A statue and graves of note in Arlington, Virginia.

Richard E. Byrd, America's most famous Antarctic explorer, died on March 11, 1957, in Boston and three days later was buried at Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac from Washington, D.C. If you visit the cemetery (open every day; lots of parking and a handy Metro stop) you'll find yourself walking to the Visitors Center along Memorial Drive (or the Avenue of Heroes). On the north side roughly opposite the Center you'll see, high on a white marble base, Felix de Weldon's bronze life size statue of Byrd in polar clothing (013). The Admiral is standing, feet apart, fists clenched, and head upraised. [Another version is at Reedsport, Oregon (since relocated to the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State). The Byrd busts at McMurdo and at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch are also by de Weldon as is the monumental Iwo Jima Memorial.] The inscriptions on the marble base read:
      On the front: Richard Evelyn Byrd | Rear Admiral United States Navy | October 25, 1888. March 11, 1957 | [device] | Upon the bright globe he carved | his signature of courage | erected by National Geographic Society.
      On the west side: [round map showing Antarctica] | Valiant leader of | five antarctic expeditions 1928-1957 | which revealed the secrets of | half the great white continent.
      On the east side: [round map of north pole area] | First to fly over the north pole 1926 | And the south pole 1929 | A pioneer conqueror of the Atlantic by air 1927. [Higher up:] Felix W. De Weldon Sc. 1961.
      On the north side: [A long listing of all his awards and medals from 1926-1960, including the Medal of Honor 1927.]

      Byrd's grave (072) is on Roosevelt Drive, not far from the Visitors Center; the hand-out map highlights it. As you walk up towards it you can see the Custis-Lee Mansion rising in the background. The marker itself is a "regulation" service headstone that reads as follows: [cross device] | RICHARD E | Byrd, JR | [star device] | MEDAL OF HONOR | RADM | US NAVY | OCT 25 1888 | MAR 11, 1957
      On the reverse side: 2 4969-1 VIRGINIA | WORLD WAR I & II | NC-DSM & GS | LM & GS-DFC-CR | FIRST FLIGHT OVER | NORTH POLE | MAY 9 1926 |

      Within a few feet to the east is a similarly designed headstone for Byrd's son, Richard, and his mother. It reads: [cross device] | RICHARD E. | BYRD, JR. | US NAVY | WORLD WAR II | FEB 19 1920 | OCT 3 1988. [Both the Admiral and his son apparently used the term junior.]
      On the reverse side: 2 4968-8 | MARIE A. | HIS WIFE | JAN 19 1889 | SEP 3 1974 [Although it seems odd, given the wording, the inscription for the Admiral's wife, Marie, is indeed on the back of the son's marker.]

      To the west of the Admiral's marker is a larger granite memorial to Bernt Balchen (1899-1973), a member of the first BAE in 1928 and the pilot of the Floyd Bennett on the historic 1929 flight to the South Pole (072). He was also the chief pilot on Ellsworth's 1933-34 and 1934-35 Antarctic expeditions. Norwegian born, he became an American citizen in 1931.
      The inscription on the marker reads: BERNT BALCHEN | COLONEL, U.S. AIR FORCE | 1899-1973
      On the reverse side: [Device] | "TODAY GOES FAST AND TOMORROW IS ALMOST HERE. | MAYBE I HAVE HELPED A LITTLE IN THE CHANGE. | SO I GO ON TO THE NEXT ADVENTURE, LOOKING TO | THE FUTURE BUT ALWAYS THINKING BACK TO THE PAST, | REMEMBERING MY TEAMMATES AND THE LONELY PLACES | I HAVE SEEN THAT NO MAN EVER SAW BEFORE . . . " | BERNT BALCHEN | -4969-2
      On the south edge: A Masonic device. On the north edge: The device of The Explorers Club.

An update of Episode 39 (posted as Episode 45b):

In Episode 39, Admiral Richard E. Byrd's gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery was described. I commented that it seemed odd that the inscription for Marie Byrd, the Admiral's wife, appears on the back of the son's marker (rather than on the husband's) and, further, that the names of both the son and the father read the same, Richard E. Byrd, Jr. Curious about this I contacted some Byrd family members and learned the following: "My mother's and brother's names on the same stone and the Jr. after both my father's and brother's names are mistakes. A memorial was to be erected some time ago at which time the problem was to be resolved. Unfortunately, plans for the memorial fell through to be completed at some future date." One wonders whether such a memorial will ever materialize. (See Episode 66 for more on this continuing saga.)

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