On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during their ambitious attempt to circumnavigate the globe. They had departed Lae, New Guinea, earlier that day, heading for the tiny Howland Island, over 2,500 miles away. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca, stationed near Howland to guide them, received radio transmissions from Earhart as the flight neared its destination.