Byrd poignantly addressed the "spirit of our expedition"

and past destructiveness caused by the quest for personal

satisfactions. He also strikingly notes how navigating

one’s way in civilization often presents more challenges

than it does in the polar regions. This is perhaps due to

the unforgiving nature of the frozen world being divided

between life and death, with nothing in between.

Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal, 1933-1935

"This morning, just 62 years ago, Byrd and his Ice Party

members, including Yours Truly, sailed up the Bay to

the D.C. Navy Yard..." So wrote Dr. Alton A. Lindsey

(Figure 4) to the author on May 10, 1997; he had turned

90 only three days before. In the early years of the Great

Depression, he was at Cornell University studying for his

doctorate in biology when he interrupted that pursuit to

serve as the vertebrate zoologist on the Byrd Antarctic

Expedition II, 1933-1935. While the interior of the

continent was canvassed by dog sled (Figure 5), tractor

and airplane, Lindsey studied penguins, seals and other

animals on the coast.

After the successful expedition, the Second Byrd

Antarctic Expedition Medal, 1933-1935, was established

by Act of Congress on June 2, 1936. Struck in sterling

silver (oxidized, relieved and satin finish), 57 medals were issued, each having the recipient’s name impressed

in sans serif capitals on the edge (I previously believed

the naming to be engraved). This figure represents 56 men

in the Ice Party who spent the winter night (six months)

at Little America plus one to Lieutenant (JG) Robert A.

J. English, U.S.N., Master of the Bear of Oakland. The

medal to Admiral Byrd (Figure 6) was issued in a named

case, and this may have been a standard practice.

Hanging from a white ribbon, representing the snow

and ice of Antarctica, the obverse depicts Admiral Byrd

standing on ice in polar clothing; he is holding a ski pole

in his left hand and a sled dog is seated on his right. In

Figure 4: Lindsey during his Antarctic days (courtesy Figure 6: Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal,

of Elizabeth S. Lb~dsey). 1933-35, awarded to Admiral Byrd (courtesy Sotheby’s).

Figure 5: Antarctic dog sled team (By Dog Sled for Byrd, by John S. O’Obrien).

Vol. 62, No. 1 (January-February 2011)

the background there are large ice formations. The

dates 1933/1935 are to the right on the ice. The whole is

encircled by BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

The reverse features a central rectangular tablet with the

wording: PRESENTED TO THE OFFICERS AND MEN

OF THE SECOND BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION

TO EXPRESS THE VERY HIGH ADMIRATION IN

WHICH THE CONGRESS AND THE AMERICAN

PEOPLE HOLD THEIR HEROIC AND UNDAUNTED

ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR SCIENCE UNEQUALLED

IN TIlE HISTORY OF POLAR EXPLORATION.

The images surrounding the tablet evidently have not been fully described in literature before now. To the left are two radio towers of Little America, to the right is the Bear of Oakland under full sail, and above what has been described as a "Ford Tri-Motor airplane" (without any landing skis); if true, this is the Floyd Bennett, salvaged from Byrd’s first expedition. Finally, below the tablet is a team of four dogs pulling a man on a sled, with ice formations in the background. The medal is named on the edge (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Edge naming of Lindsey’s Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal, 1933-35 (photo by Louise Lindsey).

Dr. Lindsey clearly remembered the October day in 1937 when he received his medal (Figure 8):

When the enclosed 1937 photo was taken by a

Navy photographer (otherwise now unknown), the

C[ongressional] medal had been pinned upon Wm.

Haines, Byrd Antarctic Expedition II meteorologist,

in the private office of Navy Dept. Secretary Claude

Swanson, a famed statesman of that time (seated,

because too feeble to stand). [Swanson wrote the 9

1/2-page introduction to Byrd’s Discovery: The Story

of The Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition] He is only

pretending to pin the medal on his friend Byrd (left,

with famous Admiral Leahy behind his head), and

even that was an ordeal. Everyone looks so grim &

unhappy because we, especially Byrd his great friend,

were affected by Swanson’s condition. I am the only

young man shown in this photo...

But Dr. Lindsey held a more important memory of an intangible reward for service in the frozen south:

The expedition ended with President F.D. Roosevelt meeting The Bear May 10, 1935 on arrival, waiting on the dock at Washington Navy Yard. I did, & still do, appreciate that handshake & conversation more than the Congressional medal. There were 56 men on the Ice Party, and the scientific staffof 10, the flyers, a few military officers (perhaps a third of the personnel of 56, received the medal by mail, late in 1937). Haines & I were living there in D.C.

