Rear Admiral 'Richard Evelyn Byrd',
USN (
October 25,
1888 –
March 11,
1957) was a pioneering
American polar explorer and famous aviator.
Richard Evelyn Byrd was born into one of
Virginia's First Families in
Winchester, Virginia, and is a direct descendant of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. His parents were Richard Evelyn Byrd and Eleanor Bolling Flood. A descendant of
William Byrd II of
Westover Plantation (founder of
Richmond, Virginia), his brother was
Harry Flood Byrd who became a
Governor of Virginia and
U.S. Senator. He has no relationship to
West Virginia Senator
Robert Byrd.
Richard E. Byrd attended the
Virginia Military Institute and the
University of Virginia before financial circumstances inspired his enrollment and graduation from the
United States Naval Academy in 1912. He learned to fly in
World War I during his tour with the
United States Navy. He developed a passion for flight, and pioneered many techniques for navigating airplanes over the open ocean including drift indicators and bubble sextants. His expertise in this area resulted in his appointment to plan the flight path for the U.S. Navy's 1919
transatlantic crossing. Of the three
flying boats that attempted it, only
Albert Read's aircraft the
NC-4 completed the trip; becoming the first ever transatlantic flight.
North Pole flight, 1926
On
May 9,
1926, Byrd and pilot
Floyd Bennett attempted a flight over the North Pole. They claimed to have achieved the pole. This trip earned Byrd widespread acclaim, including being awarded the
Medal of Honor, and enabled him to secure funding for subsequent attempts on the South Pole.
Norwegian-American aviator and explorer
Bernt Balchen cast doubt on Byrd's claim based on his personal knowledge of the airplane's speed; Balchen speculated that Byrd had simply circled aimlessly while out of sight of land.
[1]
The discovery of Byrd's diary of the flight in 1996 revealed erased (but still legible) sextant sights that sharply differ with Byrd's later typewritten official report.
Dennis Rawlins has concluded on that basis that that Byrd did travel most of the way to the Pole before turning back.
An alternate reading of Byrd's notes suggests that a tailwind may have been possible in both directions, allowing the distance claimed to be covered in the time claimed.
[2] This suggestion has been refuted by
Dennis Rawlins.
[ Byrd’s Heroic 1926 Flight & Its Faked Last Leg Rawlins, Dennis ]
Trans-Atlantic flight, 1927
Byrd was one of several aviators who attempted to win the
Orteig Prize in 1927 for making the first nonstop flight between the United States and France. Once again Byrd named Floyd Bennett as his chief pilot, with support from Bernt Balchen,
Bert Acosta, and George Noville. During a practice takeoff with Bennett alone at the controls, the
Fokker Trimotor airplane, ''
America'', crashed, severely injuring Bennett. As the plane was being repaired,
Charles Lindbergh won the prize. But Byrd continued with his quest, naming Balchen to replace Bennett as chief pilot. Byrd, Balchen, Acosta, and Noville flew from Roosevelt Field
East Garden City, New York on
June 29,
1927. Arriving over
France, cloud cover prevented a landing in Paris; they returned to the coast of
Normandy, crash-landing without injury on
July 1,
1927 [3].
First Antarctic expedition, 1928-1930
In 1928, Byrd began his first expedition to the Antarctic involving two ships and three airplanes. A base camp named "
Little America" was constructed on the
Ross Ice Shelf and scientific expeditions by
dog-sled,
snowmobile, and
airplane began. Photographic expeditions and geological surveys were undertaken for the duration of that summer, and constant radio communications were maintained with the outside world. After their first winter, their expeditions were resumed, and on
November 29,
1929, the famous flight to the South Pole and back was launched. Byrd, along with pilot
Bernt Balchen, co-pilot/radioman Harold June, and photographer Ashley McKinley, flew the ''Floyd Bennett'' to the South Pole and back in 18 hours, 41 minutes. They had difficulty gaining enough altitude, and they had to dump empty gas tanks, as well as their emergency supplies, in order to achieve the altitude of the Polar Plateau. However, the flight was successful, and it entered Byrd into the history books. After a further summer of exploration, the expedition returned to North America on
June 18,
1930.
