Richard E. Byrd on March 5, 1927. The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (NSN: 0–7918), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition I, in that on November 28, 1929 he took off in his "Floyd Bennett" from the Expedition's base at Little America, Antarctica and, after a flight made under the most difficult conditions he reached the South Pole on November 29, 1929. After flying some distance beyond this point he returned to his
USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE-4) USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE-4) USNS "Richard E. Byrd" (T-AKE-4) is a "Lewis and Clark"-class dry cargo ship in the United States Navy. She is the second United States Navy ship to be named after polar explorer Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957). The contract to build her was awarded to National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) of San Diego, California, on 18 July 2003. She was launched from the building ways into the San Diego Bay on the evening of 15 May 2007; Bolling Byrd Clarke, Admiral Byrd's eldest daughter, broke the ceremonial bottle of champagne on the ship's