“There’s left in the world today an area as big as the United States that’s never been seen by a human being — and that’s beyond the pole, on the other side of the South Pole, from middle America. And I think it’s quite astonishing that there should be an area as big as that unexplored.”
— Admiral Richard E. Byrd
▶ Full Interview Transcript
Source: Longines Chronoscope television program — Admiral Richard E. Byrd interview. Transcribed via Whisper ASR. Duration: 13:08.
[00:00]
HOST: Our guest tonight found out whether there was any land north of the North American continent. He made that first discovery flight and I must say that Admiral Byrd, our guest tonight, is not only our greatest living explorer, but he’s been an inspiration to countless Americans.
Admiral Byrd, you’ve been to both the North Pole and the South Pole. Is there any unexplored land left on this earth that might appeal to adventurous young Americans?
BYRD: Oh yes, there is. And not up around the North Pole, because it’s getting crowded up there now — they’ve found out it’s really usable, not only to live in, but militarily. But strangely enough, there’s left in the world today an area as big as the United States that’s never been seen by human beings. And that’s beyond the pole, on the other side of the South Pole, from middle America. And I think it’s quite astonishing that there should be an area as big as that unexplored.
HOST: What’s the tremendous thing? There’s a lot of adventure left down at the bottom of the world. Admiral, do you hope to see that?
BYRD: I do.
[01:09]
HOST: Well, Admiral, would you say that since you’ve been to both the extremities of earth — are these expeditions to such far-off places getting easier because of modern techniques, or is it still dangerous, still close at hand?
BYRD: Well, it’s a little risky, but nothing like it used to be with the old slow planes and the small cruising radius where we had to put down bases. We replaced the dog teams, and of course that was a big improvement. But now the planes go much faster, they’re safer, and they have a much bigger cruising radius. You haven’t got the danger of a terribly heavy load.
[01:47]
HOST: Admiral, an expedition to which I believe you are the advisor is now enrolled. What is that expedition doing?
BYRD: Well, that’s the icebreaker Atka. It’s a reconnaissance expedition — going down to the South Pole area to make certain observations and to look for some bases. They will be back in April, and upon the information we get from that undertaking we will base the bigger expedition that’s to follow.
HOST: Is that very definitely planned?
BYRD: That is being planned right now. I’m willing to say to you that there will be a number of expeditions that will follow — year after year — because the government has really become interested.
[02:39]
HOST: Well Admiral Byrd, I think everybody can understand the interest in the North Pole because it’s so near our greatest challenger, Soviet Russia — but why this interest in the bottom of the world? Nobody’s living down there, is there?
BYRD: No, it’s pretty cold. There’s only one permanent resident — that’s the Emperor Penguin; the little ones live further north.
I’ll tell you one reason they’re interested. It’s by far the most valuable, important place left in the world for science. That’s where scientific groups all over the nation are really focused. But more important than that, it has to do with the future of the nation — those to come after us, or even during your lifetime. Because it happens to be an untouched reservoir of natural resources.
And you know, as the world moves with an ever-increasing acceleration, far-flung places once thought useless — like we thought the North Pole was — become very useful. The bottom of the world will be important, not only to us but to our allies.
[03:54]
HOST: Does it have military importance?
BYRD: It has some, and as the world shrinks — and it will continue to shrink with an ever-increasing acceleration, thus bringing these places closer — in the future, I can see a time when it will be very, very important strategically.
HOST: As development of air power increases there, the strategic importance of places like—
BYRD: Oh, very much so. Very much so. Even now, if anything happened and we lost the Panama Canal, we would have to control the islands just north of Antarctica — which are part of Antarctica — and between there and Cape Horn.
[04:34]
HOST: I’ve heard it said that there are seven continents in the world and one of them has never been seen by a woman — and that’s Antarctica. Is that actually true?
BYRD: As far as I know, that’s true. No woman has ever stepped foot upon the Antarctic continent, and it’s the most peaceful place in the world.
HOST: Well sure, that won’t last very long.
