Stevenson Corey, member of the Antarctica Expedition, was interviewed in 1998 for the documentary Alone on the Ice.

His Desire to go to Antarctica

Q: Why was it important for you to go to Antarctica?
SC: Well, it was the nature of a challenge to me, at my age, a young fellow, casting around and at that time, the Depression, I thought it might be adventuresome and I thought I'd see if I could be accepted as a member of the party. I didn't want to just go down to the ice on the ship, I wanted to be member of the ice party and stay for the year.

Q: Were you at all motivated about the mission or doing it for Admiral Byrd or you just want to go and have an adventure.
SC: It was a result of a personal desire to do something that many people do not do.

Q: You did ask at one point, Norman Vaughan, if you could go and what did he say to you?
SC: Now, the first contact was with Norman Vaughan, I'd knew that he worked for NWA of the advertising people. And I went into his office, in Boston, to meet him and to tell him of my desire to go on the trip and did he have any suggestions, as to what I should or should not do. And, we discussed it in general terms and as I left his office and went out the door, he says you'll never make it -- you're too small. As I went through that inwardly infuriated me, and as I went through the door, I turned around and said, I'll be there. 

Q: Can you tell me the story of walking up the gang plank and how you ended up making yourself indispensable to the expedition.
SC: Well, the day we left the Navy yard to head for the Antarctic, was one of the happiest days of my life. I was achieving something that I was trying to do, partially, at least I was a member of the party. My ultimate goal was to be member of ah the ice party and as we walked up the gang plank, I was holding in each hand a big pile of records, records that indicated what we had received, from whom we'd received them, and what they were. I got half way up the gang plank and Czegka and Byrd had just gone up the gang plank, ahead of me, which meant that I was the last man to board the ship and as we got half way up the gang plank, I called up and I said, hey Vic. And, he turned around and I held up in each hand, the pile of records and I let them go into Boston Harbor. And, he didn't say anything and Byrd of course didn't know what I had done and then I continued up the gang plank and when I got up to Czegka, he says, what the hell did you do that for? I said, you're going to take me, you're going to cross me up -- you need me. 

The Plan for Advance Base

Q: What was the plan for the advance base?
SC: The advanced base was planned basically to have three men in it, to study meteorological conditions and other scientific effects, down at the polar plateau, in the mountains and the plan was established on the basis, particularly, it had never been done before. Of course, people had been at the South Pole but at this gathering, this information for a year, was something else again. So, that was the reason for the base.

Q: Was it a scientific reason or do you think it was for publicity reasons or for a stunt?
SC: Well, originally Byrd's name had not come into consideration to be one of the men. It was to be manned by three people and it was felt that there were going to be meteorologists and other men with scientific bearing. Byrd's desire to be a member of the base had not come to the surface originally, at least we didn't know that it was considered. But, when the time came to establish the base and the weather conditions that prevented us from getting out into the area, with sufficient supplies and equipment, reduced it to one man, Byrd said, I'll go. In other words, he didn't want to ask anyone to go out there alone.

Q: At what point did Byrd say, did it become clear to you, you couldn't set it up for three people and Byrd had to do it. So, he decided he wanted to go alone.
SC: Well, the weather, because we had the problem with the ice breaking up and the weather establishing the main base, dictated that the main base was more important than the advance base. So, that when we go through and got the base, the main base established to a major degree, then the question was, well, what are we going to do about advance base. And, it was determined that 100 miles was about what we could do, within the period of light and weather conditions that we expected, at that time. 

That's what determined and we, and as much as we could only get it out 100 miles, we also had to cut back on the equipment, fuel supplies and food. We couldn't get enough to maintain three men and it was established that one man would go and the Admiral said, and I'll be that man. 

Q: Did people try to talk him out of going out there alone?
SC: Yes, we did. 

His Job on the Expedition

Q: What was your job? You were the supply officer, right, you and Czegka?
SC: Czegka was the man who, being on the first expedition, had some experience with needs and what went wrong and what was right, what worked and what didn't work. So, he was invaluable and he was on leave, from the Marine Corps to Byrd, to superintend the acquisition of supplies, food and equipment. And that, he was stationed at the Navy Yard and that's where he worked. He was not going to stay on the ice. He was going down with us. So, I was working for him and milking him for all I was worth to find out what to expect, what to do and what not to do. And, he guided me and I got so, that I was his right arm.

Little America

Q: When you were there, did you enjoy being there when you were there?
SC: Yeah. Sometimes you'd hear somebody complaining about the cold or some circumstance or anything. So, you'd just walk up to him and say, who asked you to come on this trip. Oh, I tried very hard, I wanted to come. Well, why don't you keep your mouth shut then. You didn't, did you know what you were going to get into -- stop complaining. So, basically if someone complained about something, he it was very difficult to get sympathy. You talked to yourself or you went outdoors where no one could hear you.

