bonds, doing a good day's work on the production line. There isn't much one can do in a wheelchair in a hospital. And yet, if I can make this one point, the need for everyone to do his utmost, that is something. Thank you, Lieutenant O'Hara. There are many roads which lead right to Tokyo. We shall neglect none of them. This is the promise of our Commander-in-Chief, a promise which recent victories in the Aleutians are bearing out. Next week, Cavalcade takes you on a shortcut to Tokyo, a vivid eyewitness account of the battle of the Aleutians, based on Corey Ford's bestseller of the same title, starring Ralph Bellamy. Don't forget be with us next week when Cavalcade brings you Ralph Bellamy in shortcut to Tokyo. Cavalcade is pleased to announce that Dean Jagger, star of this evening's performance, is shortly to be seen in the new Samuel Goldman production, North Star. The orchestra and musical score tonight were under the direction of Donald Bowries. This is Clayton Collier sending best wishes from Cavalcade sponsor, the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. Thank you from New York. This is the National Broadcasting Company.