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.2001.0026: John P. Strider, 2001 October
[identification of item], John P. Strider Oral History, SPEC.PA.56.0106, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University
Contains audiocassettes.
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Processed by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2023 November; Finding aid written by: Tricia McEldowney, 2023 November
Chief Petty Officer John P. Strider (1930-2015) was a pilot and engineer with the United States Navy who took part in the Operations Deep Freeze I and II (1955-1956 and 1956-1957, respectively) Antarctic expeditions. He graduated from high school in 1948 and enlisted in the United States Navy. He was sworn into the Navy on July 15, 1948, and attended Aviation Machinist Mate School the same year.
In 1955, the U.S. Navy was seeking men to participate in Operation Deep Freeze. In response, Strider volunteered to be a part of Operation Deep Freeze I, for which he was assigned to be the assistant engineer on a Douglas R5D transport aircraft at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. In December 1955, Strider and his crew became the first to fly over the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility. He and his crew also flew over the South Pole during this expedition. In 1956, Strider agreed to return to Antarctica as a member of Operation Deep Freeze II. For this expedition he was assigned as a plane captain for a Douglas R4D transport aircraft. On October 31, 1956, Strider was a member of the crew that became the first to land an airplane at the South Pole.
After Operation Deep Freeze II, Strider made flights to the Arctic from Barbers Point Naval Air Station in Hawaii and was then assigned to work at the Iwakuni Marine Air Facility in Japan. Strider retired from the Navy after 26 years of service, and earned both an Air Medal and a Navy Commendation Medal for his efforts in the Antarctic. Strider Rock, located in Antarctica, was named for John P. Strider.
The John P. Strider Oral History, dated 2001-2002, contains audio recordings and transcripts of the interview between Strider and Brian Shoemaker of the American Polar Society conducted on October 30, 2001. There are also notes, correspondence, and clippings that were created both before and after the interview and are dated 2001-2002. This interview was a part of a series of polar oral histories sponsored by the American Polar Society and Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar Center Archival Program, with funding from the National Science Foundation. Major topics of the interview include the types of naval airplanes used for polar flights, Strider’s experiences with Operations Deep Freeze I and II, Jet Assisted Take-Off (JATO) engines, and being a member of the crew that landed the first airplane on the South Pole on October 31, 1956.
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