A group of Amelia Earhart enthusiasts have submitted a bold proposal to the government of Saipan calling on them to 'come clean' about the fate of the famed aviatrix.
In a request sent to the island's legislature, the organization known as the Amelia Earhart Committee says that they have no doubt that the legendary lost pilot spent her final days in Saipan.
As such, declared the group, "it is time for Saipan to acknowledge the presence of Amelia Earhart in 1937 and build a memorial monument in her honor."
The suggested marker put forward by the organization is in keeping with the epic nature of the aviatrix's achievements as well as the mystery surrounding her disappearance: a massive 12-foot-tall statue.
The cost of this proposed memorial to Earhart is a whopping $150,000 dollars, which the group is hoping that the government of Saipan will contribute.
As one can imagine, some residents of the island aren't exactly eager to spend that kind of money on a statue when such funds could be used for more pressing concerns like improvements to roads and bridges.
Fortunately for the taxpayers on Saipan, it's unlikely that the government will acquiesce to the request, since doing so would require revealing that, indeed, Earhart was taken there after her plane crashed in the Pacific.
To that end, 'celebrating' the fact that the island had a role in a seven-decade long cover-up by way of a giant statue seems to be a bit implausible if not inappropriate, despite claims by the Earhart fans that the monument would be a tourist attraction.
Source: Saipan Tribune