Chapter Nine
A few days later a contingent of top Canadian and American medical brass arrived for an inspection tour of the Frobisher Bay Air Base medical facilities. Luke took the opportunity of having Colonel Cantrell, who was a trained General Surgeon, as well as Port Surgeon of the 373rd TMP, see John Caribou.
He examined the patient carefully, and studied the medical chart in detail. He agreed completely with the handling of the case, and was most complimentary about Luke’s treatment. He said that the boy was obviously getting well, and recommended that they continue with rapid ambulation, and advised starting physical therapy as soon as possible. He did not feel that John need be evacuated to the hospital for Indians and Eskimos near Ottawa.
The chief medical officer for the RCMP, an English trained surgeon named Mr. Bruce, was present and proceeded to thank Luke for his management of John Caribou’s case, and for the many other Eskimo patients Luke had treated. He said that Constable Bulloch had written him regarding the excellence of Dr. Martin’s care of the native people, and that he had sent a copy of the letter to the Surgeon General of the Army in Washington, DC.
Luke was appreciative of all this praise, but felt a bit embarrassed about it, and was glad when the subject changed to other matters.
The subject came up as to future plans for medical care at Frobisher Bay. Surgeon Bruce said that the Canadian government and the RCMP realized that the medical facility must be upgraded. He said that they had already taken a first step by bringing an RCAF medic named Sergeant Ray White, whom he introduced, on permanent assignment. He was to care for all Canadian military personnel, Eskimos, and Canadian construction workers, and would be willing to help care for Americans on the base. However, he said the feeling in Ottawa was that the dispensary and small hospital should be jointly established, manned by military physicians and surgeons from both nations.
Colonel Cantrell concurred, and asked Luke what he thought. He was in complete agreement, stating that there was going to be a considerable military presence here, with Canada controlling the air base itself, but with a permanent flight of USAF Sabre jets, piloted and maintained by Americans. There would also need to be medical coverage for the American radar operators when the station was completed. And he really stressed the need for more medical care of the Eskimos, saying that it was unfair for Constable Bulloch to be held responsible for this in view of all his other duties.
Colonel Cantrell said, "I have already given some consideration to this matter. The Canadians would like to have Lt. Martin assigned here permanently, so I checked with the Surgeon General’s office in Washington. They tell me that the Lieutenant has already been assigned to the faculty of the Medical Field Service School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas beginning January 1, 1953, so they will work on the assignment of another medical officer."
Luke felt genuinely disappointed that he could not extend his tour of duty at Frobisher. He had fall en in love with this frigid, harsh area of the world, and its Eskimo or Inuit people, as they called themselves, but orders are orders, and he would have to abide by them.
It was nearly November first. Cakes of ice six inches thick, and of variable sizes, were piled up for two hundred yards all around the edge of the bay, especially where fresh water streams made their entry. The temperature dropped to zero every night, and rose to no more than 10 degrees above during the ever shortening days, which now lasted only a bit over six hours. At times strong, bitterly cold winds roared in out of the north at forty to sixty miles per hour, and often bore snow with them. Over half the Eskimos had left the village to hunt.
Early one morning the constable awakened Luke and asked him to come to the village with him. He said that he was sure Sarah’s grandmother was dead, but that the family wanted him to see if anything could be done for her, and if not, to pronounce her dead.
They hurried to an area about a hundred feet behind Caribou’s tent, where the family was gathered, including John, who was well on the way to recovery from his mauling by the polar bear. The women were weeping softly over the old lady’s fallen figure.
Luke found her clad only in a very light dress with bare arms. She was lifeless, and frozen stiff by the zero temperatures. Her lips and face were blue, and there was no evidence of vital signs. Luke pronounced her dead at 7:00 am. He put his arm around Sarah’s shoulder and offered his condolences to the family. He asked Sarah what had happened, and she replied, "Grandmother was sixty-five, old for my people, and rather feeble. She was depressed over the loss of my father, and felt that she was too much of a burden on my widowed mother, so she took this way out."
Sarah continued, "After we went to sleep, she removed all clothing but this light dress, went out and lay down in the snow to freeze to death. We found her this morning when we got up. Our old people often choose this way to die."
Luke replied that he had learned as a physician that death by freezing is not the worst of ways to pass on. The intense cold numbs the senses, almost like an anesthetic, and causes drowsiness, so that the individual often drifts away into a fatal slumber.
Ian Bulloch then took over, comforting the family, as he called for some of the Eskimo men to help him. They tenderly moved her stiff body to an area near the village cemetery, where they built a rocky cairn to cover it, and then packed snow over the cairn. Ian explained that it would be impossible to bury her until late next spring, because a grave could not be dug through the frozen permafrost until then.
