Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, early airplane pilot, polar explorer, and planner of supplies for polar expeditions. He flew planes as a navigator and leader on trips that crossed the Atlantic Ocean, part of the Arctic Ocean, and part of the Antarctic Plateau. He is also known for discovering Mount Sidley, the largest inactive volcano in Antarctica.

Byrd claimed to be the first person to reach both the North and South Poles by air. However, some people question whether he was actually the first to reach the North Pole. It is generally believed that the distance he claimed to have flown was longer than the amount of fuel his airplane could carry.

He received the Medal of Honor, the highest military award in the U.S., and the Navy Cross, the second-highest award for bravery given by the U.S. Navy.

Family

Richard Byrd was born in Winchester, Virginia, to Esther Bolling (Flood) and Richard Evelyn Byrd Sr. He was a member of one of Virginia’s most well-known families. His ancestors include John Rolfe, a planter who married Pocahontas; William Byrd II, who helped establish the city of Richmond; and William Byrd I and Robert "King" Carter, a colonial governor. He was also related to George Yeardley, Francis Wyatt, and Samuel Argall. Richard was the brother of Harry F. Byrd, who later became a Virginia governor and a U.S. senator. Their father once held the position of Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates.

On January 20, 1915, Richard married Marie Ames, who died in 1974. He honored her by naming a region of Antarctica "Marie Byrd Land" and a mountain range "the Ames Range" after her father, Joseph Ames. The couple had four children: Richard Evelyn Byrd III, Evelyn Bolling Byrd Clarke, Katharine Agnes Byrd Breyer, and Helen Byrd Stabler. By late 1924, the Byrd family moved into a large brownstone house at 9 Brimmer Street in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. The house was purchased by Marie’s father, a wealthy industrialist.

Richard Byrd was friends with Edsel Ford and his father, Henry Ford. Their admiration for Byrd’s trips to the poles helped him receive funding and support for his expeditions from the Ford Motor Company. He owned a dog named Igloo, who traveled with him to both the North and South poles. Igloo is buried at the Pine Ridge Pet Cemetery, where his tombstone reads, "He was more than a friend."

Education and early naval career

Byrd studied at the Virginia Military Institute for two years before moving to the University of Virginia. Due to financial issues, he decided to start over and joined the United States Naval Academy. He became a midshipman on May 28, 1908.

On June 8, 1912, Byrd graduated from the Naval Academy and was officially named an ensign in the United States Navy. On July 14, 1912, he was assigned to the battleship USS Wyoming. While serving in the Caribbean Sea, Byrd received his first letter of commendation and later earned a Silver Lifesaving Medal for saving a sailor who had fallen overboard twice, even though he was fully dressed. In April 1914, he moved to the armored cruiser USS Washington and worked in Mexican waters in June after the United States intervened in April.

Byrd’s next job was on the gunboat USS Dolphin, which also acted as the personal boat for the Secretary of the Navy. This role allowed him to meet high-ranking officials, including then Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Roosevelt. He was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) on June 8, 1915. During his time on Dolphin, he was led by future Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, who later became chief of staff to President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II. His final assignment before being forced to retire was on the presidential yacht USS Mayflower.

On March 15, 1916, Byrd was medically retired with three-quarters pay due to an ankle injury he suffered while on Mayflower. Shortly after, on December 14, 1916, he was assigned as the inspector and instructor for the Rhode Island Naval Militia in Providence, Rhode Island. While in this position, he was praised by Brigadier General Charles W. Abbot, the adjutant general of Rhode Island, for improving the efficiency of the militia.

First World War

After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Byrd was in charge of preparing the Rhode Island Naval Militia for action. He was then called back to active duty and assigned to the Office of Naval Operations, where he worked in an office position helping organize the Navy Department Commission on Training Camps. In the fall of 1917, he attended naval aviation school in Pensacola, Florida. In June 1918, he became a naval aviator with the number 608. From July 1918 until the armistice in November 1918, he led naval air forces at Naval Air Station Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada. During this time, he was promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant and the temporary rank of lieutenant commander.

For his work during the war, he received a letter of commendation from Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. This letter was later changed into a Navy Commendation Medal after World War II.

