The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1927-06-29
BYRD POPULAR
AS SCHOOLBOY,
TEACHERS SAY
Entered Virginia Military
School, But Later Went to
Naval Academy

Lexington. Va, June 29.-tR-
They called him Dick" and "Dicky,"
and knew him as an all-round stu
dent in classes, military affairs and
athletics when Commander Richard
Evelyn Byrd, the daring flyer, was u
cadet at Virginia Military Institute
More than that, he was a pet
"rat'-which is the same as plebe
at West Point and Annapolis Of
the barracks and enjoyed extreme
popularity.
Byrd entered v. NJ. l. with the
class that graduated in 1908, but
pointment to the Naval Academy,
and while waiting for a vacancy at
tended the University Of Virginia.
Dick was a very young man
when he entered" Charles Paul, Of
Roanoke, Va. a member of the class
of 1907, recalls "He took everything
coming to him as rat in fine spirit
and the lot Of rat is hard
bne."
Ready to Fight
On one occasion, however. Dick
took exception to slurring remark
about his size from third class
man, Paul says, and everything was
set for a fight on the hanks of
North River when upper-classmen
interviewed. Dick was more disap-
pointed than anyone else, but had
the satisfaction of not hearing any
further remarks about his size.
Dick and ! were on the gymna-
SUM team together for two years"
John E. Doyle, of Norfolk. Va. re-
lates. "He handled himself beauti-
fully on the apparatus and was
especially agile and accomplished
rs tumbler. Though small in size,
he was wiry and afraid Of no stunt,
no matter how difficult"
Byrd would TRY anthing." accord
ing to Colonel X. Barclay Poague,
chairman of the committee on ath-
letics, and impressed all who came
in contact with him with his courage.
Colonel Henry C. Ford, who taught
both history and English while
Byrd was in the school, told him he
had a PROMISING career rs writer.
Did Well in Class
HE did well in Glass;" says Col
oncl Francis +. Mallory, professor
of physics, "and there is one thing
that impressed me particularly.
When he left the institute, in spite
of all the hustle and confusion at
the end of the season, he took the
bye and thank me for the help / had
given him in class"
Writing to the editor of The
Cadet. Y. M. |. weekly newspaper,
AlbVt c. Brown, of Birney, Mont, a
c!asshatc of Byrds, relates:
"You probably know of the cave
located about two miles west of
The Nile Ia small stream flowing
past the harracks). At the time
when we were cadets, very few had
reached the end Of the cave, but that
1t had an end we were assured by
Professor Pendlcton.
FILLED with determination to
reach the end, four Of us, Dicky
Byrd, John Crittenden, Edward Tay-
Tor and !, spent each Sunday for
weeks working out one passage and
then another.
BLOCKED for a while by SEEM
ingly impossible bit Of crevassc, we
finally made way around it, to a
place we thought for a while was
the end of the cave. 1t was the end
OF one passage, but here a hole no
larger than man went down at an
angle Of more than As degrees.
Into this, head first. went Dick
BYRD. and once started there was no
turning back. That wet limestone
was slick as glass. Four wet, very
muddy cadets went down the long
side, one after another, into we knew
not what, but what proved to be
large and rather beautiful passage,
ending IL blank wall and our ad-
venture"