Race for Antartica; Admiral Byrd and Pitt County Anyone familiar with world history knows the name of the famous American Polar explorer, Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd. While it is known that Admiral Byrd led six major expeditions into the Polar regions and it is a little known fact that several Pitt Countians served under him on these treks. Richard Evelyn Byrd (1888-1957) was a native of Winchester, Va. and a 1912 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. Following his graduation from the Naval Academy, Byrd became a naval aviator in WWI 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. On May 9, 1926, Byrd made a second attempt to fly over the North Pole. Flying with naval aviator, Floyd Bennett in the "Josephine Ford," named after the daughter of a major contributor to his expedition, the 38-year-old Byrd this time met with success. According to Byrd, he and Bennett flew over the North Pole, despite having developed a dangerous oil leak. When he arrived back at the Spitsbergen airfield in Norway much earlier than expected and announced his feat, skeptics voiced their doubts. Those doubts still linger, but for this extraordinary heroic achievement, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by a special Act of Congress and attained the status of American Hero. Byrd then turned his attention to the opposite end of the globe and announced his intention of flying over and claiming for America the vast uncharted spaces of Antarctica. Byrd departed the United States on his first Antarctic expedition on Aug. 28, 1928, with four ships loaded with three planes, 95 dogs, 650 tons of supplies, and 42 men headed for a place as unknown and treacherous as the far reaches of outer space. The expedition took two months to reach its destination and upon arrival they had to work quickly to establish a base camp before the total blackness of winter descended. Expedition members, outfitted in kangaroo hide boots, caribou gloves, and fur parkas set up their base at a spot nine miles inland. Byrd christened it “Little America.” It was from this point that Byrd and Bernt Balchen, the man whom Byrd chose as his pilot after the death of Floyd Bennett, made their successful, first-ever flight over the South Pole on November 29, 1928. After 14 months on the ice, Byrd and his men headed for home. Upon arrival, Byrd was once again given a hero's welcome. The Navy promoted him to the rank of Admiral and to millions of Americans, Byrd was now known as the “Admiral of the Antarctic.” On his second expedition, in 1934, Byrd spent five winter months alone operating a meteorological station from which he narrowly escaped with his life after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning from a poorly-ventilated stove. This expedition is described by Byrd in his autobiography “Alone” and commemorated in a U.S. postage stamp issued at the time. Admiral Byrd's third expedition to Antarctica in 1939 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. Admiral Byrd's fourth expedition to Antarctica in 1946-47, known as “Operation Highjump,” was the largest Antarctic expedition to date. 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 December 31, 1946, and made aerial explorations of an area half the size of the United States, recording ten new mountain ranges. The expedition was terminated abruptly at the end of February 1947, six months early, and the entire remaining armada returned immediately to the United States. The early termination of the mission was never explained and is used by UFO theorists as part of a fascinating tale about Byrd finding a UFO base in the ice and meeting aliens. Admiral Byrd’s last expedition to Antarctica was part of a multi-national collaboration for the International Geophysical Year. In 1956, Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Byrd as officer-in-charge of U.S. Antarctic programs to command “Operation Deep Freeze,” which established permanent Antarctic bases at McMurdo Sound, the Bay of Whales, and the South Pole. Coming back to the present, research has uncovered that several Pitt Countian’s have served with Admiral Byrd on his expeditions. Only two names are known, Ross B. Hill and Lt. A. M. Tripp, who were both part of “Operation Highjump.” According to a small mention in a 1947 newspaper article, Ross B. Hill, was the son of Mrs. Blanche B. Hill, of Reade Street, Greenville, NC. He had been in the Navy for 17 months, having served in Cuba before sailing on Jan. 2, 1947 with the Byrd Expedition on the Philippine Sea. Nothing more on Ross B. Hill is known. In another 1947 newspaper article, Lt. A. M. Tripp, a Naval Assistant Fiscal Officer, was mentioned as serving on the USS Merrick with Byrd’s Expedition. We know that Lt. Alonzo Morgan Tripp, was born on Dec. 29, 1906 in Stokes, Pitt County, the son of John Morgan Tripp and Sallie Henrietta Tripp (daughter of William Henry Tripp and Sarah Alvania Vincent). Lt. Tripp entered the Navy on Dec. 27, 1929 at Baltimore, Md. He worked his way up the ranks and was made warrant officer on Nov. 13, 1944, and was commissioned a Lieutenant (junior grade) on Jan. 20, 1946. During WWII he served in both the European and Pacific theaters. He was attached to the ship salvage group under Commodore Sullivan, which worked with the Army engineers in clearing such ports as Cherbourg, Brest, Le Havre and Rouen. He then was stationed on the USS Merrick, which was commissioned in 1945, and sailed around the South Pacific and Japan. In 1947, he was married with two children living in Portsmouth, Va. More research may uncover the other names of Pitt Countian’s who served under the famous Admiral Richard E. Byrd. _________________________________________________________________ Rediscover Hotmail®: Get e-mail storage that grows with you. http://windowslive.com/RediscoverHotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Rediscover_Storage1_042009