Byrd, by then an internationally recognized, pioneering American polar explorer and aviator, served for a time as Honorary National President (1931-1935) of
Pi Gamma Mu, the international honor society in the social sciences. In 1928, he carried the Society's flag during a historic expedition to the Antarctic to dramatize the spirit of adventure into the unknown, characterizing both the natural and social sciences.
Byrd's later Antarctic expeditions
Byrd undertook four more expeditions to Antarctica from 1933–35, 1939–40, 1946–47 and 1955–56.
As a senior officer in the U.S. Navy, Byrd, performed national defense service during World War II (1941-45), mostly as a consultant to the U.S.N. high commanders.
On his second expedition, in 1934, Byrd spent five winter months alone operating a
meteorological station, Advance Base, from which he narrowly escaped with his life after suffering
carbon monoxide poisoning from a poorly-ventilated stove. Unusual radio transmissions from Byrd finally began to alarm the men at the base camp, who then attempted to go to Advance Base. The first two trips were failures due to darkness, snow, and mechanical troubles. Finally,
Dr. Thomas Poulter,
E.J. Demas, and
Amory Waite arrived at advanced base, where they found Byrd in poor physical health. The men remained at advanced base until October 12 when an airplane from the base camp picked up Dr. Poulter and Byrd. The rest of the men returned to base camp with the tractor. In late 1938, Byrd visited Hamburg and was invited to participate in the 1938/1939 German "
Neuschwabenland" Antarctic Expedition, but declined.
Byrd's third expedition was his first one on which he had the official backing of the U.S. government. The project included extensive studies of geology, biology, meteorology and exploration. Within a few months, in March 1940, Byrd was recalled to active duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. The expedition continued in Antarctica without him. From 1942 to 1945 he headed important missions to the Pacific, including surveys of remote islands for airfields. On one assignment he visited the fighting front in Europe. He was repeatedly cited for meritorious service and was present at the Japanese surrender.
The fourth culminating expedition,
Operation Highjump, was the largest Antarctic expedition to date. Conspiracy theorists specializing in alleged Aryan or Nazi activities in Antarctica have extensively speculated about this mission. In 1946, US Navy Secretary
James Forrestal assembled a huge amphibious naval force for an Antarctic Expedition expected to last six to eight months. Besides the flagship ''Mount Olympus'' and the aircraft carrier ''Philippine Sea'', there were thirteen US Navy support ships, six helicopters, six flying boats, two seaplane tenders and fifteen other aircraft. The total number of personnel involved was over 4,000. The armada arrived in the Ross Sea on 31 December 1946, and made aerial explorations of an area half the size of the United States, recording ten new mountain ranges. The major area covered was the eastern coastline of Antarctica from 150 degrees east to the Greenwich meridian. The expedition was terminated abruptly at the end of February 1947, six months early, the entire remaining armada returning immediately to the United States. A number of mysterious incidents occurred involving aircraft, but the early termination of the mission was never explained.
Admiral Richard B. Byrd's, Diary Feb. Mar. 1947
( The Land Beyond The Poles )
The exploration flight over the North Pole ( The Inner Earth My Secret Diary )
I must write this diary in secrecy and obscurity. It concerns my Arctic flight of the nineteenth day of February in the year of Nineteen and Forty Seven.
There comes a time when the rationality of men must fade into insignificance and one must accept the inevitability of the Truth! I am not at liberty to disclose the following documentation at this writing ...perhaps it shall never see the light of public scrutiny, but I must do my duty and record here for all to read one day. In a world of greed and exploitation of certain of mankind can no longer suppress that which is truth.
