Harold I. June
In Appreciation of “Stamford’s Best Known Traveller”

On June 26, 1930 the citizens of Stamford gave a Welcome Home to Harold I. June on the occasion of his return from participation as co-pilot in the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, including the airplane flight over the South Pole, November 29, 1929, and the brochure recreated below was published. Design and Text by C.B. Lewis, editor of the Stamford Guide and printed through the courtesy of R.H.G. Cunningham. [SHS Library: 919.9 LEW]

	Harold I. June at Riverbank, Stamford, 1928 Prior to Departure of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition

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Byrd Antarctic Expedition:
Co-Pilot / in Antarctic Outdoor Costume

Rear-Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd

The Byrd Antarctic Expedition, 1928-1930

1928

• August 25, Bark, City of New York sailed from New York.
• October 10, Commander Richard Evelyn Byrd and party sailed from Los Angeles oil whaler C. A. Larsen for Dunedin, New Zealand.
• December 2, City of New York and the Eleanor Boiling left Dunedin for Antarctic.
• December 14. City of New York entered ice-pack. Eleanor Bolling put back to New Zealand.
• December 25, Expedition arrived at Ice Barrier. 

1929

• January 6, Permanent base established, named Little America.
• January 10, Commander Byrd made expedition's first Antarctic flight, exploring 1200 square miles.
• January 27, Rockefeller Mountains discovered.
• January 31, Roth, aviation mechanic, saved from drowning by Commander Byrd when part of Barrier Cliff collapsed.
• February 18, Airplane exploration of 40,000 square miles of unknown territory by Commander Byrd. Discovery of Marie Byrd Land.
• March 8, Larry Gould, Bernt Balchen and Harold I. June flew to Rockefeller Mountains for geological study.
• March 19, Commander Byrd flew to their rescue and found their plane wrecked.
• March 22, Commander Byrd and rescued geological party arrived safely in Little America.
• October 15. Supporting sledging party started south on base-laying work.
• November 4, Geological party set out on 400 mile sledge trip to Queen Maude Mountains.
• November 10, Supporting sledging party returned to Little America.
• November 18, Commander Byrd made a base-laying flight to Queen Maude Mountains. Charles Bob Mountains discovered.
• November 28, Commander Byrd, Bernt Balchen, Harold I. June and Capt. McKinley took off for the South Pole at 10:29 P.M., Eastern Standard Time. New Mountain Range discovered en route.
• November 29, 8:55 A.M., Eastern Standard Time, Commander Byrd wirelessed the New York Times from the South Pole, reaching Little America again at 5:10 P. M.
• December 5, Commander Byrd explored 35,000 square miles of unknown territory, discovering a new mountain range and Barrier Inlet.
• December 21, President Herbert C. Hoover signed congressional bill commissioning Commander Richard Evelyn Byrd a Rear-Admiral.
• December 26, Discovery of cairn by geological party, containing relics of Amundsen expedition of eighteen years before.

1930

• January 19, Coal outcroppings discovered on Mount Nansen. Geological party returned to Little America.
• February 7, City of New York cleared ice-pack homeward-bound with the expedition.
• February 18, City of New York reached Bay of Whales.
• March 9, Expedition reached Dunedin, New Zealand.
• June 19, Rear-Admiral Byrd and expedition personnel arrived in New York amid thunderous acclaim. Public Reception.
• June 26, Harold L June is proudly welcomed home to Stamford.

Events in Life of Harold I. June

• Born in Stamford, Connecticut, Feb. 12, 1895. Attended Bangall (country school) 1902-1906. Entered at age of seven. Completed ninth grade at age of eleven. Attended Stamford High School one year.
• 1908, apprentice machinist at Mianus Motor Works. 1909, repair man, on road for same firm.
• 1910, sent to Providence, Rhode Island, by Mianus Motor Works as salesman and road repair man.
• 1911, engineer, Prudence Island-Bristol, R. L, Ferry, 1911-1912, machinist for Herreshoffs.
• 1912-1917, engineer for Harold S. Vanderbilt, including all the Vanderbilt boats.
• 1917, joined U.S. Naval Reserve as Chief Machinist Mate, with Mr. Vanderbilt as commanding officer.
• October, 1927, Transferred with Mr. Vanderbilt to Block Island (war naval base) in charge of repairs. Organized a force of 100 men, built complete machine shops and pumping station and system of docks. Raised two ships sunk in Block Island harbor.
• May, 1918, Transferred to Herreshoff plant at Bristol, R. 1., as senior inspector in charge of repairs and new work for ships.
• 1919, Left the Navy and reentered Mr. Vanderbilt’s employ as chief engineer.
• 1920, Reenlisted at solicitation of navy and assigned to Great Lakes Aviation School. Later assigned as an instructor in ignition and motor theory, under actual flying conditions.
• 1922, Transferred by request to Pensacola Air Station. Qualified in twelve weeks as aircraft radio operator and in radio theory and instruments.
• 1923, Of a class of sixty training as aviation pilots, thirty-eight finishing, Mr. June finished first. Assigned to Atlantic Fleet. Officially commended for special repair work completed without direction and ahead of schedule.
• 1924, Assigned to F 5 L flying boat as second pilot. With squadrons of eighteen planes sent to Culebra, making eleven stops including Cuba, Santo Domingo and Porto Rico.
• Assigned to U.S.S. Concord as pilot and ranking mechanic, operating two scout planes launched by catapults.
• 1925, Enlistment expired. Reenlisted five days later. Assigned to Lakehurst, flying for students of parachute classes and testing of all new para­chutes for nave.
• October, Assigned to aerological flights at Anacostis Naval Air Station, of which he made one a day for six months including one in a wind velocity of 150 miles per hour.
• 1920, Flight with Commander Rogers to Medaliona Key, Cuba, in smallest seaplane ever made. Repaired a failing motor over the water between Havana and Key West by climbing forward and under plane and operating carburetor by hand, thus avoiding disaster.
• Transferred to U.S.S. Niagara for purpose of mapping the Gulf of Venezuela. Forced to make plane base on island inhabited by head hunting Indians, relying on wonder creating power of seaplane for safety from savages.
• Transferred to Naval Air Station at Hampton Roads by Bureau of Navigation as test pilot.
• 1927, Made assembly officer in addition to test pilot.
• Sent to Cape Hatteras with Doctor and Pharmacist to bring back to Norfolk a woman in urgent need of an operation, one of the twin motors failed during mist, fog and darkness, resulting in forced landing in Chesapeake Bay without being able to see the water. Landing successful and plane taxied fifteen miles to air station, steering managed against side pull of single motor by men on opposite wing working with pails on lines and directed be flashlight signals. Commended by Bureau of Navigation.
• 1928, May, Selected by Commander Byrd of Antarctic Expedition as Co-Pilot.