Figure 8: Byrd (standing left, with Admiral Leahy behind), Haines (standing middle), and Lindsey (standing far righO, receiving the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition

Medals from Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson (seated), on October 15, 1937.

6 JOMSA

In fact, the expedition formally ended six days later when the two main expedition vessels, the Bear of Oakland and Jacob Ruppert, sailed into Boston where the participants were received at an official welcome home to Boston ceremony hosted by the mayor. The passing decades had not lessened memories of other former comrades on the ice. Lindsey laid down the names of the seven surviving Ice Party lads he knew were still living in 1997:

Dr. Erwin H. Bramhall (Physicist) Stevenson Corey (Supply Officer & Dog Driver)

Joseph Hill Junior (Tractor Driver) Guy Hutcheson (Radio Engineer)

Alton A. Lindsey (Vertebrate Zoologist) William S. McCormick (Autogyro Pilot)

Olin D. Stancliff (Dog Driver)

Just off the northwest tip of Canisteo Peninsula in the Amundsen Sea, the twelve Lindsey Islands are features on the map today (73°37’S, 103°18’W). Dr. Lindsey wrote that the archipelago was personally discovered by Byrd in 1940, and the United States Board on Geographical Names (B.G.N.) website states the islands were delineated from air photos taken during the United States Navy’s Operation Highjump in December 1946. The Board on Geographical Names. named the group in January 1960. Dr. Lindsey passed from the scene in the final days of December 1999, at the age of 92; he was believed to be the last living scientist from the Byrd Antarctic expeditions. I was tremendously grateful we shared those letters two years before, but had no inkling our exchanges would eventually lead to aid in keeping alive memories of Dr. Lindsey and the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition.

Beyond the 1937 photograph, I had never seen a picture of Dr. Lindsey’s congressional medal, and over the years that followed my curiosity finally prodded me into contacting the Lindsey family. During January 2009 I telephoned Louise Wo Lindsey, the explorer’s daughter, and explained my association with her father. She was extremely gracious and warm, and not only offered to take photographs of the medal, but also put me in touch with her mother, Elizabeth (who had just entered her 90th year).

In the early days of February, I heard Elizabeth’s gentle and confident voice for the first time; like Louise, she was eager to help with my research and learn more about the medal’s meaning. Soon images of the medal an’ived by email, and initially I winced: a naked silver disc filled the computer screen. The two top rings, ribbon, and brooch pin had all gone astray. Upon asking Elizabeth if she knew the whereabouts of these pieces, she vaguely recalled seeing them at some point in time, but doubted

they could now be pinpointed. On a positive note, some

of the images clearly showed the edge naming, A.A.

LINDSEY.

Elizabeth’s explanation as to how the medal was passed onto her speaks of Alton Lindsey’s character. As his 90th birthday approached, his family wanted the celebration to be an extra special one, but Dr. Lindsey would not allow any presents, instead he turned the tables. He prepared several small gift boxes for some of his relatives, "with treasures from his long life of expeditions and travels. My little box contained his Byrd Antarctic Expedition II Congressional Medal," explained Elizabeth.

Before long, my brain cells were set apace, and I put forth an earnest suggestion to Elizabeth and Louise: restore the medal. I offered to hunt up a length of ribbon and pin brooch, and their local jeweler could attach the silver rings. My idea suq~rised and delighted them, and so I moved one step further: What about having a portrait photograph taken, with Elizabeth wearing the medal in honor of her husband? This idea was received with equal good cheer.

My attention now turlaed to the task of acquiring a ribbon

and pin brooch; neither of which were readily available

items. As it happened, the Second Byrd Antarctic

Expedition Medal was issued with a somewhat wider

ribbon than what is standard for United States medals,

and consequently was fitted onto a wider pin brooch as

well. A viable substitute for the first came in the form of

a length of British Arctic Medal 1818-1855 ribbon, while

the latter was satisfied by a pin brooch from a United

States World War I Victory Medal. Not perfect matches,

but very close to the originals.

In late February, I dispatched the parts to Elizabeth, along with instructions for the repair. Within two weeks, the jeweler can’ied out the work in a most satisfactory manner, and Elizabeth handily sewed the ribbon onto the pin brooch (Figure 9). On March 17, Elizabeth and Louise sat for their portrait, the medal hanging from its snow white ribbon stood out boldly against Elizabeth’s red lapel; Dr. Lindsey’s congressional medal had been resurrected (Figure 10)!

United States Antarctic Expedition Medal, 1939-1941

On a typically brilliant Florida afternoon in January 2009, the author strolled into the inviting surroundings of Robert L. Colombo’s home, clasping his hand for the first time. Having conesponded with Robert in October, 1994 about

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