FLIGHT LOG: BASE CAMP ARCTIC, 2/19/1947
0600 Hours- All preparations are complete for our flight northward and we are airborne with full fuel tanks at 0610 Hours.
0620 Hours- fuel mixture on starboard engine seems too rich, adjustment made and Pratt Whittneys are running smoothly.
0730 Hours- Radio Check with base camp. All is well and radio reception is normal.
0740 Hours- Note slight oil leak in starboard engine, oil pressure indicator seems normal, however.
0800 Hours- Slight turbulence noted from easterly direction at altitude of 2321 feet, correction to 1700 feet, no further turbulence, but tail wind increases, slight adjustment in throttle controls, aircraft performing very well now.
0815 Hours- Radio Check with base camp, situation normal.
0830 Hours- Turbulence encountered again, increase altitude to 2900 feet, smooth flight conditions again.
0910 Hours- Vast Ice and snow below, note coloration of yellowish nature, and disperse in a linear pattern. Altering course foe a better examination of this color pattern below, note reddish or purple color also. Circle this area two full turns and return to assigned compass heading. Position check made again to base camp, and relay information concerning colorations in the Ice and snow below.
0910 Hours- Both Magnetic and Gyro compasses beginning to gyrate and wobble, we are unable to hold our heading by instrumentation. Take bearing with Sun compass, yet all seems well. The controls are seemingly slow to respond and have sluggish quality, but there is no indication of Icing!
0915 Hours- In the distance is what appears to be mountains.
0949 Hours- 29 minutes elapsed flight time from the first sighting of the mountains, it is no illusion. They are mountains and consisting of a small range that I have never seen before!
0955 Hours- Altitude change to 2950 feet, encountering strong turbulence again.
1000 Hours- We are crossing over the small mountain range and still proceeding northward as best as can be ascertained. Beyond the mountain range is what appears to be a valley with a small river or stream running through the center portion. There should be no green valley below! Something is definitely wrong and abnormal here! We should be over Ice and Snow! To the portside are great forests growing on the mountain slopes. Our navigation Instruments are still spinning, the gyroscope is oscillating back and forth!
1005 Hours- I alter altitude to 1400 feet and execute a sharp left turn to better examine the valley below. It is green with either moss or a type of tight knit grass. The Light here seems different. I cannot see the Sun anymore. We make another left turn and we spot what seems to be a large animal of some kind below us. It appears to be an elephant! NO!!! It looks more like a mammoth! This is incredible! Yet, there it is! Decrease altitude to 1000 feet and take binoculars to better examine the animal. It is confirmed - it is definitely a mammoth-like animal! Report this to base camp.
1030 Hours- Encountering more rolling green hills now. The external temperature indicator reads 74 degrees Fahrenheit! Continuing on our heading now. Navigation instruments seem normal now. I am puzzled over their actions. Attempt to contact base camp. Radio is not functioning!
1130 Hours- Countryside below is more level and normal (if I may use that word). Ahead we spot what seems to be a city!!!! This is impossible! Aircraft seems light and oddly buoyant. The controls refuse to respond!! My GOD!!! Off our port and starboard wings are a strange type of aircraft. They are closing rapidly alongside! They are disc-shaped and have a radiant quality to them. They are close enough now to see the markings on them. It is a type of Swastika!!! This is fantastic. Where are we! What has happened. I tug at the controls again. They will not respond!!!! We are caught in an invisible vice grip of some type!
1135 Hours- Our radio crackles and a voice comes through in English with what perhaps is a slight Nordic or Germanic accent! The message is: 'Welcome, Admiral, to our domain. We shall land you in exactly seven minutes! Relax, Admiral, you are in good hands.' I note the engines of our plane have stopped running! The aircraft is under some strange control and is now turning itself. The controls are useless.
1140 Hours- Another radio message received. We begin the landing process now, and in moments the plane shudders slightly, and begins a descent as though caught in some great unseen elevator! The downward motion is negligible, and we touch down with only a slight jolt!
