Woods at Cedar Run senior recalls South Pole trip; Christmas homecoming

CAMP HILL, Pa. - Dec. 15, 2014 - PRLog -- Joe Weiss was determined to be home for Christmas during the winter of 1972.

    But the Camp Hill husband and father of five faced obstacles typically not encountered by holiday travelers. In fact, Weiss wasn’t in the same state, country or continent as his wife Janet or their son and four daughters.

    A civilian assisting the U.S. Navy Seabees Construction Battalion with equipment logistics and inventory projects, Weiss was in Antarctica in 1972. Specifically, he was among the select group of people who ventured to the South Pole.

    Now 94 and a resident of The Woods at Cedar Run senior living community in Camp Hill, Weiss had been working on the Navy’s equipment at the United States Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which was established in 1956. As Christmas approached, Weiss had one last opportunity to catch a flight back to civilization. If poor weather or mechanical issues affected the plane -- or if somehow Weiss missed that flight -- he would have been stranded at the South Pole for half a year.

    “The Wintering at the Pole is six months of darkness. The summer is six months of light,” Weiss said. “Maintaining and landing at the Pole without any lights on the landing strip would be very dangerous. Wintering was a six-month duty. You had no chance to leave. It is a long grind.”

    Weiss made the flight, which jumped from continent to continent, and state to state before finally bringing him home to his family in Pennsylvania. He says it was the best Christmas ever because of the reunion.

    More than four decades later, Weiss’ eyes gleam and his voice picks up when detailing the trip. At one sitting at The Woods at Cedar Run, he spoke nearly an hour while recalling each stop on the flight to Antarctica and his memories of the U.S. bases surrounded by tall banks of snow and ice.

    “The General Electric plane, ‘The Starlifter,’ was beautiful with special wings that drooped downward,” Weiss said. “We went from Rhode Island to California. From California, we went to Hawaii. From Hawaii we went to Pago Pago Island in the South Pacific. Then we went to Christ Church, New Zealand. That was a stepping off point to go to Antarctica.”

    Even as the flight neared its destination, nothing was routine.

    “You were always on hold. When you made that trip you were told to stay close with your baggage,” Weiss said. “When weather permitted, then you’d make that final leg. We went on this

big plane and on the way down we lost cabin pressure, and we had to get to a lower altitude really quick. We survived that and when we landed at the air strip when a white out occurred.

    “The continent is usually 9,000 feet high of ice and the mountains go higher than that,” he continued. “The cold air goes from the high plateau to the ocean. When we landed we landed on the lowest permanent ice shelf, which is massive. They use road scrapers to make a runway. The plane landed in a white out. He made a perfect landing. When the plane stopped the winds were blowing. You couldn’t see.”

    Once the blowing snow cleared, Weiss viewed some amazing sights. His team helped maintain the Navy’s mechanical and electrical equipment and did an extensive inventory, which was vital to the operation’s long-term viability.

    “We had a team of five men,” Weiss said. “Two of us went to the pole. We were down there for one week.”

    Weiss said he enjoyed working with 300 Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Seabees and the scientists stationed in Antarctica.

    When he arrived at the South Pole, Weiss was astonished to see only a small structure situated above the base. He explained that over decades, snow and ice built up around and over the original buildings.

    “There was one little hut. This building looked like a big telephone booth,” Weiss said. “We opened the door. It was all iced up. They have a stairway going down. The whole thing was covered with 20 or 30 feet of snow. It was built after World War II by Admiral Byrd. Every year they’d raise the building up and add more steps.”

    The journey was even more significant to Weiss because he followed the example of one of his heroes, Antarctic explorer Ernest Henry Schakleton, who led the famous Endurance expedition of 1914-16. At age 52, Weiss was at least a decade older than most of the people on his team.

  “I needed special dispensation because of my age,” Weiss said. “We were awarded some medals. The main thing is we did a good job for the Seabees. I tear up just thinking about those guys.”

    Joe and Janet Weiss have been married 62 years. He still appreciates the support Janet provided when he made the trip to Antarctica. Joe becomes emotional when talking about the large insurance policy he took out so that Janet and the kids would have security should something go wrong at the South Pole.

    “I told the wife, ‘You’re a strong woman. If something happens, you’ll be taken care of.’ She finally conceded and said, ‘OK, Joe,’” said Weiss, who made it home safely two months later.

    “I wrote my wife quite a bit while I was there but she didn’t receive any of those letters until after I returned home,” Joe said. “We communicated through a shortwave radio in the middle of the night.  I would speak and then say ‘over,’ and then she would speak and say, ‘over.’  What a way to talk to one another.

    “I was worried about getting the last plane out of the Antarctic before Christmas,” he said. “I wanted to be home for Christmas Eve, though I loved the adventure I was on. My Christmas wish came true and I was on the last plane out before winter began.”

    Joe and Janet now celebrate Christmas at The Woods at Cedar Run, where they are a popular and active part of the senior living community.

    “Joe and Janet are one of the most connected couples we have,” said Julie Seifried, Activities Director at The Woods at Cedar Run. “Even after 62 years you can see the sparkle in their eyes every time they look at each other. At our recent couples event, they stated that they were meant to be together from the first time they met. Their connectivity makes you know you realize that romance is still in the air even as one ages.

    “What is the most amazing part of this story,” Seifried continued, “is the fact that we never would have known about this fascinating story if Joe and Janet hadn’t recently attended our Christmas gathering and answered the question, ‘What was your best Christmas gift ever.’ What a difference one statement makes.”