Q: What was life like during the winter nights of the men back at Little America? How did they amuse themselves?
SC: After meals, men at Little America would, the scientists, a lot of them would go back into the lab and fool around with some of their studies. There was a lot of reading done by men, individually in their bunks, checkers or chess were played, we had moving pictures, two or three or four times a week, as much as we could prevail on the movie men to work. And, we could get the gasoline to run the generators, pretty much people amused themselves, one way or another, no set standard. 

Byrd's Ordeal at Advance Base

Q: How big was advance base and how much room did Byrd have to move around?
SC: I have forgotten the details of the size of advance base but it was a small room, held a bunk and a stove and ah radio facilities, gave him room to turnaround in. Toilet facilities were outside, a tunnel that connected advance base to a place, out in the snow. 

Q: What went wrong at advance base and what effect did it have on Byrd?
SC: I think initially, we start with him and just say that, he wasn't the most robust man in the world. Secondly, I think that the failure on his part, not to knock the accumulation of moisture in the stove, in the ventilating pipe, permitting the building up of ice, in that pipe, so that gradually it almost shut off the fresh air supply.

Q: So, what was going wrong for Byrd? What did he fail to do at advance base that caused him trouble?
SC: We had impressed on him, we thought that this fuel, this stove pipe, so-called which was the air vent, was to be kept clear. He either didn't do it often enough or forgot, so that the moisture that accumulated in the cabin, going through that pipe, instead of going completely out, accumulated on the inside and built up, so that the 12 inch diameter that we started him with, got down to just a very few inches, resulting in the fact that the fumes that were not, fresh accumulated and caused I suppose, a poisoning of, I'll say carbon monoxide, I don't know that that's the proper one. But, that poisoned him and didn't help and that contributed to a great deal of his discomfort and problem. 

Rescuing Byrd From Advance Base

Q: What was the effect of the illness on Little America? Were people concerned or angry and was there a lot of debate about rescuing him.
SC: Well, when this condition was apparent, we first acknowledged that well we all said, he shouldn't have gone out there in the first place and that he was a lousy operator to start with and he was having problems. It was some time before it developed that he was having health problems. We didn't realize initially that it was just his inadequacy as a radio operator. That was our only contact with him. And, then they tried to work with him over the period of time but he didn't improve and they discussed with him, over the air, coming out and he advised against it because of conditions. Then, ultimately, oh I can't say this officially and ultimately he asked for help. 

Q: Was there a lot of debate about whether people should risk their lives to go rescue him?
SC: There was a, discussion as to who should go and when, if at all, because they didn't know what they were going to get into. We don't know. We were assuming that he was in trouble, on the basis of his radio transmissions, irregularity and so forth, making allowances for his expertise, as a radio operator.

Q: But, didn't rescuing him require other men to risk their lives. Why was it so risky to go out and rescue him?
SC: The danger of going out at that time of year, storms, darkness, unfamiliarity with the trail, you're using tractors and the ability of, your dependence on those tractors to keep running, in the cold, to get the men and the equipment to where they're going. We not only would fail to take care of him but we could fail in the, in jeopardizing other men's lives in trying to get to help him. So, you had to very careful and be sure that you were covering all the aspects of such a situation. 

Q: Were there many people who said, we shouldn't go, we shouldn't risk our lives and there were other people that said, we should go. 
SC: The feeling in the camp was if the old man's in trouble, we should do everything we could to help him. He hasn't asked for it, that's all the more reason we want to go out and help him, to save him, not only from possible death or the embarrassment of having asked for help. Then, the question comes up, who's going to go. We tried to pick the ones to go, that would serve all purposes and have the situation be successfully completed. 

Q: Did the rescue team have a lot of trouble getting back, getting to him, did they have to turn back several times?
SC: Well at first the effort to get out to advance base failed. Why I think there were two or three times that the men got out a distance and something would come up and they had to come back or the weather would stop them and they came back. There were two or three times that they tried before they successfully got through. 

Q: And, what did they find when they got there? How did they make their way there and what did they find when they got there?
SC: Well, when they got there, ultimately they found that they had a sick man on their hands. So, it was determined that instead of picking him up and coming right back to Little America, that they would stay there with him and try to get him back into some form of readiness physically to travel. It wasn't determined how they were going to travel. He came by airplane because by this time, the weather is changed and we're getting daylight, out of darkness.

Q: What kind of shape was he in when they found him?
SC: When they got there, they found a sick man. So, they nursed him and instead of trying to bring him over the trail, in a tractor or anything, it was determined that under the conditions, of the weather and his physical condition, it would be better that they would wait and get some light and use a plane and make a quick trip, which they did.