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George John Dufek | |
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| Born | (1903-02-10)February 10, 1903 Rockford, Illinois |
| Died | February 10, 1977(1977-02-10) (aged 74) Bethesda, Maryland |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1921–1959 |
| Rank |  Rear Admiral |
| Commands | USS Bogue USS Antietam |
| Battles / wars | World War II Korean War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal (2) Legion of Merit (2) Croix de Guerre Légion d'honneur |
| Other work | Director,Mariners' Museum,Newport News, Virginia |
George John Dufek (February 10, 1903 – February 10, 1977)[1][better source needed] was anAmerican navalofficer,naval aviator, and polar expert. He served inWorld War II and theKorean War and in the 1940s and 1950s spent much of his career in theAntarctic, first withAdmiral Byrd and later as supervisor of U.S. programs in theSouthPolar regions.Rear Admiral Dufek was the director of theMariners' Museum[2] inNewport News, Virginia after his retirement from the Navy in 1959.
Born inRockford, Illinois, he joined theReserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at his local high school and was appointed to theU.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1921. Upon graduation in 1925 he received his ensign's commission and commenced his career aboard the battleshipUSS Maryland. He was later assigned to the submarineUSSS-39 and was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) in 1928.
In 1932 he entered flight training school at theNaval Air Station Pensacola, Florida; after graduating as a naval aviator in 1933 he served as navigator andexecutive officer on three different ships. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1935 and assigned to the aircraft carrierUSSSaratoga in 1938.
DuringWorld War II Dufek commanded a flight training squadron, served as senior naval aviator in Algeria during theinvasion of North Africa, assisted in the planning for the invasion of Sicily and Salerno and, after his promotion to captain and subsequent reassignment, the invasion of southern France. In September 1944 he assumed command of theescort carrierUSS Bogue, which, on 24 April 1945, along with its escorts, sank theU-546, the last of 13 submarines (11 German and 2 Japanese) sunk byBogue during World War II.
During theKorean War the Navy placed Dufek in command of theaircraft carrierUSS Antietam from 17 January 1951 – 6 May 1952.Antietam operated off the coast of the Korean peninsula from October 1951 to April 1952 and received fourbattle stars.
Dufek was then given command of the naval installation onKwajalein in the Pacific and, finally, theNaval Air Station Whidbey Island inOak Harbor, Washington.
Dufek retired from the Navy on 30 June 1955 and was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in recognition of his wartime accomplishments the same day. He continued to serve on active duty so he could participate inOperation Deep Freeze.
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In the spring of 1939, Dufek, at this time a lieutenant, requested and received an assignment to Rear AdmiralRichard E. Byrd's third expedition toAntarctica, which was officially named theUnited States Antarctic Service Expedition, where he served as navigator of theUSS Bear, the flagship of the expedition. In recognition of his many hours of exploratory flying over the South Polar continent, Dufek later received theUnited States Antarctic Expedition Medal.[citation needed]
After a brief postwar stint in Japan, Dufek was assigned as chiefstaff officer to a U.S. Navy-Coast Guard task force to establish weather bases in the polar regions. While there he participated inOperation Highjump, a Naval expedition to Antarctica under the command of Byrd. He served as commander of the Eastern Group (Task Group 68.3) which consisted of a seaplane tender, a destroyer and a tanker.[citation needed]
During Operation Highjump he made the first flight over theThurston Peninsula and later led the rescue of six survivors of a crash of another flight (namedGeorge 1) over the same area.[citation needed]
He returned to Washington D.C. briefly, but by 1947 was back in the Antarctic, this time commanding a task force sent to supply existing weather stations and to establish new ones near the pole.[citation needed]
In 1954 Dufek joined a special Antarctic planning group preparing for the Navy'sOperation Deep Freeze, a scientific polar research expedition. When planning was complete Dufek was given command of Task Force 43 which, with more than 80 officers and 1000 enlisted men, threeice-breakers, and threecargo ships, was charged withlogistics and support for the expedition. Dufek's first flagship for the operation was the attack cargo shipUSSArneb. He later transferred his flag to the icebreakerUSSGlacier and was on board theGlacier when she completed a circumnavigation of the Antarctic continent later in the expedition.
Among other accomplishments, the task force established bases onRoss Island and inLittle America, and on October 31, 1956,[3] Admiral Dufek and a crew of six,[4] having flown on a ski equippedUS Navy R4D-5Skytrain namedQue Sera Sera, became the first Americans to set foot at the South Pole and to plant the American flag, and the first men to land on the pole from the air.[citation needed]
On November 28, 1957, Dufek was present with a UScongressional delegation during a change of command ceremony held at McMurdo Sound.[5] After Admiral Byrd's death, Dufek was appointed to succeed him as supervisor of U.S. programs in the South Polar Regions.
Dufek fully retired from the Navy in 1959. He died in 1977, on his 74th birthday.
Antarctic featuresDufek Coast,Dufek Head,Dufek Massif, andDufek Mountain were named in his honor.
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| Naval Aviator Badge | |||||||||
| Submarine Warfare insignia | |||||||||
| 1st Row | Navy Distinguished Service Medal with Gold Star | Legion of Merit with two Gold Stars andCombat "V" | United States Antarctic Expedition Medal issued in Gold (1939–1941)[6] | ||||||
| 2nd Row | American Defense Service Medal | American Campaign Medal | European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 battle stars | ||||||
| 3rd Row | World War II Victory Medal | Navy Occupation Medal with "ASIA" clasp | National Defense Service Medal | ||||||
| 4th Row | Korean Service Medal with four battle stars | Antarctic Service Medal | Chevalier of the Legion of Honor | ||||||
| 5th Row | Croix de Guerre (1939–1945) with Palm | Korean Presidential Unit Citation | United Nations Korea Medal - | ||||||
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October 31 in 1956: TheUS Navy R4D-5SkytrainQue Sera Sera, commanded byRear Admiral George Dufek, becomes the first airplane to make a landing at theSouth Pole.(Reference:Aviation Year by Year,Bill Gunston, ed. London: Amber Books Limited, 2001.Dorling Kindersley editions:ISBN 0-7513-3367-0,ISBN 0-7894-7986-9.)
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