Materials are arranged in the order created during the interview process with the first file containing administrative materials created before, during and after the interview.
Accession No. PA.2000.0031: Robert Manke, 2000 May
[identification of item], Robert Manke Oral History, SPEC.PA.56.0049, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University
Contains audiocassettes.
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Processed by: Devon Boerman, 2019 December; Finding aid written by: Devon Boerman, 2019 December
Robert Manke joined the United States Naval Construction Battalion, known as the Seabees, at the age of 17 in September 1957. He was stationed at Midway Island where he did maintenance work for military bases. In 1959, Manke volunteered for the Seabees unit for Operation Deep Freeze 59. The Navy assigned him initially to Little America to take equipment to Byrd Station. While Manke was not part of the equipment transport team due to a lack of space, he was still sent to Byrd Station where he wintered over until near the end of 1960. Manke's duties while stationed at Byrd were maintaining heaters, snow melters, and buildings around the station. He was discharged from the military in March 1961, and spent the rest of his career working for Western Electric and General Motors' maintenance departments.
The Robert Manke Oral History, dated 2000-2002, contains audiocassettes, administrative information, and transcripts of the interview between Manke and former Ohio State University Polar Archivist Raimund Goerler that took place on May 26, 2000. The interview discusses Manke's experiences at military stations on Midway Island and at Byrd Station in Antarctica. 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 a reflection on the Seabees and their roles on Midway Island and in Antarctica, the maintenance of Byrd Station in Antarctica, the airdropping of supplies, communication in Antarctica, and wintering over at Byrd Station.