Oral History Interview Control Form
Name of Interviewee: Capt. Cliff L. Bekkedahl, USN (ret) (Age 68)
Name
of Interviewer: Brian Shoemaker
Date
of Interview: 17 May 2001
Place
of Interview: Bekkedahl’s home in Mountainside, NJ
Number
of Tapes: 2 (3 sides)
Restrictions:
No
Cataloged:
No
Abstract
of Contents: Capt Bekkedahl originally hailed from Ohio and
attended University at Miami of Ohio. He joined the Navy shortly after finishing
college in 1954 and was assigned to the USS Arneb, AKA 56 – a Navy
cargo vessel. He was qualified in navigation and became the Navigation Officer
shortly after reporting to the ship. The Arneb was designated as Admiral
Dufek’s Flagship for Deep Freeze I. The
ship went to the Arctic (Baffin Bay) in the summer of 1955 to re-supply the DEW
Line – this was the crews only experience in ice-covered waters before
proceeding south to Antarctica with the buildings and supplies for building the
original base at Little America. He vividly describes sailing to Antarctica via
New Zealand, pushing through the ice pack and unloading Little America Station
at Kainan Bay. He met Admiral Byrd at Little America when he visited the Arneb.
He was very impressed with the Admiral and considers him one of his mentors.
When he spoke to Bekkedahl “He had a way of making you feel that you
were the only person in the room…”. There was a cosmic ray module on the aft
of the ship and after leaving Antarctica the ship proceeded on around the world
to get cosmic ray readings of the entire globe. He never went back to the Arctic
or Antarctic after 1955, but he did remain in the Navy and had a very
distinguished career with four commands before he retired in 1979. The following
is pertinent:
1. This interview is quite important because it reveals the tenuous chain of events that took place during the ships transit to Little America and the establishment of the base there.
2. Bekkedahl was assigned to the Arneb in late 1954.
3. He discusses the crew of the vessel and their capabilities.
4. “The Arneb was a Lucky Ship.”
5. Arneb was designated as Flagship of Task Force 43 (Admiral Dufek) in May 1955.
6. Bekkedahl was assigned as Ships Navigator.
7. Crew steeped themselves in polar lore by reading Byrd and Shackleton.
8. Traveled to Arctic in summer 55 to re-supply DEW Line. He describes the difficulties they had in the ice of Baffin Bay.
9. Mentions that his Captain ( Laurence Smythe) was petrified in fog. He did not run the ship. The XO was a drunk who could not run the ship and was banned from the bridge. Bekkedahl describes how the junior officers took over when the ship was navigating in the ice - worked as a highly effective team.
10. Cosmic Ray Laboratory was placed on the aft deck to complete an around-the-world cosmic ray survey from the east coast of the U.S. to Antarctica and around the world to the east coast. It was manned by Rochas Vogt, a geophysicist.
11. Arneb was the first ship from Deep Freeze to enter New Zealand at Christchurch. Also the first US Navy ship to visit New Zealand since WWII. Were treated like kings.
12. Task Force 43 went south with eight ships. Glacier, Wyandot, Arneb, Edisto, Greenville Victory, Nespelen and the yard oiler (YOG).
13. Shortly before the ships entered the ice pack Captain Smythe announced that he had been struck blind and he directed the junior officers to run the ship. Basically leaving the operation of the ship to a group of young men in their 20’s on their first Navy ship.
14. Paul Siple was aboard as a passenger.
15. They were three days in the pack before breaking free.
16. Went straight to Kainan Bay.
17. Describes tying up the ship to the Ross Ice Shelf. Had a 24 hour around-the-clock unloading operation
18. Discusses the helicopter crash.
19. Describes having to pull away from ice pier to avoid damage during a storm.
20. Dufek and his staff knew about the problems with Captain Smythe, but did not relieve him. Bekkedahl surmises that it was because the ship was operating so well with the junior officers.
21. Admiral Byrd visited and met all of the officers – very motivational meeting. All were impressed. The Admiral (Byrd)_did not look well, however, and had a doctor nearby.
22. The unloading of Little America V was accomplished without incident in record time. All hands were commended by Admiral Dufek. Once done the ship proceeded back to New Zealand. Once the ship was clear of the pack, Captain Smythe announced that he could see again and took command of the ship.
23. The ship returned to Norfolk via Australia, Suez, Naples, Barcelona and Gibraltar.
24. Capt Bekkedahl remained in the Navy and Commanded three successive combatant ships and a destroyer squadron. A very distinguished career, but never returned to the Arctic or the Antarctic.