From left: Edgar Mitchell, Alan Shepard and Stuart Roosa

Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr. [October 25, 1888-March 11, 1957]

Richard Byrd was a naval officer and a pioneering American aviator,
polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. In 1926, he flew a triple
prop plane over the north pole, made an early transatlantic flight in 1927,
and mounted the first of five expeditions to Antarctica in 1928. Byrd had
claimed that his expeditions had been the first to reach both the North
and South Poles by air. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the
highest honor for heroism given in the United States.

Admiral Byrd

The Ford Tri-Motor used by Richard Byrd on his flight over the South
Pole. It is now on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn,
Michigan.