After the war

After the war, Byrd volunteered to be a crew member on the U.S. Navy's 1919 aerial transatlantic crossing. This mission was historic because it was the first time the Atlantic Ocean was crossed by an aircraft. Only men who had not served overseas were allowed to join the mission. Unfortunately, Byrd’s time in Newfoundland was considered overseas service, so he could not participate in the flight. However, Byrd still helped by using his skills in aerial navigation to plan the flight path for the mission. Of the three flying boats (NC-1, NC-3, and NC-4) that started from Newfoundland, only Lieutenant Commander Albert Read’s NC-4 completed the trip on May 18, 1919, achieving the first transatlantic flight.

In 1921, Byrd volunteered to try a solo nonstop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, which happened six years before Charles Lindbergh’s famous flight. However, Byrd’s plan was stopped by then acting Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who believed the risks were too great. Byrd was later assigned to the ill-fated dirigible ZR-2 (formerly the British airship R-38). On August 24, 1921, Byrd missed his train to the airship. The airship broke apart in midair, killing 44 of 49 crew members on board. Byrd lost several friends in the accident and helped with recovery efforts and the investigation. The tragedy deeply affected him and made him focus on safety in all his future expeditions.

Because of reductions in the Navy after World War I, Byrd was reduced in rank to lieutenant by the end of 1921. In the summer of 1923, Lieutenant Byrd and a group of Navy veterans from World War I helped start the Naval Reserve Air Station (NRAS) at Squantum Point near Boston. They used an unused seaplane hangar from World War I that remained intact after a shipyard was built on the site. NRAS Squantum was officially opened on August 15, 1923, and is considered the first air base in the Naval Reserve program.

In 1925, Byrd led the aviation unit of an Arctic expedition to North Greenland under Donald B. MacMillan. Although the expedition did not reach the North Pole, Byrd’s work and the success of the aviation team helped him gain recognition as a pioneer of using aircraft in exploration.

During this expedition, Byrd met Navy Chief Aviation Pilot Floyd Bennett and Norwegian pilot Bernt Balchen. Both men later helped Byrd on his expeditions. Bennett was a pilot on Byrd’s flight to the North Pole the following year. Balchen, who had valuable knowledge of Arctic flight operations, was the main pilot on Byrd’s flight to the South Pole in 1929.

1926 North Pole flight

On May 9, 1926, Byrd and Navy Chief Aviation Pilot Floyd Bennett tried to fly over the North Pole in a Fokker F.VIIa/3m airplane named Josephine Ford. The plane was named after Edsel Ford’s daughter, who helped fund the trip. Ford Motor Company and John D. Rockefeller also provided money for the expedition. The flight began in Spitsbergen (Svalbard) and returned to the same airfield. The journey took 15 hours and 57 minutes, including 13 minutes circling at the Farthest North. Byrd and Bennett claimed they reached the North Pole, which is 1,535 miles (1,335 nautical miles) away.

After returning to the United States, Byrd became a national hero. He was honored with a parade in New York City. Congress passed a special law on December 21, 1926, promoting Byrd to the rank of commander and giving him and Bennett the Medal of Honor. The Josephine Ford airplane was flown across the country in celebration. Bennett was promoted to the rank of machinist. On March 5, 1927, Byrd and Bennett received special versions of the Medal of Honor at the White House from President Calvin Coolidge.

Since 1926, questions have been raised about whether Byrd actually reached the North Pole. In 1958, aviator Bernt Balchen questioned Byrd’s claim based on the airplane’s speed. Balchen said Bennett had later told him that they did not reach the pole. Bennett had not fully recovered from an earlier crash and later died from pneumonia in 1928. Before his death, Bennett wrote about the flight in a memoir, interviews, and an article, all of which supported Byrd’s account.

In 1996, Byrd’s diary from May 9, 1926, was published. It showed erased but still readable sextant measurements that differ from Byrd’s later official report. Byrd recorded a solar altitude of 19°25'30" in his diary, but his official report stated 18°18'18". Based on this and other data, Dennis Rawlins concluded that Byrd may have flown about 80% of the distance to the pole before turning back due to an engine oil leak, then altered his report to claim reaching the pole.

