True Story
We Were on the Way Home from Antarctica By LT Howell Purvis, USNR
O
n December 15th, 1959 we set sail aboard the USS Edisto (AGB 2). She was a proven tough Icebreaker of the U.S. Navy “Operation Deep Freeze IV” in Antarctica. On board were two helicopters, an HRS Sikorsky and an HUL Bell. There were three pilots--LTJG Allen M. Erickson, LTJG Howell H. Purvis and ENS Richard M. Nelson--along with seven crewmen. We were a detachment from HU-2, NAS Lakehurst, N.J. and under the operational control of Commander Task Force 43. I am Howell Purvis, and this is a brief history of that deployment. Our task was to cruise to Ellsworth Station in the Weddell Sea of Antarctica. On arrival at Ellsworth, we’d support the final International Geophysical Year summer activities, evacuate the ‘winter-over’ party, and turn custody of the base over to the government of Argentina. After the Change of Command Ceremony at the Station, we were to set sail back to the U.S. Upon getting underway, we were redirected to rescue both a German and a British ship. These ships had been beset in the ice for some time and were helpless. This new assignment took over a month to complete but was successful. Altogether, we spent about four months in Antarctica and our helicopters were used for a variety of missions. We’d fly out ahead of the Edisto to search for open water and cracks in the ice. This made it much easier for the ship to navigate the sometimes 28-foot-thick ice pack. We’d also transfer personnel and supplies from other ships in the area.
Rotor Review #152 Spring '21
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On April 10th, 1959 came the end of our participation in Operation Deep Freeze IV. The Edisto again left the ice, this time headed for Buenos Aires, Argentina to offload one H-34 helicopter and two Otters which had been assigned to Ellsworth Station. On April 17th, finally enroute to the U.S., we received a message from the Chief of Naval Operations that changed our plans again. The tiny country of Uruguay was experiencing the worst flood in its history and was in a state of extreme emergency. The Edisto was ordered to proceed immediately to Uruguay to provide all assistance necessary. That same evening we arrived and docked in Montevideo, the capital. The next morning, our two helicopters flew to two separate disaster areas. The HUL was equipped with pontoons and I flew it to the northeastern part of the country to set up a base of operations in a town of about 8,000, named Treinta y Tres, (Spanish for “33”). This town was about 190 miles from Montevideo. My crewman was AD1 Eugene Davis. From there, I flew a radius of about twenty miles out to search for those stranded by the flood waters, rescue, and fly them back to Treinta y Tres. In a span of 48 hours, I had transported 31 people. The folks in this area lived in native adobe huts and made their living from small farms and trap lines along the Olimar and Cebollati Rivers. Waters had already risen to a height of 8 feet in many homes (huts) and it was very windy and the currents were strong. Picking up people in these waters was tricky. One time I almost slid into an occupied hut with my rotor blades because of a panicked
