Materials are arranged in the order created during the interview process with the first file containing earlier dated items used to prepare for the interview. The first file also contains administrative materials created before, during and after the interview.
Accession No. PA.2000.0029: David Norman Grisez, 2000 May
[identification of item], David Norman Grisez Oral History, SPEC.PA.56.0045, 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.
David Norman Grisez was a machinery repairman and petty officer for the United States Navy. In 1955, Griez volunteered for the United States Naval Construction Battalion, known as the Seabees, during Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica. The Navy assigned him to serve as the machinery repairman for Williams Air Operating Facility, which was later renamed McMurdo Station. Grisez resided at McMurdo Station from 1955-1957 where he worked at the station's machine shop and repaired damaged equipment. While in Antarctica, he assisted in the construction of McMurdo Station as he transported supplies in a D-2 caterpillar tractor, and helped create the runaway for the South Pole Base Station. In 1958, Grisez left the Navy and returned to his home state of Indiana where he worked in sales and later in the tool and die industry. From 1995-1996, Grisez returned to McMurdo Station as part of the Antarctic Support Associates, a company contracted with the National Science Foundation to maintain Antarctic stations.
The David Norman Grisez Oral History, dated 1956, and circa 1995-2002, contains audiocassettes, administrative information, and transcripts of the interview between Grisez and Goldthwait Polar Librarian Lynn Lay that took place on May 22, 2000 regarding Grisez's experiences in Antarctica as a machinery repairman and petty officer. 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 this oral history include the establishment of McMurdo Station and a South Pole Base, the Seabees and their involvement in Operation Deep Freeze, the construction of an ice runway for supply delivery, and the activities and pastimes of men in Antarctica during Operation Deep Freeze. The oral history also includes Grisez's reflections on his work with the Antarctic Support Associates (ASA) from 1995-1996, on the leadership and staff relations during wintering over in Antarctica, on the changes that occurred in the forty years between his first and second trip to McMurdo Station, and on the machinery and equipment used in Antarctica during Operation Deep Freeze and in the mid-1990s.