Evening star., 1939-12-24


possible right now, he declares, to maj
weather observations in the antarctic {
immense value to our naval and merchant We
sells in the Pacific and South Atlantic. Ar
such advance information will be provided
the present expedition.
But if that is, in Byrd's mind, just abo,
the most important reason for going to II
antarctic. it is by no means the only one.
As a matter of fact, there is one yer
simple answer to the question of why he hi
gone south this time: he is obeying order
This expedition. unlike the two earlier one
is not Byrds at all, but the government
Plans and preparations for it were we'll und
way before President Roosevelt, in mid Jul
asked Byrd to return to active service al
take command of it. Whether he stays in Il
antarctic to participate in whatever advel
lures the expedition encounters. or return
with the ships when the bases have been e'
tablshed. depends not on his own preferenc
but on the orders he receives from the govern
ment
That, say is simple answer, but it /
hardly fully revealing one. Byrd didn't &C
cept this command perfunctorily - he leapee
at the chance He raised $45,OOO for an aiSu
plane to add to the expedition, and $llO,OU
in materials and funds for refurbishing hi
own ship, the Bear. which he then sold ttI
the government for one dollar. "a Would-bt
yachtsman, reading news of this sale, wrote
to him to find out if he had any more to sell
at the same price Public spirited contribu-
tors, at Byrd's request, put up the extra funds
and supplies, but he himself donated as mucf
as he could afford Getting any return from
it is out of the question, because it is govern
ment expedition As matter of fact, h
won't even be getting the pay to which hi
rank entities him when on active service. Il
order to iron out budgetary difficulties he will
ingly agreed to accept active service at hi
retired-Officer's pay.
les, he wanted to 60, all right And
doesn't deny that the love of adventure pla
a big part in Turing him to such remote, fC
bidding regions as the antarctic. That wou
be futile denial to anyone who knows hin
Quiet soft spoken with an utter lack
bravado. he is no professional hero: but ev
since, at the age of twelve. he travelled arourI
the world alone, he has been seeking adve
ture. After his graduation from Annapolis,
helped put down two revolutions in the W.
Indies He was the first man to fly over Il
North Pole, and one of the first to fly I
Atlantic. Before he ever went to Antarctica
all, he had been cited twenty times for brave
or conspicuous conduct had received
formal thanks of Congress and had be
awarded the five highest medals the count
can give.
Sitting in his home on quiet Brimmer Stru
in Boston, before he left, he told me OF
thrill of looking at parts of this earth that
human eyes perhaps no eyes at all III
ever seen before And his own eyes spark
as he talked. "Of course love adventure.
said, in matter fact tone Il seem to nel
adventure always have. Probably alwa
SHALL But
But =. =. adventuring has never been enou
for Byrd When, as young American II,
in the World War, he tried to persuade
superior officers to let him attempt fiji
across the Atlantic i long before Lindbel
it was not only because he wanted
adventure That was part of it, of course;
he also saw something important to be acce
plished by the adventure - the boosting
the morale of the Allies. Similarly. he
never gone to the antarctic just for
adventure.