1145 Hours- I am making a hasty last entry in the flight log. Several men are approaching on foot toward our aircraft. They are tall with blond hair. In the distance is a large shimmering city pulsating with rainbow hues of color. I do not know what is going to happen now, but I see no signs of weapons on those approaching. I hear now a voice ordering me by name to open the cargo door. I comply.
END LOG
Admiral Byrd continues:
"From this point I write all the following events here from memory. It defies the imagination and would seem all but madness if it had not happened.
The radioman and I are taken from the aircraft and we are received in a most cordial manner. We were then boarded on a small platform-like conveyance with no wheels! It moves us toward the glowing city with great swiftness. As we approach, the city seems to be made of a crystal material. Soon we arrive at a large building that is a type I have never seen before. It appears to be right out of the design board of Frank Lloyd Wright, or perhaps more correctly, out of a Buck Rogers setting!! We are given some type of warm beverage which tasted like nothing I have ever savored before. It is delicious. After about ten minutes, two of our wondrous appearing hosts come to our quarters and announce that I am to accompany them. I have no choice but to comply. I leave my radioman behind and we walk a short distance and enter into what seems to be an elevator. We descend downward for some moments, the machine stops, and the door lifts silently upward! We then proceed down a long hallway that is lit by a rose-colored light that seems to be emanating from the very walls themselves! One of the beings motions for us to stop before a great door. Over the door is an inscription that I cannot read. The great door slides noiselessly open and I am beckoned to enter.
One of my hosts speaks. 'Have no fear, Admiral, you are to have an audience with the Master...' I step inside and my eyes adjust to the beautiful coloration that seems to be filling the room completely. Then I begin to see my surroundings. What greeted my eyes is the most beautiful sight of my entire existence. It is in fact too beautiful and wondrous to describe. It is exquisite and delicate. I do not think there exists a human term that can describe it in any detail with justice! My thoughts are interrupted in a cordial manner by a warm rich voice of melodious quality, 'I bid you welcome to our domain, Admiral.' I see a man with delicate features and with the etching of years upon his face. He is seated at a long table. He motions me to sit down in one of the chairs. After I am seated, he places his fingertips together and smiles. He speaks softly again, and conveys the following. 'We have let you enter here because you are of noble character and well-known on the Surface World, Admiral.' Surface World, I half-gasp under my breath! 'Yes," the Master replies with a smile, 'you are in the domain of the Arianni, the Inner World of the Earth. We shall not long delay your mission, and you will be safely escorted back to the surface and for a distance beyond. But now, Admiral, I shall tell you why you have been summoned here.
"Our interest rightly begins just after your race exploded the first atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. It was at that alarming time we sent our flying machines, the "Flugelrads", to your surface world to investigate what your race had done. That is, of course, past history now, my dear Admiral, but I must continue on. You see, we have never interfered before in your race's wars, and barbarity, but now we must, for you have learned to tamper with a certain power that is not for man, namely, that of atomic energy. Our emissaries have already delivered messages to the powers of your world, and yet they do not heed. Now you have been chosen to be witness here that our world does exist. You see, our Culture and Science is many thousands of years beyond your race, Admiral.' I interrupted, 'But what does this have to do with me, Sir?' The Master's eyes seemed to penetrate deeply into my mind, and after studying me for a few moments he replied, 'Your race has now reached the point of no return, for there are those among you who would destroy your very world rather than relinquish their power as they know it...' I nodded, and the Master continued, 'In 1945 and afterward, we tried to contact your race, but our efforts were met with hostility, our Flugelrads were fired upon. Yes, even pursued with malice and animosity by your fighter planes. So, now, I say to you, my son, there is a great storm gathering in your world, a black fury that will not spend itself for many years. There will be no answer in your arms, there will be no safety in your science. It may rage on until every flower of your culture is trampled, and all human things are leveled in vast chaos. Your recent war was only a prelude of what is yet to come for your race. We here see it more clearly with each hour.. do you say I am mistaken?'