A supporter of Byrd argued that a westerly-moving anticyclone (a large weather system) created tailwinds that increased the plane’s ground speed, allowing the flight to cover the claimed distance in the stated time. This idea was challenged by Dennis Rawlins, who noted that the precision of the sextant data in the original report was not possible with 1926 Navy equipment.

If Byrd and Bennett did not reach the North Pole, the first flight over the pole may have occurred on May 12, 1926, with the airship Norge. The Norge flew nonstop from Spitsbergen (Svalbard) to Alaska with a crew including Roald Amundsen, Umberto Nobile, Oscar Wisting, and Lincoln Ellsworth.

1927 Trans-Atlantic flight

In 1927, Byrd said he had support from the American Trans-Oceanic Company, which was created in 1914 by business leader Rodman Wanamaker to build planes for nonstop flights across the Atlantic Ocean. Byrd was one of many pilots trying to win the Orteig Prize in 1927 for completing the first nonstop flight between the United States and France.

Byrd again chose Floyd Bennett as his main pilot, with Norwegian pilot Bernt Balchen, Bert Acosta, and Lieutenant George Noville as other crew members. During a practice takeoff with Anthony Fokker flying and Bennett as co-pilot, the Fokker Trimotor plane called America crashed, seriously hurting Bennett and causing minor injuries to Byrd. While the plane was being fixed, Charles Lindbergh won the prize by finishing his famous flight on May 21, 1927. (Interestingly, in 1925, Army Air Service Reserve Corps Lieutenant Charles Lindbergh had tried to join Byrd’s North Pole expedition but was too late.)

Byrd continued his effort to cross the Atlantic nonstop, naming Balchen to replace Bennett, who had not yet recovered from his injuries, as chief pilot. On June 29, 1927, Byrd, Balchen, Acosta, and Noville flew from Roosevelt Field, East Garden City, New York, in the America. The plane carried mail from the US Postal Service to show how useful aircraft could be. The next day, they reached France but could not land in Paris because of clouds. They returned to the coast of Normandy and crash-landed near the beach at Ver-sur-Mer (later known as Gold Beach during the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944) on July 1, 1927, without any deaths. In France, Byrd and his crew were honored as heroes, and Byrd was awarded the French Legion of Honor by Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré on July 6.

After returning to the United States, a special dinner was held in their honor in New York City on July 19. Byrd and Noville were given the Distinguished Flying Cross by Secretary of the Navy Curtis D. Wilbur at the dinner. Acosta and Balchen did not receive the award because, at that time, it could only be given to military members, not civilians.

Byrd wrote an article for the August 1927 issue of Popular Science Monthly in which he correctly said that while specially designed planes with one to three crew members would fly the Atlantic nonstop, it would take another 20 years before such flights became common for commercial use.

Early Antarctic expeditions

In 1928, Byrd began his first Antarctic expedition with two ships and three airplanes. His main ship was the City of New York, a Norwegian sealing ship once called Samson, which was said to be near the Titanic when it sank. The second ship was the Eleanor Bolling, named after Byrd’s mother. The airplanes included the Floyd Bennett, a Ford Trimotor flown by Dean Smith; the Stars and Stripes, a Fairchild FC-2W2 built in 1928, now displayed at the National Air and Space Museum; and the Virginia, a Fokker Super Universal monoplane named after Byrd’s birth state. A base camp called "Little America" was built on the Ross Ice Shelf, and scientific work began using snowshoes, dog sleds, snowmobiles, and airplanes. To interest young people in exploration, a 19-year-old American Boy Scout named Paul Allman Siple joined the expedition. Siple later earned a doctorate and participated in all five of Byrd’s Antarctic expeditions.

During the summer, photographic and geological surveys were conducted, and radio communications were kept with the outside world. After the first winter, expeditions resumed, and on November 28, 1929, the first 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 and 41 minutes. They had trouble gaining altitude and had to throw away empty fuel tanks and emergency supplies to reach the Antarctic Plateau, but they succeeded.

In November 1929, Byrd led the first aircraft crew to fly over the South Pole on a privately funded expedition. He supported using ski-equipped planes, even though they were hard to operate, requiring large bases to manage them.

