True Story We Were on the Way Home from Antarctica - LT Howell Purvis, USNR

We Were on the Way Home from Antarctica

By LT Howell Purvis, USNR

On 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.

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 survivor. AD1 Davis was standing with the door open on one pontoon. At that moment a panicked survivor, up to his waist in water, suddenly jumped onto the same pontoon. I ran out of cyclic stick trying to avoid hitting the family on the hut floor with the rotor blades. I yelled on the intercom to "Kick him off! Kick him off!” Thankfully he did, and I recovered before injuring his family.

One afternoon searching, I spotted five people in an opening in the trees on a small knoll. They were completely surrounded by the flood waters. The only way to get to them was to make a vertical landing. I had room enough, but just barely. These people were a family: father, mother and three children. They had been there for several days and were hungry and thirsty. Davis loaded them on the seat behind me, but there was no room for him. The only place left was in front of me leaning up against the plexiglas canopy. He had to spread his legs and hold position so as not to interfere with the rudder pedals. I attempted to lift out of there vertically, but did not have sufficient power. Davis suggested that I add about 400 to 500 more RPM; thankfully that was enough to ease us out of that situation. However, the additional RPM exceeded the red line and ‘over boosted’ the engine; more to this story later.

Several times we picked up people who were stranded in the water up to their waist and they had to wade or swim out to the helicopter to be rescued. We searched the area for a couple more days, but thankfully did not find additional folks in need.

After completing our mission in Treinta y Tres, the local folks wanted to show their appreciation and they gave us a few nice gifts before we left. We had been there for seven days. We thanked them and said our goodbyes.

We headed back to join the other two pilots, who were operating in central Uruguay. They had helped evacuate Paso de los Torros, a city that was in peril by the flooding Rio Negro. The country's major dam and source of electricity was on this river and threatened to burst from the tremendous pressure of the rising waters. They needed to make no rescues, but transported food, supplies and other things for that city.

Our next assignment was to haul in dynamite. The plan was to blast a diversion channel in the dam spillway to ease pressure on the dam itself. We continually hauled boxes of the explosive for over two days, then parked the helicopters at what we thought was a ‘good ways’ from that spillway. An hour or so later, there was no warning, but a tremendous explosion sent us diving for cover, as rocks and debris sailed up and out. One big rock fell through the tail of the HRS, but luckily did only ‘skin’ damage.

The next night in Montevideo, the U.S. Ambassador held a reception in our honor. Many VIPs from the Uruguayan government along with Nat King Cole and his wife, who happened to be visiting, arrived and we shook hands. The event was very nice and they all thanked us for our service. “Unforgettable?” Indeed.

Now back to that HUL mentioned before as ‘over-boosted,’ lifting the stranded family of five. The very next morning, Ensign Nelson planned to take several Edisto officers in that HUL on a photo-taking mission. It would not lift off the flight deck. AD1 Davis drained the engine oil sump and got a handful of metal. I had put so much stress on that engine that it had to be replaced.

On April 27th we were finally on our way to the good ole U.S.A. We had never received any kind of thanks from the Uruguayan government. On December 31st, 1959, I was released from the Navy. During the next fourteen years, I married, went back to college and graduated, then re-entered the Navy for another six years. My assignments were NAS Fallon, NV and Commander, Amphibious Squadron Five in San Diego. During my three years with Comphibron 5, we made three trips to Vietnam, where we planned and conducted fourteen amphibious landings.

On June 15th, 1967, I was again released from the Navy and returned to my home in Purvis, MS. I applied to the U.S. Secret Service, and was hired as a Special Agent on January 6th, 1968. I spent the next twenty years in that service. In 1972, I was assigned to the New Orleans, Louisiana Field Office. One Saturday morning there, I received a call from a Colonel of the Uruguayan Air Force. He said a file had been found in their Embassy in Washington, D.C. That file contained a letter recommending medals for the pilots involved in the helicopter missions during the floods of 1959. He asked if it would be proper to mail them to the pilots. Of course, I said, “Yes.”

It has been almost 62 years since our trip to Antarctica, and our involvement assisting the country of Uruguay during those devastating floods of 1959. My wife, Mary Ann, and I have had four children, ten grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. We still live in Purvis, MS, our hometown, and, on December 13, 2020, we celebrated 61 years of marriage. Thank you for allowing me to share my unforgettable memories.

LT Howell Purvis, on Edisto