It was a depressing way to start the day. As they trudged back to their quarters, Luke silently mused to himself how the frozen north created a problem by preventing immediate burial of the dead, but at the same time preserving the body in an environmental deep freeze, until the late thaw the following spring.
Luke felt very sorry for Sarah and her family. This death would only serve to compound their already deep grief over the loss of Jonah.
On November 1, the repair team which had been working on the wounded MATS C-54, the military version of the DC-4, announced that two months of work had repaired its avulsed nose, and they were prepared to test their handiwork.
They had the aircraft pulled out of the hanger by a truck, and began testing it before a sizable group of onlookers, including Luke. They had replaced the broken front tricycle gear, and it worked perfectly. It had a shiny new aluminum nose.
They started up the four engines, one at a time, and each turned over quickly, to the cheers of the sidewalk superintendents. Then they ran down a lengthy checklist including all the lights and electrical equipment, which were properly functioning. The hydraulic system was checked next, and passed except for a few minor problems, which could be easily fixed. They then checked the controls operating the landing flaps, and ailerons, which worked. Next they tested the tail rudder and elevators, and they responded properly to the controls.
At this point two of the repairmen, who were also pilots, taxied the aircraft up and down the runway, testing the brakes in the process. Everything went well. They returned the plane to the hanger to the plaudits of all the onlooking rubberneckers, and announced that only a few minor adjustments were needed before the flight check, which was planned for the following day.
The next day, after making a few minor adjustments, the pilots warmed up the engines and taxied to the end of the runway in preparation for takeoff. Again they had quite a few spectators, both military and Eskimo. Many were really doubtful that it could fly again after its nose and forward landing gear had been so badly damaged several months earlier.
The pilots ran through their checklist, and finally gave it full throttle as they headed down the runway into the wind. The engines sounded good, and they were able to make a timely lift-off, well before the end of the runway. Everyone on the ground cheered and waved.
They circled low over the field several times, and again checked out the radio, which they had used to communicate with the tower before takeoff. Then they climbed several thousand feet and made several wide circles over the field, checking out all the instruments as they flew.
Then they radioed the tower that all was well, and they received permission to land. They made a perfect landing, and taxied back to the hangar, showing thumbs up all the way. They again got a warm reception from the spectators. Luke was amazed that these technicians had been able to repair the aircraft with so much skill, and so far from a large air base and repair facility.
And the next morning another MATS C-54 Skymaster flew in a crew to return the plane and the technicians to America. It was a job well-done.
But the joy at the airbase that evening was somewhat muted when Moscow Molly broadcast the details of the plane’s repair over the shortwave radio that evening. And she rubbed more salt into the wound by adding Russian aircraft mechanics would have been able to do the repairs much more quickly.
One of the Sabre jet pilots in the lounge muttered, "There must be a fink here at Frobisher who has access to Moscow! But WHO is it?"
Investigation into the security leak had continued to be ongoing by the air police, and by the constable, but to no avail.
A few nights later Luke was awakened at 2:00 am by Constable Ian Bulloch. He said, "I am sorry, doctor, but one of the ‘skimo men in the village is having terrible abdominal pain, and is vomiting his mukluks off! Would you be good enough to come with me to see him?"
Luke quickly assented, pulled on his heavy winter gear, grabbed his first aid kit, and they were off into the bitterly cold night. Their breath created clouds of "steam" around their faces, and it was painful to inhale deeply.
When they arrived at the patient’s tent, he could be heard moaning within. And Sarah was already there, trying to comfort him. She told Luke that he was having severe pain in the left flank, which radiated down into the left groin, and he was vomiting repeatedly. This had been going on for several hours, and he had told her that he had several spells of this in the past.
Luke examined his abdomen, and found that it was soft, and not tender to pressure. He had the man void and the beam of his flashlight showed that the urine was moderately bloody. This prompted Luke to exclaim, "Bingo! He is trying to pass a left kidney stone!"
Luke gave him an injection of morphine and atrophine to relieve his terrible pain, and showed the man how to strain his urine through a cloth to try to catch the stone, should he pass it. He left a few morphine tablets for the patient to take if needed, and told him to come to the aid station the next day. Within half an hour he was feeling better, although not well.
As they walked back through the snow to the base, Bulloch said, "Doctor, these people feel you are a miracle man, and I can see why. I don’t know how we shall get along after you leave!"
Luke protested that he was in no way a worker of miracles, but was just practicing medicine as it was taught in good medical schools throughout the United States and Canada. And he said that his replacement would be just as good.
As they neared the base, Ian noted a light burning in the radio area of the headquarters building, which had not been on when they went to see the patient. He said, "Let’s just take a quick peek in the window to see what’s going on."
Inside they could see someone hunched over the radio, talking into the microphone. He wore an RCAF uniform, but his back was to them, so they could not identify him, nor could they hear his voice through the thick, double-paned window.