Because of his success, Congress promoted Byrd to rear admiral on December 21, 1929, when he was 41 years old. This made him the youngest admiral in U.S. Navy history. None of his classmates from the U.S. Naval Academy became admirals until 1942, 30 years after graduation. Byrd was one of only four people, including Admiral David Dixon Porter, Arctic explorer Rear Admiral Donald Baxter MacMillan, and Rear Admiral Frederic R. Harris, to be promoted to rear admiral without first holding the rank of captain.

After more exploration, the expedition returned to North America on June 18, 1930. This trip was honored with the American Geographical Society’s gold medal and was also covered in the film With Byrd at the South Pole (1930).

Byrd, now an internationally known polar explorer and aviator, served as Honorary National President of Pi Gamma Mu, an international honor society in the social sciences, from 1931 to 1935. He carried the society’s flag during his first Antarctic expedition to highlight the spirit of adventure in both natural and social sciences.

To get funding and support for his expeditions, Byrd worked with powerful people like President Franklin Roosevelt, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller Jr., and Vincent Astor. He named Antarctic features after them as a thank-you.

During his second expedition in the Southern Hemisphere summer of 1933–1934 (winter in the United States), Byrd spent five months alone at a meteorological station called Advance Base. He narrowly escaped death after carbon monoxide poisoning from a poorly ventilated stove. Unusual radio messages from Byrd worried others at the base camp, who tried to reach him. The first two rescue attempts failed due to darkness, snow, and mechanical problems. Finally, Thomas Poulter, E. J. Demas, and Amory Waite reached Advance Base and found Byrd in poor health. They stayed until October 12, when an airplane picked up Dr. Poulter and Byrd. The others returned to base camp with a tractor. Byrd described this expedition in his autobiography Alone.

During the summer, days were long, and evenings had twilight. Inside the exploration headquarters, Byrd made a large calendar on the wall and marked off each day as it passed.

A CBS radio station, KFZ, was set up on the base camp ship Bear of Oakland. The program The Adventures of Admiral Byrd was broadcast via shortwave to Buenos Aires and then to New York. Sponsored by General Foods, the show aired on Saturday nights at 10:00 p.m. and reached 19.1 million people on average during the 1933–34 season.

President Roosevelt and the U.S. Postmaster General honored Byrd’s Antarctic expedition with a U.S. commemorative stamp in 1933. This helped raise money for the expedition. The stamp, called the Byrd II 3-cent stamp (number 753 in Scott’s Catalog), was required for all mail sent to the Antarctic. The U.S. Post Office set up an official post office at Little America, Antarctica, and sold special philatelic covers. About 150,000 pieces of mail passed through the Antarctic post office between 1933 and 1934. Only Post Office workers could handle the mail, so Charles F. Anderson, a Postmaster General representative, was assigned to Little America.

In late 1938, Byrd visited Hamburg, Germany, where he met Alfred Ritscher, leader of the German Antarctic Expedition 1938/39. Byrd showed his Antarctic film to the German team and answered questions and gave advice based on his experience. The event was private, with no press present.

Byrd’s third expedition was the first funded and led by the U.S. government. It included studies in geology, biology, meteorology, and exploration. The Antarctic Snow Cruiser was brought to the expedition but broke down soon after arriving.

In March 1940, Byrd returned to active duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. The expedition continued in Antarctica without him until the last members left on March 22, 1941.

World War II

As a senior officer in the United States Navy, Byrd was called back to active duty on March 26, 1942, and worked as a secret advisor to Admiral Ernest J. King. From 1942 to 1945, he was part of the South Pacific Island Base Inspection Board. This group visited bases in the South Pacific in May and June 1942. The report from the board described the conditions at each base and examined what was learned about planning and building these bases. The report included suggestions for improving the bases and ideas to help plan future bases.

