The world is entrance with a newly discovered photo that claims to show Amelia Earhart being hold by the Japanese in 1937 . That ’s hypothecate to be her in the photo above with her back to the tv camera . The only job is that experts at the US National Archives are n’t so certain about key assertion made in some of this week ’s yellow headlines .
The History Channel plans to vent its infotainment , Amelia Earhart : The mixed-up Evidence , about the pic this Sunday , and you ’ve no doubt seen the breathless reportage already . The central claim is that when Earhart go away in 1937 she actually come through a crash and was captured by the Japanese in the Marshall Islands . The claim hinges on the fact that this photo from the National Archives was taken in 1937 . But Gizmodo get hold of the US National Archives , and they do n’t have any date for the photo .
“ Despite the newspaper headline , there is no confirmation on either a engagement or content in the photo from the National Archives , ” James P. Pritchett , the theater director of public and media communication at the National Archives , tell Gizmodo .
“ Our archivist have take care at all the materials file away with the exposure in interrogative and found no extra data about the photograph other than the caption that was marked on the image , ” Pritchett continued .
That caption interpret :
PL – MARSHALL ISLANDS , JALUIT ATOLL , JALUIT ISLAND . ONI # 14381 JALUIT HARBOR .
It ’s not clear what “ PL ” means , but there ’s no other grounds at the National Archives that this photo is from 1937 . The Daily Mail exact that their own investigator ( an unnamed seed ) went to the National Archives a year ago and discovered that the photograph wasactually from 1940 , but the US National Archives order Gizmodo that there ’s no indication that this year is precise either .
“ Other items in the box of records from the Office of Naval Intelligence included other images relate to a geographic study of the Marshall Islands area and textual records related to the survey , ” said Pritchett . But there ’s still no clearness about the year .
The National Archives uploaded both the back and front of the photo to its site late yesterday so that people can do theirown detective work . The back of the photo appear below . It ’s not clear why the photo is marked “ confidential ” but it probably has something to do with its descent being the US military .
The History Channel special airs on Sunday at 9 post-mortem examination ET / PT and it will no doubt get great ratings . But it ’s secure to say that you should take any claims made with a grain of saltiness . Even if you recall that it looks like Earhart in the photo ( which is a bit of a stretching if you take me ) the most important piece of information would be the year that the pic was drive . And according to the US National Archives , we just do n’t know .
And my biggest question about all this would have to do with the fact that the photo was take by citizenry working for the US Navy . If the person who accept this photograph saw Amelia Earhart , an internationally recognized figure , alert and well in the Marshall Islands , it seems like they may have told someone about it .
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