Reykjavík Grapevine - 23.09.2016, Blaðsíða 10

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 15 — 2016
10

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Pop music clock-
pu ncher Ju s t i n
Bieber returned to
Iceland, this time
to perform in concert, and the re-
sponse was decidedly underwhelm-
ing. Numerous attendees, including
Grapevine contributor Hannah Jane
Cohen, noted that Bieber lip-synched
throughout the performance, and
didn’t even display dance moves that
would justify the occasional canned
vocal track. Adding insult to injury,
Bieber also released another music
video displaying characteristically
careless behaviour in the Icelandic
countryside; most notably by once
again having dancers clambering and
jumping up and down on fragile moss
heaths, which can take years to repair
themselves. It’s pretty safe to say that
few would miss him if he decided to
ignore the country from here on out.
Polar bears. You can see stuffed
versions of these creatures all over
downtown Reykjavík, so you may
be surprised to learn that there are
no polar bears living in Iceland.
And we mean that quite literally—
when they do manage to swim their
way to our shores, we hunt and kill
them immediately. This has drawn
harsh criticism from former as-
sistant professor at Yale University
Dr. Birgir Guðjónsson, who wrote
a column for Fréttablaðið wonder-
ing why Icelandic authorities have
not followed the example shown in
communities that get even more
frequent visits from polar bears:
tranquilise, capture, and relocate.
Until such time as Iceland follows
this lead, bear in mind that the big
white furry creatures you see on
Laugavegur do not represent native
Icelandic fauna.
NEWS IN
BRIEF
Words
PAUL
FONTAINE
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GPV.IS/R4D6
NATURE
Circling
Back
One American commemorates
his family’s life in Iceland
The American military presence in
Iceland goes back to the middle of
WW2, and there are many Americans
who can trace their family history
back to the US naval base in Keflavík.
Russ Sims is one of these Americans.
His father, Commander Russell Sims,
Jr., was not only stationed here, from
1967 to 1969, he was also the executive
officer of the base itself. In July of 1969,
he crash-landed a US Navy R4D-6 at the
former runway in Þorshöfn, northeast
Iceland—there were no fatalities, but
the wreckage is still there and, some 47
years later, Russ and his wife Jo Anne
came back to Iceland to honour Rus-
sell’s memory with a commemorative
plaque at the wreckage itself.
We caught up with Russ as he and
Jo Anne traveled around the country,
bringing back a flood of memories
for him. He also shared with us some
incredible photos of Iceland, past and
present.
Tell our readers a little bit about Russell
W. Sims, Jr.
My father was a driven man. He start-
ed in the Navy as a 17-year-old sailor.
He didn't have a college education, but
moved up the ranks to become an offi-
cer. He flew blimps escorting convoys
out of New York, flying partway across
the ocean while keeping an eye out for
German subs. He then flew Lockheed
P2Vs, the precursor to the modern P3s,
which are now at Keflavík. He flew
those for many years. We were living
in Newfoundland in the 1960s, and
he would regularly fly between New-
foundland and Iceland, looking for
Russian subs in the North Atlantic. He
worked his way up to full Commander,
and was the executive officer in charge
of the US Navy base in Keflavík. We
moved there in August 1967, and lived
on the base until August 1969.
What were some of your memories of
"everyday Iceland" at this time?
Well, first let me say we came from
South Texas. We came off the plane in
late July, looked out across the land-
scape under this grey, overcast sky, and
I said, "Dad, how did you screw up so
badly to get this assignment?" It ended
being the most exciting, most pleasur-
able experience my whole family had. I
was a junior and senior in high school,
and dad was the executive officer of
the base, and with that comes what
you might call a very demanding situa-
tion. Being military, the attitude was, "If
you can't manage your kids, how can you
manage the base?" All the officers had
to be very aware of our behaviour in the
community, because we were represen-
tatives of the United States. But it was
a wonderful experience. Our mother
picked up a keychain from Iceland that
I still carry with me. So it was a very
important place in our lives.
I realise these are emotional memories,
but tell us what went down on the day
in question.
I was working at the gas station that
summer. I came home one day and he
was sitting on the couch, and that's
not like him. He normally worked late
hours. And he was sitting there with
this look on his face, like he'd just seen
God. A deer-in-the-headlights expres-
sion. [The crash] was his error but
crosswinds contributed to the crash.
Dad used to say that any landing you
can walk away from was a good land-
ing, but it was obvious his pride was
hurt. He was quiet, and he's not usu-
ally a quiet man.
What led you to want to come back and
revisit the scene?
We left in the summer of '69, but we
had been back before. We came back
in 1994 with our son Brian, because we
wanted him to experience what we had
experienced (my wife actually lived
across the street from me on the base,
although we didn't date at the time). I
mean, if it wasn't for Iceland, my wife
and I wouldn't have met.
So the wreckage is sitting on someone's
farm right now?
Yes, it's on someone's farm, and the
farmer doesn't want people traipsing
all over his property. Which I fully un-
derstand. The locals have been pretty
concerned about tourist traffic, and
have been thinking of different things
they could do with the wreckage, like
maybe move it closer to the road. But
they'll figure something out I'm sure.
And how did it feel putting up this
commemorative plaque?
It was emotional given my feelings
toward my father, who was a great ac-
complished man. This memorial is not to
celebrate the crash landing but to honour
his career, and a part of our family that re-
mains in Iceland. Something very close to
our hearts.