'No,' I answer, 'it happened once before, the dark ages came and they lasted for more than five hundred years.' 'Yes, my son,' replied the Master, 'the dark ages that will come now for your race will cover the Earth like a pall, but I believe that some of your race will live through the storm, beyond that, I cannot say. We see at a great distance a new world stirring from the ruins of your race, seeking its lost and legendary treasures, and they will be here, my son, safe in our keeping. When that time arrives, we shall come forward again to help revive your culture and your race.
Perhaps, by then, you will have learned the futility of war and its strife...and after that time, certain of your culture and science will be returned for your race to begin anew. You, my son, are to return to the Surface World with this message.....' With these closing words, our meeting seemed at an end. I stood for a moment as in a dream....but, yet, I knew this was reality, and for some strange reason I bowed slightly, either out of respect or humility, I do not know which.
Suddenly, I was again aware that the two beautiful hosts who had brought me here were again at my side. 'This way, Admiral,' motioned one. I turned once more before leaving and looked back toward the Master. A gentle smile was etched on his delicate and ancient face.
'Farewell, my son,' he spoke, then he gestured with a lovely, slender hand a motion of peace and our meeting was truly ended.
Quickly, we walked back through the great door of the Master's chamber and once again entered into the elevator. The door slid silently downward and we were at once going upward. One of my hosts spoke again, 'We must now make haste, Admiral, as the Master desires to delay you no longer on your scheduled timetable and you must return with his message to your race.' I said nothing. All of this was almost beyond belief, and once again my thoughts were interrupted as we stopped. I entered the room and was again with my radioman. He had an anxious expression on his face.
As I approached, I said, 'It is all right, Howie, it is all right.' The two beings motioned us toward the awaiting conveyance, we boarded, and soon arrived back at the aircraft. The engines were idling and we boarded immediately. The whole atmosphere seemed charged now with a certain air of urgency. After the cargo door was closed the aircraft was immediately lifted by that unseen force until we reached an altitude of 2700 feet. Two of the aircraft were alongside for some distance guiding us on our return way. I must state here, the airspeed indicator registered no reading, yet we were moving along at a very rapid rate.
215 Hours- A radio message comes through. 'We are leaving you now, Admiral, your controls are free. Auf Wiedersehen!!!!' We watched for a moment as the flugelrads disappeared into the pale blue sky.
The aircraft suddenly felt as though caught in a sharp downdraft for a moment. We quickly recovered her control. We do not speak for some time, each man has his thoughts....
ENTRY IN FLIGHT LOG CONTINUES:
220 Hours- We are again over vast areas of ice and snow, and approximately 27 minutes from base camp. We radio them, they respond.
We report all conditions normal....normal. Base camp expresses relief at our re-established contact.
300 Hours- We land smoothly at base camp. I have a mission.....
END LOG ENTRIES
March 11, 1947. I have just attended a staff meeting at the Pentagon.
I have stated fully my discovery and the message from the Master. All is duly recorded. The President has been advised. I am now detained for several hours (six hours, thirty-nine minutes, to be exact.) I am interviewed intently by Top Security Forces and a medical team. It was an ordeal!!!! I am placed under strict control via the national security provisions of this United States of America. I am ORDERED TO REMAIN SILENT IN REGARD TO ALL THAT I HAVE LEARNED, ON THE BEHALF OF HUMANITY1111 Incredible! I am reminded that I am a military man and I must obey orders.
30/12/56: FINAL ENTRY:
These last few years elapsed since 1947 have not been kind...I now make my final entry in this singular diary. In closing, I must state that I have faithfully kept this matter secret as directed all these years. It has been completely against my values of moral right. Now, I seem to sense the long night coming on and this secret will not die with me, but as all truth shall, it will triumph and so it shall.
