Richard E. Byrd the rank of captain. After a further summer of exploration, the expedition returned to North America on June 18, 1930. A 19-year-old American Boy Scout, Paul Allman Siple, was chosen to accompany the expedition. Unlike the 1926 flight, this expedition was honored with the gold medal of the American Geographical Society. This was also seen in the film "With Byrd at the South Pole" (1930) which covered his trip there. Byrd, by then an internationally recognized, pioneering American polar explorer and aviator, served for a time as Honorary National President (1931–1935) of Pi Gamma Mu, the international honor society in
William Byrd II in 1768. Byrd Park in Richmond and the William Byrd Community House were both named for William Byrd II. William Byrd High School in Vinton, Virginia, was also named after William Byrd II. Byrd surveyed parts of the Roanoke Valley, and the school's mascot is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. It is said that Byrd owned two of these dogs. Byrd had notable descendants in the 20th century. Those are naval officer, pioneering aviator and explorer Richard Evelyn Byrd, for whom Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field (the original name for Richmond International Airport) was named. There is also Virginia Governor and