On September 1, 1943, following a set of letters from the President to the Secretary of the Navy, the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations ordered Byrd to lead a survey and study of certain islands in the East and South Pacific related to national defense and commercial air bases and routes. The members of the Special Navy Mission traveled from Balboa, Canal Zone, on the USS Concord, led by Captain Irving Reynold Chambers, in September 1943. On October 7, 1943, a large explosion at sea killed 24 crew members of the USS Concord, including the executive officer, Commander Rogers Elliott. The explosion was caused by gasoline fumes at the back of the ship. It threw some men overboard and injured others with blast injuries, burns, head injuries, and broken necks. Some sailors died while trying to save their shipmates. The dead were buried at sea on October 8. On October 23, 1943, Byrd wrote a letter from Nuku Hiva (the largest island in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia) to Captain Chambers, praising him and his crew for their bravery and skill after the explosion. Byrd said the event made him proud to be an American and noted the great courage shown, especially by those who died trying to help the injured. Byrd completed the mission in December and later took part in the United States Strategic Bombing Survey (USSBS) from 1944 to 1945.

On February 10, 1945, Byrd received the Order of Christopher Columbus from the government of the Dominican Republic. He was present at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. Byrd was released from active duty on October 1, 1945. For his service during World War II, he received two awards of the Legion of Merit.

Later Antarctic expeditions

In 1946, James Forrestal, the Secretary of the Navy, named Richard E. Byrd as the leader of the Antarctic Developments Project. Byrd led his fourth Antarctic expedition, which was given the name Operation Highjump. This was the largest Antarctic expedition ever recorded and was expected to last between 6 and 8 months.

The expedition was supported by a large group of naval forces (called Task Force 68), led by Rear Admiral Richard H. Cruzen. Thirteen U.S. Navy support ships, including the flagship USS Mount Olympus and the aircraft carrier USS Philippine Sea, along with six helicopters, six flying boats, two seaplane tenders, and 15 other aircraft, were used. More than 4,000 people participated in the mission.

The group arrived in the Ross Sea on December 31, 1946. They explored an area about half the size of the United States by air, discovering 10 new mountain ranges. The main area studied was the eastern coastline of Antarctica, from 150°E to the Greenwich meridian.

Admiral Byrd was interviewed by Lee van Atta of International News Service on the expedition’s command ship, the USS Mount Olympus. During the interview, Byrd discussed lessons learned from the mission. The interview was published in the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio on March 5, 1947, and included the following:

Admiral Richard E. Byrd warned that the United States should prepare for the possibility of enemy planes attacking from the polar regions during a future war. He explained that the United States could be targeted by planes flying over the North or South Poles. He made this statement during a summary of his experiences in the polar regions, in an exclusive interview with International News Service. Byrd said the most important result of his discoveries was their potential impact on the security of the United States. He noted that the world is shrinking rapidly, and that the time has passed when the United States could rely on its distance from other countries for safety.

In 1948, the U.S. Navy created a documentary about Operation Highjump titled The Secret Land. The film includes real footage of the expedition and some reenacted scenes. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

On December 8, 1954, Byrd appeared on the television show Longines Chronoscope. He was interviewed by Larry LeSueur and Kenneth Crawford about his trips to Antarctica. He said that Antarctica would become the most important place in the world for scientific research in the future.

As part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) from 1957 to 1958, Byrd was named the leader of the U.S. Navy’s Operation Deep Freeze I in 1955–56. This mission established permanent U.S. bases at McMurdo Sound, the Bay of Whales, and the South Pole. This was Byrd’s final trip to Antarctica and marked the start of a permanent U.S. military presence in the region. Byrd spent only one week in Antarctica and began his return to the United States on February 3, 1956.

Death

Admiral Byrd passed away from a heart problem while sleeping on March 11, 1957, at the age of 68. He died at his home on 7 Brimmer Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. He was buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.

Memberships

Byrd was an active member of the Freemasons. He was raised to the rank of Master Mason in Federal Lodge No. 1, Washington, D.C., on March 19, 1921. He joined Kane Lodge No. 454, New York City, on September 18, 1928. He was also a member of the National Sojourners Chapter No. 3 in Washington. In 1930, Kane Lodge awarded him a gold medal.

In 1931, Byrd became a member of the Tennessee Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was given state membership number 605 and national membership number 50430. He received the society’s War Service Medal for his service during the First World War.