This can be the only hope for mankind. I have seen the truth and it has quickened my spirit and has set me free! I have done my duty toward the monstrous military industrial complex. Now, the long night begins to approach, but there shall be no end. Just as the long night of the Arctic ends, the brilliant sunshine of Truth shall come again....and those who are of darkness shall fall in it's Light...
FOR I HAVE SEEN THAT LAND BEYOND THE POLE, THAT CENTER OF THE GREAT UNKNOWN.
Admiral Richard E. Byrd United States Navy
24 December 1956
http://www.reversespins.com/byrd.html
Awards, decorations, honors
Bust of Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd at McMurdo Station.
Memorial
By the time Richard Byrd died on
March 12 1957, he had amassed twenty-two citations and special commendations, nine of which were for bravery and two for extraordinary heroism in saving the lives of others. In addition, he was awarded the
Medal of Honor, the
Congressional Life Saving Medal, the
Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the
Distinguished Flying Cross, the
Navy Cross, and had three
ticker-tape parades. He preferred to dwell on the substance of his global adventures, and the stories of those that had gone awry as ''
lessons learned''.
In 1927, the
City of Richmond dedicated the Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field, now
Richmond International Airport, in
Henrico County, Virginia. Byrd's
Fairchild FC-2W2, NX8006, "Stars And Stripes" is on display at the
Virginia Aviation Museum located on the north side of the airport, on loan from the
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Mount Byrd on Ross Island, Antarctica and
Lunar crater Byrd are named after him, as was the was the
United States Navy dry cargo ship
USNS ''Richard E. Byrd'' (T-AKE-4) and the now decommissioned
''Charles F. Adams''-class guided missile destroyer USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG-23)
In
Glen Rock New Jersey there is Richard E. Byrd school which was dedicated in
1931. The Polar Research Center at
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio was named in honor of Admiral Byrd in 1984.
Family
Admiral Byrd was married (20 January 1915) to the former Marie Donaldson Ames [he named a region of Antarctic land he discovered “Marie Byrd Land”] and had four children - Richard Evelyn Jr., (grandchildren Leverett S. Byrd, Ames Byrd and Harry Flood Byrd II); Evelyn Bolling Byrd Clarke (grandchildren Evelyn Byrd Clarke, Marie Ames Clarke, Eleanor Clarke & Richard Byrd Clarke); Catherine Agnes Byrd Breyer(grandchildren Robert Byrd Breyer & Katherine Ames Breyer); and Helen Byrd Stabler (grandchildren David Stabler & Ann Blanchard Stabler).
See also
Laurence McKinley Gould
References
1. Oceans, Poles, and Airmen, Montague, Richard, , , Random House, ,
2. The Polar Flap Portney, Joseph
3. Check-Six.com - The Ditching of the "America"
★
Time (magazine); Monday, November 8, 1926. Born. To Mrs. Marie Ames Byrd, of
Winchester, Virginia, and Boston, a daughter. Mrs. Byrd is the wife of Lieut. Commander Richard Evelyn Byrd,
U.S.N., who flew to the North Pole and back from Spitzbergen last spring. Lieutenant Byrd's brother,
Harry F. Byrd, is
Governor of Virginia.
External links
★
The North Pole Flight of Richard E. Byrd: An Overview of the Controversy
★
70South - information on Richard E. Byrd
★
Richard E. Byrd's 1926 Flight Towards the North Pole
★
''To the Pole: The Diary and Notebook of Richard E. Byrd'', 1925–1927.
★
The Flight of the 'America' - 1927
★
Richard E. Byrd 1888-1957.
★
Did Richard Byrd get to the North Pole in 1926?
★
A navigation expert's look at how Byrd's claim is one possible interpretation of his diary.
★
''Alone'' Byrd's
1938 account of his
1934 winter at Advance Base
★
The Guided Missile Destroyer USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG-23)
★
Papers of Admiral Richard E. Byrd
★
Burial at Arlington National Cemetery at Find-a-Grave
★
The Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University
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