Río Hato is a small town on the Pacific coast of Panama. In the 1930s and 40s, an American Army Air Base was established at Río Hato to help protect the Panama Canal .
Adventures in Río Hato[]
Early in 1941, the 32nd Pursuit Group of the US Army Air Corps became stationed at the air base. The flight group used Curtiss P-36 and older Boeing P-26 "Peashooter" planes.
In late July, Colonel Musgrove and Major Nichols flew in to Río Hato aboard a DC-2, with Indiana Jones, whom they had recruited in Ecuador and briefed on the flight about the search for the Akashic Hall of Records.
After Jones arrived, McGuiness showed him to the showers. While showering, Jones was attacked by a knife-wielding Nazi spy disguised as a US sergeant. Nichols and McGuiness heard the commotion, and while Jones was being garrotted, Nichols shot the assailant dead. Jones was cleared by the doctor at the infirmary, and Musgrove shared evidence of the attacker: he had carried a German knife, and had not entered through the base's main gates. Concerned that he had only recently arrived on the base and yet Nazi agents had known of his arrival and had attacked him, Jones developed a plan with Musgrove, Nichols and the doctor. Nichols publicly announced that Jones had died in the attack, and Musgrove readied a flight out of Río Hato, and reclaimed Jones' belongings from the plane. With the base believing that Musgrove and Nichols would be flying out, they actually drove off base with Jones pretending to be their army driver. Making up his plan as he drove, Jones took the pair to Santa Clara, where he ditched them by hiring el Martillo to drive him away from them.
Returning to the base, Musgrove and Nichols set up a series of checkpoints to search for Jones. McGuiness reported that they had found el Martillo, who had revealed that he had driven Jones to Bert Brodowski's airfield. Hoping to catch up with Jones in Costa Rica, Musgrove planned to fly after Jones the next day, but Nichols, actually a Nazi spy, sought to hurry after Jones, and shot Musgrove. Unfortunately for Nichols, the MPs arrived and found Musgrove alive. With Musgrove incapacitated, Nichols left Río Hato with a planeload of soldiers to follow after Jones in Palmar Sur.
After a few days, Musgrove was relatively recovered from his gunshot, and left Río Hato to meet up with Jones in Mérida.
Locations within Río Hato[]
- US Army Air Base
- Front Gate
- Air Strip
- Communal Showers & Locker Room
- Comissary
- Infirmary
- Office used by Musgrove and Nichols
Residents of Río Hato[]
- Corporal McGuiness
- Base Commanding Officer
- Infirmary Doctor
- Infirmary Nurse
- Military Police
