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1972 Crash Survivor's Wallet Recovered
AP ^ | February 24, 2005

Posted on 02/26/2005 6:00:16 AM PST by billorites

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) -- One of 16 survivors of a 1972 Andes plane crash made famous by a book and movie has gotten his wallet and jacket back 32 years after leaving them in the mountain snows.

Eduardo Strauch, who survived 72 days in high mountain snows, received the aged wallet, drivers license and other personal items Wednesday, a week after they were found in the Andes by a mountain climber.

Strauch, now a 57-year-old architect and father of five, was aboard a flight with fellow rugby players, relatives and friends when their plane crashed high in the Andes on Oct. 12, 1972.

"Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors" by Piers Paul Read publicized the story with accounts of how survivors ate flesh from some of the victims to survive. The story was later dramatized in a Hollywood movie.

A Mexican hiker chanced upon the items just yards from the site where the plane went down.

The hiker passed the items on to a local hotelier took who gave them to Alvaro Mangino, another Uruguayan who survived the flight and happened to be in western Argentina at that time. Mangino delivered to Strauch.

"This is just a feeling that's impossible to describe," Strauch told The Associated Press on Thursday. "It's incredible, amazing that this episode continues to speak for itself."


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 1972; alive; andes; eduardostrauch; found; planecrash; rugby; survivor; uruguay
For some reason I'm reminded of an old Henny Youngman joke:

A little Jewish Grandma is at the Florida coast with her little Jewish Grandson. The grandson is playing on the beach when a big wave comes and washes the kid out to sea. The lifeguards swim out, bring him back to shore, the paramedics work on him for a long time, pumping the water out, reviving him. They turn to the Jewish Grandma, and say "we saved your grandson." The little Jewish Grandma says "He had a hat!"

1 posted on 02/26/2005 6:00:16 AM PST by billorites
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To: billorites

SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!


2 posted on 02/26/2005 6:03:28 AM PST by 1stFreedom (1)
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To: billorites

Henny was great!!


3 posted on 02/26/2005 6:06:12 AM PST by Puppage (You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death my right to say it.)
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To: billorites

Just finished reading "Alive" last week. They ate the flesh raw. Some of them wanted to cook it but they were overruled because raw human flesh has more protein.


4 posted on 02/26/2005 6:10:46 AM PST by somerville
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To: billorites
... has gotten his wallet and jacket back ...

Has gotten????

Is that proper English?

5 posted on 02/26/2005 6:12:20 AM PST by FReepaholic (Proud FReeper since 1998. Proud monthly donor.)
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The book Alive by Piers Paul Read is much better than the movie, as it deals with the rescue and aftermath in far more detail.

The one memorable part of the movie Alive is the crash scene, which, IMHO, is the greatest depiction of an aeroplane crash to date.

"Should we be flying that close to the mountains"?

6 posted on 02/26/2005 6:17:31 AM PST by Jakarta ex-pat
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To: tscislaw
Has gotten????

Is that proper English?

Yes, it is!!!! Is your punctuation proper English???? No, it is not!!!!

7 posted on 02/26/2005 6:22:15 AM PST by southernnorthcarolina (<b><font color=e58d0e>Did you know that HTML codes don't work on tag lines?</font></b>)
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To: tscislaw
Is that proper English?
Yes.
8 posted on 02/26/2005 6:24:07 AM PST by Clara Lou (Hillary Clinton: "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.")
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To: somerville

"raw human flesh has more protein."

They were mistaken, the amount of protein would remain the same unless they burned it. The protein changes slightly to the point were it could not function any longer in a living organism, hence the change in texture, but the amount remains the same. This applies to all kinds of meat. They also may have reduced the chance of contracting a bacterial or viral disease by cooking it. But when your in a situation such as they were, survival is the first consideration.


9 posted on 02/26/2005 6:29:28 AM PST by ArmedNReady (Islam, the Cancer on Humanity!)
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To: billorites
A social-Darwinist libertarian hiker would have demanded a ransom for his personal troubles.
10 posted on 02/26/2005 6:34:06 AM PST by Cultural Jihad
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To: somerville

For some reason I was fascinated by that story. I must have read "Alive" 6 or 7 times. Piers Paul Reid also wrote a great book about the Great Train Robbery.

Kind of cool to still be finding stuff. Kudos tot eh hiker for not keeping a souvenier.


11 posted on 02/26/2005 7:31:34 AM PST by cyclotic (Cub Scouts-Teach 'em young to be men, and politically incorrect in the process)
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To: ArmedNReady

Actually, IIRC, they made jerky of some if the flesh by laying it out on the fueslage.


12 posted on 02/26/2005 7:32:35 AM PST by cyclotic (Cub Scouts-Teach 'em young to be men, and politically incorrect in the process)
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To: cyclotic

I think "Alive" is one of the best books I've ever read. I remember starting it, and not being able to put it down until the sun rose the next morning. It is very well written.


13 posted on 02/26/2005 7:39:40 AM PST by boop (Testing the tagline feature!)
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To: ArmedNReady

Well if they kept it raw they could use nori seaweed and rice to make sushi.


14 posted on 02/26/2005 8:36:47 AM PST by ThreeYearLurker
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To: ArmedNReady

Thanks for the info. I am sure I would have preferred it cooked.


15 posted on 02/26/2005 11:55:32 AM PST by somerville
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To: cyclotic

Thanks for the tip - the Great Train Robbery will be next on my list.


16 posted on 02/26/2005 11:56:50 AM PST by somerville
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To: cyclotic

Members of the Donner party also made jerky of human flesh. A story full of despair.


17 posted on 02/26/2005 7:35:12 PM PST by virgil
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To: tscislaw

It's a colloquial expression.

Consider these expressions: "I get it" (understand); "I get it" (receive); "I've got to do it" (must, need to). These informal uses are not appropriate for technical writing. For formal writing, avoid using "get, got, gotten, have gotten" and use "understand," "receive," or "must."



18 posted on 02/26/2005 8:02:50 PM PST by Samwise (On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog.)
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