Byrd was also a member of many other patriotic, scientific, and charitable organizations, including the Explorers Club, the American Legion, and the National Geographic Society.

Honors

By the time he passed away, Byrd had received 22 citations and special commendations, nine of which were for bravery and two for extraordinary heroism in saving the lives of others. He also received the Medal of Honor, the Silver Lifesaving Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Navy Cross.

Admiral Byrd is the only person to have three ticker-tape parades in New York City (in 1926, 1927, and 1930) given in his honor.

Byrd was one of only four American military officers in history allowed to wear a medal with his own image on it. The others were Admiral George Dewey, General John J. Pershing, and Admiral William T. Sampson. Because Byrd’s image is on both the first and second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medals, he was the only American allowed to wear two medals with his own image on them.

He was one of the recipients of the Langley Gold Medal, which is awarded by the Smithsonian Institution for outstanding achievement in aviation.

He was the seventh recipient of the prestigious Hubbard Medal awarded by the National Geographic Society for his flight to the North Pole. Other recipients include Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen, and Charles Lindbergh.

Byrd received numerous medals from nongovernmental organizations in honor of his achievements. These included the David Livingstone Centenary Medal of the American Geographical Society, the Loczy Medal of the Hungarian Geographical Society, the Vega Medal of the Swedish Geographical Society, and the Elisha Kent Kane Medal of the Philadelphia Geographical Society.

In 1927, the Boy Scouts of America made Byrd an Honorary Scout, a new category of scout created that same year. This distinction was given to "American citizens whose achievements in outdoor activity, exploration, and worthwhile adventure are of such an exceptional character as to capture the imagination of boys."

Also in 1927, the city of Richmond, Virginia, 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.

In 1929, Byrd received the Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America. Also in 1929, he received the Langley Gold Medal from the Smithsonian Institution.

Lunar crater Byrd is named after him, as 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 1930, Byrd was elected to the American Philosophical Society.

In Glen Rock, New Jersey, Richard E. Byrd School was dedicated in 1931.

On March 31, 1934, during a regularly scheduled broadcast, Admiral Byrd was awarded the CBS Medal for Distinguished Contribution to Radio. Byrd’s short-wave relay broadcasts, from his second Antarctic expedition, established a new chapter of communication history. Byrd was the sixth individual to receive this award.

The Institute of Polar Studies at the Ohio State University officially changed its name to the Byrd Polar Research Center (BPRC) on January 21, 1987, after it acquired Byrd’s expeditionary records, personal papers, and other memorabilia in 1985 from the estate of Marie A. Byrd, the late wife of Admiral Byrd. His papers served as the nucleus for establishment of the BPRC Polar Archival Program in 1990. The Richard Byrd Library, a branch of the Fairfax County Public Library system, opened in Springfield, Virginia, in 1958.

Richard E. Byrd Elementary School, a Department of Defense school located in Negishi (Yokohama, Japan), opened on September 20, 1948. The name was changed to R.E. Byrd Elementary School on April 5, 1960.

Memorials to Byrd can be found in two cities in New Zealand (Wellington and Dunedin). Byrd used New Zealand as his departure point for several of his Antarctic expeditions.

The 50th anniversary of Byrd’s first flight over the South Pole was commemorated in a set of two postage stamps by Australian Antarctic Territory in 1979, and a commemorative flag was designed.

The long-range short-wave voice transmissions from Byrd’s Antarctic expedition in 1934 were named an IEEE Milestone in 2001.

Admiral Richard E. Byrd Middle School, located in Frederick County, Virginia, was opened in 2005, and is decorated with pictures and letters from Byrd’s life and career.

He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as an honorary member at the University of Virginia.

Byrd was inducted into the International Air and Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air and Space Museum in 1968.

Richard E. Byrd Middle School in Sun Valley, California, is named after Admiral Byrd. The school opened in its present location in 2008 after its original location was converted to Sun Valley High School.

Popular culture

In his book Confrontations, Jacques Vallée describes a "false story" about "holes in the pole" that Admiral Byrd is said to have discovered. Vallée includes a quote from Clint Chapin, who was involved in the Copper Medic case, stating that he believed the UFOs came from inside the Earth.

In Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, Admiral Byrd and the Little America bases are the last destination in Marian Graves' journey to fly around the world over the North and South Poles.

Military awards

Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd was one of the most decorated officers in the United States Navy. He is likely the only person to receive the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Silver Life Saving Medal. He also received all three Antarctic expedition medals awarded before World War II.

Note: The dates listed in the table show when the awards were received, not necessarily when the actions they recognize happened.

Byrd was eligible for the Antarctic Service Medal, created in 1960, for his work on Antarctic expeditions called Operation Highjump (1946–1947) and Operation Deep Freeze (1955–1956). He also received many other awards from government and private groups in the United States.

Rank and organization: Commander, United States Navy. Born: October 25, 1888, Winchester, Virginia. Appointed from: Virginia.

For showing great courage and bravery while risking his life to prove that airplanes could fly nonstop from a populated area over the North Pole and return.

Byrd, along with Machinist Floyd Bennett, was given the Medal of Honor by President Calvin Coolidge on March 5, 1927.

The President of the United States presented the Navy Cross to Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (NSN: 0–7918), United States Navy, for outstanding heroism as Commanding Officer of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition I. On November 28, 1929, he flew his plane, "Floyd Bennett," from Little America, Antarctica, and reached the South Pole on November 29, 1929. After flying beyond the pole, he returned to his base. This flight occurred in extremely cold conditions over high mountains and plateaus, where rescue would have been unlikely if the plane had crashed. Rear Admiral Byrd commanded the flight, navigated the plane, and prepared for the mission. His leadership and judgment ensured the flight’s success.

The President of the United States presented the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Commander Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (NSN: 0–7918), United States Navy, for exceptional service in a high-responsibility position. He demonstrated that heavier-than-air aircraft could fly nonstop to the North Pole and return.

General Orders: Letter dated August 6, 1926.

The President of the United States presented a Gold Star in place of a second Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (NSN: 0–7918), United States Navy, for outstanding service as Commanding Officer of the U.S. Antarctic Service. Rear Admiral Byrd helped organize the expedition quickly, built two Antarctic bases 1,500 miles apart, and conducted scientific and economic research. With the USS Bear, he explored dangerous seas and made four important flights, discovering new mountains, islands, over 100,000 square miles of land, a peninsula, and 700 miles of unknown Antarctic coastline. His leadership and dedication reflected the highest standards of the U.S. Navy.

The President of the United States presented the Legion of Merit to Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (NSN: 0–7918), United States Navy, for outstanding service while leading a Special Navy Mission to the Pacific from August 27, 1943, to December 5, 1943. During this mission, he surveyed 33 Pacific islands to identify locations for air bases useful to the United States. He worked with civilian, Army, and Navy experts to complete the task. His leadership, courage, and ability helped gather valuable data for the U.S. defense and future aviation.

Action Date: August 27 – December 5, 1943.

The President of the United States presented a Gold Star in place of a second Legion of Merit to Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (NSN: 0–7918), United States Navy, for outstanding service as Confidential Advisor to the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, and Chief of Naval Operations from March 26, 1942, to May 10, 1942, August 14, 1942, to August 26, 1943, and December 6, 1943, to October 1, 1945. Rear Admiral Byrd worked in the Navy Department and on missions in Europe and the Pacific. His attention to detail, judgment, and dedication contributed to the success of the U.S. Navy during the war. His work honored the traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

General Orders: Board Serial 176P00 (February 4, 1946).

Action Date: March 26, 1942 – October 1, 1945.

The President of the United States presented the Distinguished Flying Cross to Commander Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (NSN: 0–7918), United States Navy, for extraordinary achievements during flight. He flew the airplane "America" from New York City to France from June 29 to July 1, 1927, across the Atlantic Ocean in very bad weather. He landed safely in Ver-sur-Mer, France, after a 39-hour and 56-minute flight, despite the difficulty of landing in Paris.

Action Date: June 29 – July 1, 1927.

He provided valuable service as Secretary and Organizer of the Navy Department Commission on Training Camps. He trained men in aviation at a ground school in Pensacola, led rescue parties, and later managed air forces in Canada.

— Awarded for service from 1917 to 1918 during World War I.