Ian motioned for Luke to follow behind him, and they quietly entered the headquarters building. They tiptoed through the dark hall to the door of the radio room. The man at the radio was sitting with his profile to them, and they could identify him as Sergeant Igor Wilcoff, who was the RCAF radioman, and he was speaking in Russian!
They listened in fascination, and soon he switched to English, saying, "Well, Molly, the latest news here is that they finally got the damaged Skymaster fixed, and flew it out of here several days ago. They have about finished the work on the storage tanks, runways, and winterization of vehicles, so the few remaining American engineers, transportation people, and medics will probably leave here in a few days. I’ll be listening to your broadcast tonight, and will radio you again as new information comes in."
That was all Constable Ian Bulloch needed to hear! He strode into the radio room and loudly announced, "Sergeant Wilcoff, you are under arrest for espionage, passing classified information to the enemy, and committing treason against the government of Canada!"
Wilcoff jumped up from the radio with a look that was a mixture of surprise, fear, and consternation. He suddenly grabbed a pistol, which they had not seen beside the radio, and levelled it at Ian. The constable dove for him just as he fired! The bullet struck Ian in the left shoulder, but his momentum carried him hard against the sergeant, knocking him to the floor.
The pistol was knocked from his hand, and slithered across the floor. While the wounded Ian grappled with the traitor, Luke retrieved the pistol and ordered Wilcoff to surrender and submit to arrest, however, he kept struggling.
Finally Luke put the pistol to the traitor’s head, and ordered, "Surrender, or I’ll blow your brains out!"
This brought the radioman’s struggle to an end, and he held up his hands in capitulation.
Ian removed his service revolver from its holster, covered the spy, and had Luke unload Wilcoff’s pistol, which he pocketed. He ordered Luke to phone the air police, and get them to take over the prisoner.
Luke insisted on checking Ian’s left shoulder, despite his protestations that he was all right. Examination revealed a clean, through-and-through wound in the deltoid region, with moderate bleeding. He covered it temporarily with his clean handkerchief.
The Canadian air police arrived quickly, handcuffed Wilcoff, and led him off to a locked room, which would serve as a makeshift temporary prison.
Luke took the injured constable to the aid station, where the wound was treated, and Ian was given a tetanus toxoid booster shot. Despite the wound, the constable was very pleased with himself, exclaiming, "Well, we finally got the rat fink! Ottawa will be more than delighted to hear about this!"
They both turned in for a few hours of well-deserve sleep.
The next day there was much joy around the base over the capture of the spy, Wilcoff, even though the Canadians were a bit embarrassed that he was a sergeant in the RCAF. Ottawa was indeed pleased, and a plane was dispatched to have the prisoner transferred back to the capital under heavy guard that same day.
That evening Moscow Molly reported the sergeant’s information almost verbatim. Subsequently there was a conspicuous silence from her as to the doings at Frobisher Bay. Constable Ian Bulloch had indeed plugged the hole in the dyke, and he and Luke were hailed as heroes!
It was now mid-November. There were only about five hours of sunlight daily, and the sun never rose higher than 20 degrees above the southern horizon. And it was cold! Daytime temperatures hovered around zero, and at night it dropped to twenty below! They were having gorgeous sunsets around 2:30 pm. The sun would set in the southwest with a blazing red-orange color, surrounded by azure blue skies and pink clouds. And to the east, the midnight blue of the arctic night would chase the sunset rapidly across the zenith of the sky.
As Moscow Molly had been told by the spy, the work of the engineers and transportation people were done. Luke received orders from Colonel Cantrell to be prepared to leave for CONUS in about a week with Sgt. Redd and their equipment. Luke felt a bit sad that his exciting adventure at Frobisher Bay was about to come to an end. He had made friends there whom he would miss.
However, departure would solve a problem that had come up since the men had finished their work and had nothing to do but wait. And someone had come up with a large supply of beer which led to drunkenness and fights among the men. And the constable feared that some of the beer would be given to the Eskimos by the Americans, which was illegal, and might put a strain on Canadian-American relations. The Officers strove to put a stop to it, and fortunately nothing bad happened.
The Canadian headquarters announced that they would host a separate farewell party for Officers and enlisted men, which was eagerly anticipated.
That evening Luke put on his best uniform of pinks and greens and went to the Officers’ lounge. All Canadian and American Officers were dressed in their best uniforms, and Constable Ian Bulloch got much attention when he appeared tall, straight, and handsome in his RCMP dress uniform, with flaming scarlet tunic! His injured left shoulder seemed to be doing well.
Luke was pleased to see that there was a delegation of Eskimos present, led by headman George Silver Fox. And he was delighted to see among them Sarah Caribou, her mother, and her brother John, who was well enough to walk, albeit with a limp.
Luke walked over to greet them, and noted they were dressed in their best cloth outfits, with new sealskin boots, and they were wearing jewelry made of walrus ivory.
