Touching the Ancient One: A True Story of Tragedy and Reunion

...five stars is not enough for this book. I give it at least an eight. John Graham Adams Mills, Ohio

This book "Touching the Ancient One - a True Story of Tragedy and Reunion" could have been a very good book had the author Rupert Pratt just written about the crash, the survival and the rescue. However, he exceeds the ordinary telling of a tragic story and takes us into the present time for a reunion and follow-up on those who were touched by the events of February 5, 1954; and that makes for an outstanding book! The event that brings all these lives together was a crash of an Air Force C-47 into a desolate mountain region of Alaska where six people miraculously escaped death and survived in freezing weather. The story is not just about the survivors but also those who come to rescue them. The glue that makes this story so interesting is the power of Pratt's writing. He takes the reader with him through his words and memories and creates an exciting true tale; it is brilliantly done and conceived. This is truly one great book. This story is not just about a crash, it is about people. It is about how their reunion 42 years after the crash and the rescue, changes all of their lives once again. It is a most unusual life experience and one that the reader gets to share in an emotional sense. This is an epic story which has all the elements of what would make a great movie plot. It is entertaining, thoughtful, and almost spiritual in some ways. A must read book! The MWSA gives this book FIVE STARS. It also receives this reviewer's personal endorsement!

In myth, mountains represent "exposition, revelation and new learning." For Airman Rupert Pratt, that is what the plane crash on Mt. Kesugi, Alaska represented. First, the struggle to survive, then the ongoing search for how and why it all happened. Pratt keeps the reader riveted first, with the immediate survival issues. Then comes the search for comrades who survived. Much later, arises the soul's need to make sense of it all, and his search leads to many reunions and a vision of a greater role after retiring from teaching. Warning to readers: Be prepared to devote time to sharing Pratt's quest. In the midst of a project, I had to alot a full day to the book that is both suspenseful and inspiring. The author's adventure is heightened by his truthfulness and clarity of writing. Well done!

At the genesis of Touching the Ancient One, I was only ten, but the author's description of six men surviving a plane crash that happened more than half a century ago, conjures memories of my own parents relating the incident at our kitchen table, just days after that tragic moment in February 1954. I was saddened when he told about leaving his home in Salt Rock, West Virginia, to join the Air Force, since I, too, left the security of my own rural upbringing early one morning for similar reasons. A few chapters later, I grew tense when the plane he boarded in Alaska first began to shake. And then, when it broke apart over Kesugi Ridge and Rupert began freefalling, my muscles further tightened when he lost consciousness. In fact, his ability to create such anxiety drew me far enough into the scene that I lost track of who had actually authored the book. From that point on, I was hooked on Rupert's descriptive passages about the coldness and beauty of Alaska`s wilderness. In fact, his graphics often became quite similar to a story I used to read to my junior high students entitled, "To Build a Fire," by Jack London. And, too, his knowledge of the flora of the region and facts about the landscape reminded me of Jean M. Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear. In a recent Sunday church service, my pastor spoke, in essence, about, "What do we say to people who meet with adversity in their lives?" The subtopic of his message, "Does their incident of misfortune cause them to become bitter or better?" relates to Touching the Ancient One, for Rupert Pratt has become a stronger individual since that occurrence in Alaska so long ago. And, I think God specifically chose him as a catalyst to reunite the six survivors and their families with the loved ones of those who were killed. I further feel that God has used him to help all who were involved to find closure, thereby, becoming improved, more productive citizens in this seemingly uncaring world we live in today. Rupert had a profound affect indeed on all whose lives he touched during the course of reunification, and he will continue to influence others who read this story of tragedy and reunion in the years ahead. Touching the Ancient One flows with the skill that comes only from a seasoned writer, and I shall not hesitate to read any book a second time that tugs at the tender spots of my heart as this one has managed to do. I am truly amazed at what Rupert has done with only twenty-six letters of the alphabet. David Lee Thompson, Author River of Memories: An Appalachian Boyhood

I received a phone call in April of 1996 from Rupert Pratt. He was looking for information on Capt. Earl (Bob) Betscher, pilot of a C-47 that crashed in Alaska on February 5, 1954. I remember answering " That was my Dad's airplane!" So began a journey that continues to this day. I grew up knowing my father was killed in a military airplane crash. My mother remarried back into the Air Force and my stepfather adopted my sister and me. I'm very close to my adoptive father; he raised me as his son. I often wondered about Bob, what he was like, how am I like him, and how would my life be different if he had lived. When I went off to college near my Mother's hometown, Mom told me there was a special box waiting for me in the attic of my Grandmother's house. I open that box one summer day in 1970. I found personal effects of Bob, letters, C-47 training manuals, newspaper clippings, and copies of the memorial service for my father. I remember promising myself that someday I would go to Alaska and find the crash site. I did not know where it was or how I would get there, but I needed to go and touch the C-47 with my own hand and stand where my father had died. Twenty-five years latter, Rupert helped make my wish come true. Not only did I touch the instrument panel of my father's airplane and bring an oil pressure gage home, but also I met the six men who survived and learned their stories of that tragic day. I remember driving to Dayton, Ohio, with my wife Jan, for the first reunion thinking "My father died, `these guys lived`, this is going to be a party?" Three days later, we were one big family, joined by a tragic plane crash and friends for life. Over the years, we as a group mounted plaques honoring the ten men who died on February 5th, 1954, arranged a metal for a hero who found some of the survivors that day and set the record straight for the history books. Rupert, for all you have done to bring us together as a family, and for helping me achieve my dream, I thank you. Your story is our story, and it is a good story to tell. Keith Humphries Betscher West Chester, Ohio September 20, 2005