When you "Mark" a location as a waypoint, the GPS will assign it a numeric name, such as 001, 002, 003 etc.  You can change the name to letters if you want to take the time, but I just note the assigned number in my notebook and continue on.   Once that's done this now became our "Return to the car and lunch" waypoint.  In heavy brush or timber, it's always a good idea to "Mark" where you left the car.

 From the crash report, we knew the main cockpit of the C-47 came to rest approximately three tenths of a mile south of the bridge, on a bearing of 149 degrees magnetic.  Since the compass feature in a GPS does not give an accurate reading until the unit is in motion, I used a  handheld compass to determine the direction of travel.  Once in motion, the GPS will display the correct track in degrees magnetic.  It will also start to draw a line on its map to track your progress.  Some newer GPS units  have a built-in compass that will point to magnetic north, even when stationary.

 I then used the "Measure Distance" feature to locate a spot three tenths of a mile south of the bridge, on a heading of 149 degrees.  It was then "Marked" with a waypoint and that waypoint was programmed into the "GOTO" feature of the GPS.

 This might sound complicated and difficult to do, but in reality you can do all this with one hand, in about one minute.  That is assuming, of course, that after you purchased your new GPS unit, you took it out and learned to use all its features.

 I placed mine on the dash board of my car as I drove  between towns on my job.  I used it on the highway to find rest stops, fuel stops, measure my speed and to alert me to an upcoming intersection.  I had used mine in this manner nearly every day for two weeks before I ever took it out into the field.  Every time I think I know how to use it like a pro, I find some other "Menu" on one of its pages, I had never seen before.  What these new hand-held GPS units can do, is just mind boggling.

 I have even used it to "GOTO" a crash site in my private plane, for some aerial photography, or to "Mark" an access road or parking spot.  Then I use the "GOTO" feature again to take me directly back to the airport.  In the plane, it even displays  my altitude, ground speed and the estimated time of arrival back at the airport.

 A word of warning if you're going to use your "Hiking" GPS in this manner.  They do not show restricted areas, airport traffic areas or other hazards to cross country flying!  You must consult your navigation chart for that information. It  simply gives you a magnetic bearing and distance to the waypoint selected.  It even draws a line that you can follow to stay on course.

 Continuing our search for the C-47, we followed the track to the waypoint previously selected.  I placed the unit in my shirt pocket with the antenna pointing up as we entered an area of tall  trees.  Even while under the thick canopy of trees I never lost the satellite signals.  My "Track" was placed in the GPS memory with every step I took.

 I was able to achieve an Estimated Position Error (EPE) of twelve feet as indicated on the display screen, so I was able to watch the display show the distance to the waypoint to as close as about fifteen feet.

 Once we had arrived at the target waypoint,  we began our search for aircraft debris.  It didn't take long before I found some old, badly damaged military aircraft headphones, half buried in a thick bed of pine needles.  We had found the location where twenty-six men had died all those many years before!

 A further search of the area turned up a cabin light fixture, found on the side of the small hill about one hundred feet  away.  We "Marked" its location, and left it in place.
 
 As I stood there, gazing over this now beautiful spot, I thought about all those men, and all the equipment the C-47 had onboard to use for navigation.  There were several large tube type radios that were used to listen for an "A" or "N" signal.  The signal was in Morse Code and was used to help the pilot stay on course.

 If he heard an "A" ( Dot Dash), in his earphones, he was on one side of an imaginary course.  And if he heard an "N" (Dash Dot), he was on the other side. The idea was, to stay in the middle of the two signals, until he arrived over the station.  Then he would tune in the next station and continue the process.  He could also use the time it took  to go from one station to the next, to determine his ground speed.

 There was also an Automatic Direction Finder (ADF)  with all its support equipment, used to find one's  position in relation to a ground-based station. The navigator would use one or more of these signals to get a bearing, which would then give him his position and ground speed.

 All this took time and the cost was about three hundred pounds of extra equipment, just to get the airplane to this spot and its date with doom.

 Now some forty-nine years later I stood on that very spot with one small piece of equipment weighing just 9.5 ounces,  and fitting in the palm of my hand that would replace every piece of navigation equipment onboard the C-47 that fateful day.  I wondered what the pilot, Capt. Richard K. Young, would think if he were here today, and could see this little marvel . . .  the GPS receiver!

 After searching  the area we decided to spread out and continue in a southerly direction.  This aircraft  broke up in flight,  and was scattered over an area about one mile long and a quarter mile wide.  So once again, I measured off about one mile to the south and created another waypoint to use as a target.  That way we would know when we had gone far enough south and could turn around and start back.

 With Jim Rowan on the right, Mike Barker on the left and me in the middle, we started the search pattern.   As we walked, we tried to  keep  about one hundred yards between us.  It didn't take long before we lost sight of one another, but the GPS kept us on track, and the radios provide a reassuring voice when we felt it was getting just a little too quiet.

 There was not much left of this aircraft, but what we did find was "Marked" with  the GPS and recorded in the notebook for later reference.  After about an hour  the GPS told me we were at the southern most end of the debris trail, so it was time to pivot to the west and make the return trip.