After a buffet supper, the Canadian commandant, RCAF Major Kane, began the host’s welcome. He thanked the American military personnel for their efforts in helping to develop the air base and radar installation at Frobisher Bay, and he especially thanked the United States Air Force for supplying Sabre jets now stationed there.
He went on to say that it was hoped that the entire Canadian radar network could be joined together within another year, and connected to the North American Air Defense Command headquarters in Colorado Springs. He said that all these cooperative measures by the United States and Canada were furthering the joint defenses of both countries, which were such good neighbors, and so dependent upon each other.
Next the American commander, Captain Nichols spoke briefly, commending the Canadians for their help and planning in the entire operation. Lieutenant Cross, commander of the engineering troops then reviewed what the 373rd TMP troops had accomplished in successfully unloading thousands of tons of equipment and supplies from freighters out in the bay, despite the cold and horrendous tides. He also outlined the work his men had done upgrading the runway, building roads, and constructing large storage tanks.
Next Ian Bulloch rose to speak. Luke noticed for the first that he had Corporal’s stripes on the sleeves of his red tunic. He had been promoted!
He thanked the American Officers for their help in preventing the troops from fraternizing with the Eskimos, and in preventing the ‘skimos from getting beer, which was illegal. He slyly commented that the beer must have been magic, since it seemed to appear out of nowhere.
He was effusive in his praise of Lt. Luke Martin and his battalion aid station. He mentioned Luke’s successful treatment of many Eskimo patients, and especially John Caribou. He thanked the doctor for the care of the bullet wound to his left shoulder, which was healing rapidly.
In conclusion, he presented Luke with a certificate of appreciation for his efforts on the behalf of the Eskimo population in Newfoundland, Labrador, and on Baffin Island. It was signed by the superintendent of the RCMP, and the Canadian director of Indian and Eskimo affairs.
Luke felt overcome at all this praise, but there was more to come. Eskimo headman George Silverfox rose and thanked Luke for the many Inuit people he had cared for at Frobisher. He had a large chest brought in that was lined inside and out with fur. It contained dozens of gifts of carved ivory and soapstone, furs, and clothing made of sealskin. The headman said that each gift came from the family of a patient treated by Luke to show their appreciation. And each gift had the name tag of the patient treated attached to the gift.
Luke felt overwhelmed, and rose to thank them, saying, "I came to the land of the Inuit as a stranger some six months ago. But in that short time we have changed from strangers to friends, friends who trust and respect each other. Thank you for all the gifts, but they were not necessary, as it has been my honor and pleasure to serve and get to know you. I wish I could stay among you longer, but orders compel me to return to the United States. I thank you again for the gifts from the bottom of my heart! It may take some time for me to write thank you notes to all of you, especially if I try to write them in Inuit!"
His last remark produced much laughter. Then the head man called upon John Caribou to speak. He stood and said, "I owe my life to Luta Martin for healing the terrible wounds left on my body by the polar bear, which killed my father as he tried to protect me. My face was scarred for life, but the wounds are healing kindly. My badly mauled, infected left leg is healing, although the doctor tells me I may always have some limp. As you see, I am able to walk."
He continued, "Because of my father’s death I have been forced into the position of the man of the family, although I am only twelve years old. I have much to learn. My mother and sister have requested that I make this presentation to Luta Martin, who not only saved my life, but gave me his own blood, so that he has now joined our family as a true blood brother. This medallion, which shows the head of a large male caribou carved in ivory, has belonged to the man of our family for many generations. I hereby give it to you and make you the honorary man of the Caribou family. If you ever need help, just show it to any member of this family, or to any Inuit from this area, and we shall do all we can to assist you."
Luke was deeply touched, and said so, as he accepted the medallion. He continued by saying, "And now I should like to announce something of importance to the Inuit people of this area. The municipal hospital of St. John’s has announced a full nursing scholarship for Sarah Caribou for three years, provided that she maintains passing grades, which I am sure she will. Another proviso is that she return to Frobisher Bay to serve her people for at least three years after she graduates. Sarah, will you accept this scholarship?"
She replied, "I gratefully accept this great honor and the conditions attached, provided that I can get transportation from here to St. John’s next fall."
Corporal Bulloch chimed in and said, "I’ll see that you get there if I have to paddle you to St. John’s in a kayak myself!"
This was followed by much applause and many congratulations from all sides.
After it was all over, Bulloch told Luke that he would get her the needed transportation to St. John’s on the returning supply boat, or would hitch a ride for her on an RCMP plane. And he added, "And I know where the funds came from for her scholarship – out of your paycheck! The Inuit and the RCMP will always be grateful!"
They chatted for awhile, and Luke congratulated him on the addition of his Corporal’s stripes. Then they parted. It had been quite an evening!
Updated: August 2, 2002