Materials are arranged in the order created during the interview process with the first file containing administrative information created before, during, and after the interview process.
Accession No. PA.2000.0023: Richard Dickerson, 2000 April
[identification of item], Richard G. Dickerson Oral History, SPEC.PA.56.0040, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University
Contains audiocassettes.
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the University Archives reading room only. Audio materials may need a use copy produced before access is allowed. Contact the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program at polararchives@osu.edu for more information.
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.
Processed by: Devon Boerman, 2019 December; Finding aid written by: Devon Boerman, 2019 December
Commander Richard "Dick" G. Dickerson joined the Navy in December 1941 where he went to flight school in Corpus Christi, Texas. He then served in World War II and the Korean War. After the Korean War, Dickerson flew Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft in Antarctica that were equipped with skis that could land on ice in open fields. On October 1st, 1963, Dickerson organized and led a two aircraft C-130 flight from Cape Town, South Africa across the South Pole to McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It was the longest flight, up to that date, in Antarctic history. Additionally, it was the first flight that traveled directly across the bottom of the world and the first time the Antarctic season has been started by a plane flying in from Africa. The next year, after 23 years of naval service, Dickerson retired from the Navy and moved to Alaska where he did ice patrol and flew supplies to the Arctic Research Lab Ice Station II (ARLIS II) and Fletcher's ice island, also known as T-3, until around 1975. Dickerson then served as a pilot for Evergreen International Airlines where he flew out of Anchorage, Alaska.
The Richard G. Dickerson Oral History, dated 2000-2001, contains transcripts, administrative information and audiocassettes of an interview between Dickerson and Brian Shoemaker of the American Polar Society. This oral history took place on April 21, 2000, regarding Dickerson's experiences in the Navy and as a pilot in Antarctica and the Arctic. This interview was a part of a series of polar oral histories sponsored by American Polar Society and Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program, with funding from the National Science Foundation. Major topics found in the oral history include Dickerson’s career in the Navy, his experiences flying C-130s with skis attached, the difference between a runway and a ski-way, seasonal activities on the Ross Ice Shelf, and the use of dogs for transportation, which had changed significantly from earlier Antarctic expeditions. The oral history also contains discussions on the establishment of a runway on ice island T-3 in the Arctic, the Arctic Research Lab Ice Station II (ARLIS II), the use of native Iñupiat labor, the Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment (AIDJEX) project, the construction of the Alaskan Pipeline, and landing at Russian bases in the Antarctic.
Also available online.