By Den Ardinger, 32° KCCH

Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr, many times called one of the greatest explorers in the world, was born October 25, 1888, in Winchester, Virginia.  He was the son of Richard Evelyn Byrd Sr. and his wife, Esther Bolling Flood.  He was a descendant of one of the earliest Virginia families and among his ancestors was Pocahontas.

He attended the Virginia Military Institute for two years before transferring to the University of Virginia.  In 1908, he accepted an appointment to the United States Navel Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and graduated in June 1912 as an Ensign in the United States Navy.  He was assigned to the battleship USS Wyoming and served in the Caribbean before transferring to the cruiser USS Washington and served in Mexican Waters. 

He married Marie Donaldson Ames, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, on January 20, 1915. They had four children.  

During his tour of duty on the USS Dolphin, he met many high-ranking and influential officers since it was the yacht of the Secretary of the Navy.  In June 1915 he was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade.  His last duty assignment was to the presidential yacht, USS Mayflower.  It was here he badly injured his ankle and was forced into a medical retirement on three-quarters pay.  In December 1916, just before the United States entered World War I.  He was appointed the inspector of the Rhode Island Naval Militia.  When the United States entered the war in April 1917 he oversaw its mobilization.  With the country involved in the war, he was recalled to active duty and assigned to the Office of Naval Operations and in the fall was sent to naval aviation school in Pensacola, Florida where he qualified as a naval aviator in June 1918.

The war ended in November 1918 and in 1919 he volunteered to be a crew member on the Navy’s aerial transatlantic crossing.  He was turned down as a crew member but was selected to plan the trip.  Three flying boats started the journey but only one finished successfully in May 1919.  This was the first transatlantic flight.

Byrd volunteered for the first attempt of a solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1921.  The mission was considered too risky, however, and was not approved.

Among his many connections was a close friendship with Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford.  Through this avenue his polar explorations had sponsorship from the Ford Motor Company. This assistance paid off in 1926 when Byrd and Chief Naval Aviator Floyd Bennett attempted a flight over the North Pole in a Fokker tri-motor monoplane named Josephine Ford after Edsel Ford’s daughter.  The flight took off from Spitsbergen and lasted just shy of 16 hours and covered 1,535 miles.  Upon returning, he became a national hero, and both men were promoted and awarded the Medal of Honor on March 5, 1927, at the White House by President Calvin Coolidge.

In May 1927, Charles Lindbergh made his famous non-stop flight across the Atlantic and the following month, Byrd, along with chief pilot Bernt Balchen, Bert Acosta and Lieutenant George Noville flew from Roosevelt Field in East Garden City, New York in the America, carrying mail.  However, they arrived over Paris obscured by clouds and had to make a crash landing on a Normandy beach called Ver-sur-Mer without fatalities.  In France, Byrd was awarded the French Legion of Honor. Upon returning to the United States in July, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

In 1928, Byrd began his first Antarctic expedition with two ships and three aircraft.  A base camp was established called “Little America” on the Ross Ice Shelf and explorations were made by air, on snowshoes, dog sleds, and snowmobiles.  On November 29, 1929, Byrd and his crew made the first successful flight to the South Pole in a little under 19 hours.  For this achievement, Byrd was promoted by a special act of Congress to the rank of Rear Admiral on December 21, 1929.  This made him the youngest admiral in the Navy at the age of 41.  This made him one of only three people promoted to Admiral without having held the rank of Captain first.  Upon returning to the United States in 1930, Byrd was awarded the Gold Medal of the American Geographical Society.

During his second Antarctic expedition in 1934, he spent five winter months alone in darkness operating a meteorological station.  During this period, he almost died and had to be rescued.

Richard E. Byrd was an active Freemason.  He was raised a Master Mason in Federal Lodge No. 1 in Washington, DC on March 19, 1921.  He was also a member of Kane Lodge No. 454 in New York City on September 18, 1928.  He founded the First Antarctic Lodge No. 777 in 1935.

His third expedition to the Antarctic was from 1939 to 1940.  It was the first funded by the U. S. Government. In March 1940, he was recalled to active duty, returned to the United States, and served in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. The expedition continued without him until March 22, 1941.

During World War II, he served on the South Pacific Inspection Board writing and submitting reports on what was needed by various bases along with specific recommendations.  After the war in 1946, he returned to Antarctic leading the largest expedition ever with a total of 4,000 personnel in Task Force 68.  The expedition was to last six to eight months and was called “Operation High Jump”.

His last expedition was in 1955 and 1956 as Operation Deep Freeze where Byrd was the officer in charge.  This marked the beginning of the U. S. military’s permanent presence and where permanent bases were set up at McMurdo Sound.

Admiral Byrd died at his home in Beacon Hill,  Boston, Massachusetts on March 11, 1957 at the age of 68.  He was buried with honors in Arlington National Cemetery.

His honors were legendary.  He was the only person to have three ticker tape parades in New York City in his honor.  He was one of only four American military officers entitled to wear a medal with his own image on it.  He was the only officer entitled to wear two medals with his own image (the Byrd Expeditionary Medals).  He was awarded 22 citations, including nine for bravery and two for extraordinary heroism in saving the lives of others.  He is one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the U.S. Navy including the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Silver Life Saving Medal.  He received all three Antarctic expedition medals for explorations prior to World War II.

Richard E. Byrd, more than a man, a Mason.