Deep Freeze: The United States, the International Geophysical Year, and the Origins of Antarctica's Age of Science

Preface and Acknowledgements

xxv P R E F A C E A N D A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S My partners tell the story of the origins of this history in their generous Foreword. They left out but one important name—that of George Mazuzan, National Science Foundation (NSF) historian. George, who had earlier overseen the writing of my history of NSF support of engineering research and remained an advocate, sat in on James Bergstrom’s meeting with Guy Guthridge and Erick Chiang in NSF’s Office of Polar Programs. He recommended me to carry forward the Antarctic oral history idea launched by Richard Bowers’s musings in New Zealand. Would I be interested, George called to ask? “Sure, that sounds cool,” I said, with no conscious pun and no inkling whatever P R E F A C E A N D xxv A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S xxvi P R E F A C E A N D A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S of the transformative journey that lay ahead. After I met with Jim and absorbed the magnitude and excitement of the Deep Freeze story, I gladly drafted a proposal for NSF funding and then another when Guy and George suggested that I also write a history that would include all that had happened because of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) in Antarctica—the Navy’s essential enabling role, the IGY scientists’ coordinated quest for polar knowledge, and politicians’ and statesmen’s bold pursuit of a treaty to preserve the IGY ideal on the polar continent. At length the grant came through and, with that, my relationship with the Antarctic Deep Freeze Association grew beyond any of our imaginings. Jim, as CEO, managed our administrative affairs with meticulous attention, keeping me aware of requirements and ahead of deadlines. Dick suggested interview subjectsandmadeintroductorycontactsforme.Hefoundanswerstomyneverending stream of questions. William (Bill) Stroup, also a DF I veteran, handled all financial matters with NSF. They all faithfully stayed with me even when the project expanded beyond their own polar involvement and the time and effort they thought they had committed. They plied me with research materials , personal insights, and encouragement, especially when barriers were encountered . An unusual partnership perhaps, it has been a warm and fruitful one. Once-yeoman Bob Chaudoin, on his own, spent months retyping, and annotating, for my use, the thick McMurdo and South Pole narratives and transcribing Navy officer-in-charge David Canham’s diary. More than forty south-polar pioneers scattered around the United States, and one in Antarctica, enthusiastically agreed to talk with me about their experiences in widely varying roles. Identified formally in the Notes on Sources, they shared memories and interpretations that illuminated every phase of the history. Please visit their names. My former colleague, Darlene Wilt, beautifully transcribed the interview tapes. Ben Koether of the Glacier Society kindly helped me set up interviews with former crew members of the icebreaker Glacier. In addition, I was fortunate to use many oral history interviews conducted for the Byrd Polar Research Center’s Polar Oral History Archival Program, headed by Capt. Brian Shoemaker, USN (Ret.), of the American Polar Society, and Dr. Raimund Goerler of the Ohio State University Libraries. While their NSF-funded project encompassed both polar regions and a broader time frame, Brian coordinated his interview lists with mine, intentionally including subjects relevant to my study. He expedited the transcription of those tapes and forwarded the first drafts to me. We conducted three interviews together. These worthy human resources are also named in the Notes on Sources. xxvii P R E F A C E A N D A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S Family members of deceased participants generously came forward to help. I welcomed Mildred Rodgers Crary’s offer of several valuable documents pertaining to the Antarctic career of her late husband, among them a copy of Albert P. Crary’s unpublished memoir, his work on an uncompleted history of the IGY, his near-transcription notes on Chief Scientist Harry Wexler’s diary, copies of papers, and eulogies following his death in 1987. Carole Anderson, widow of IGY glaciologist Vernon Anderson, offered his diary, lovingly transcribed by their daughter Suzanne. Aphotocopy of David Canham...