[04:57]
HOST: I understand you’re now working with the Birds Eye company in charge of frozen foods. Is there any future for frozen foods down at these frozen extremities?
BYRD: Well, I think the human race can be helped by that. This was thought out by Clarence Birdseye, who is in my opinion a great humanitarian. We learned that after four or five years, we went down there and finished a meal that we had left on the table when we had evacuated Little America — everything was perfect, including the bread. So he got the idea of frozen bread. He’s already sent some to Europe for some of the starving people.
So you could store food down in the Antarctic against the lean years — and you wouldn’t have any people in the world really starving if you did that. Even in the event of an atomic war.
[05:53]
HOST: Admiral, you speak of the resources of Antarctica. What are the natural resources there?
BYRD: Well, we’ve found enough coal within 180 miles of the South Pole, in a great mountain region, not covered in snow — enough to supply the whole world for quite a while. That’s the coal. Now there’s evidence of many other minerals. We’re pretty sure there’s oil — that coal shows the region was once tropical. So we think there’s oil there, and there’s evidence of probably uranium there.
HOST: Is there uranium there? That would be the only thing that would be practical to actually go after, I suppose — everything else would be economically unfeasible, wouldn’t it?
BYRD: Well, as we recklessly expend our resources, the time will come and we’ll have to go after that stuff down there. But I want to be careful about what I say about uranium — I don’t want to have the world fighting over the Antarctic.
[07:04]
HOST: Were there competition among other nations to try to get information about Antarctica and possibly to secure some of these resources?
BYRD: Well, yes. There are several nations very much interested. Russia is interested tremendously — that I’m sure of. Australia has an expedition down there. Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Britain, and so on. You can understand those people being interested because they live nearby — New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Australia. And so we don’t do much about claiming anything.
HOST: Admiral, you make it sound a little crowded. Are there that many expeditions now there or en route?
BYRD: Well, as I said, it’s the most peaceful place in the world — but I don’t think it will be for long, because of this intense interest on the part of other nations, and this nation.
[08:09]
HOST: Admiral Byrd, are private expeditions a thing of the past? Is polar exploration now purely a government function?
BYRD: No, I don’t think so. Down south it may be more or less the thing of the past, but not other expeditions. There’s a lot of them going off now. This latest expedition is a government one, yes.
[08:34]
HOST: Admiral Byrd, may I ask — is there a great difference between the top of the world and the bottom of the world?
BYRD: There is. The North Pole is the center of an ocean 10,000 feet deep. The South Pole is the center of a plateau 10,000 feet high. The Arctic Ocean is surrounded by continents, slightly frozen. The Antarctic continent is surrounded by a belt of ice, frozen seas at least 1,200 miles wide. The south is a plateau — it gets in some places to 14,000 feet up. I’ve been over areas about 13,000 feet — it’s a little bit chilly up there.
So there’s that big difference between the top and bottom of the world. The North really isn’t very cold up there on the Arctic Ocean, compared to the south.
[09:29]
HOST: Admiral Byrd, we often hear said that young Americans now aren’t as hardy as their forefathers. Do you think that Americans do measure up to the physical and morale standards of the past?
BYRD: I do. I don’t believe that. I think they’re just as hardy.
HOST: What would you say is the most valuable factor on an expedition? Is it morale, physical courage, or sheer equipment?
BYRD: I’ve always thought that loyalty was by far the most important trait. The British told me when I first went down in ’28 that I couldn’t possibly get through the winter night without a mutiny if I took more than 20 men — but to serve science, I had to take 42 men. Then I took 56 the next time and so on. And I did find that loyalty was the most important thing during the winter night, when it’s very hard on your nerves.
HOST: I think that’s a very valuable characteristic at any time. Thank you very much, Admiral Byrd. It’s been a great pleasure to have you here tonight.
BYRD: It’s a pleasure to be with you.
The opinions expressed on the Longines Chronoscope were those of the speakers. Distinguished guest: Admiral Richard E. Byrd. Broadcast on behalf of Longines, the world’s most honored watch.