Harold I. June when a Student in the Stamford High School 1906-1907	A pupil in the Bangall School 1902-1906 Riverbank, Stamford, Connecticut.

Family History

• Father, Irving M. June. Mother, Emma L. June. Married 1881 and residents of Stamford. Sister, Mrs. Peter Clarson, Jacksonville, Florida; Brother, Ernest A. June, of Stamford.
• Wife, Mrs. Harold I. June, formerly Miss May Foster, of Bristol, Rhode Island. The marriage took place in 1914.
• Children. A daughter, Miss Marguarite June, born in 1915.
• Mrs. Harold L June and her distinguished husband's parents occupy adjoining residences in the Riverbank section of Stamford.
• It is a source of regret that photographs of Mr. June’s father and of Mrs. Harold 1. June have not been available for inclusion in these pages.

Mr. June with his mother, Mrs. Irving M. June Stamford, 1928	Harold I. June with his daughter Miss Marguarite June Stamford, 1928

     

for the obverse see above

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Related Literature from Bibliography Stamford:

Rodgers, Eugene. Beyond The Barrier: The Story of Byrd's First Expedition to Antarctica. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press; 1990; xiv, 354 pp., illus., ports., maps, notes, bibliography, index, d.w., 24 cm. ISBN: 0-87021-022-X.
Notes: For references to Harold I. June of Stamford, Connecticut, who was a member of the expedition and participated in the first flight over the South Pole, see: pp. 91, 94-96, 102-103, 107-110, 124, 129, 175-179, 182-187, 191-196, 219, 227, 235, 239, 251, 297.
Location: CtAv, CtB, CtBran, CtChh, CtDab, CtEly, CtFa, CtFar, CtFaU, CtGre, CtGro, CtM, CtManc, CtMer, CtNb, CtNm, CtNowa, CtS, CtSoP, CtStr, CtTmp, CtU, CtWrf, CtWtp, DLC.
Abstract: "Tucked in with the survival gear behind Smith in the tiny cabin were Byrd and heavyset, brown-haired Harold June, thirty-three. He had been chief engineer for Harold Vanderbilt's yachts, entered the navy in the great war, and trained as a pilot, mechanic, and radioman. He stayed in the navy as a chief machinist's mate after the war and took part in the aerial mapping of the Venezuelan coastline. June had come to an interesting understanding with Byrd. At first, all four highly skilled aviators had wanted to fly as lead pilot on the major flights; in particular, each of them yearned for the glory of piloting the first plane to the South Pole. June had soon volunteered to drop entirely out of the competition. He would not fly as first pilot on any trip, but he would go as copilot and radioman on all trips. Since this arrangement gave Byrd the benefit of June's many talents while simplifying the rivalry, the commander was delighted. June traded off a chance at prime honors for the assurance of adventure and minor recognition." Eugene Rogers, p. 91. (Copyright 1990 by the Naval Institute Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher.)

Byrd, Richard Evelyn. Discovery; the story of the second Byrd Antarctic expedition. New York, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons; 1935; xxi, 405 pp., illus., ports., maps, appendix, index, d.w., 24 cm.
Notes: Title page reads: "DISCOVERY / The Story of / The Second Byrd Antarctic / Expedition / / By RICHARD EVELYN BYRD / Rear Admiral, U. S. N., Ret. / Introduction by / CLAUDE A. SWANSON / Secretary of the Navy / / - / With Illustrations and Maps / - / / G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS / New York 1935" Illustrated lining-papers. For references to Harold I. June of Stamford, Connecticut, who was a member of the expedition, see: pp. 13, 27, 31, 40-42, 44-45, 56-57, 63-65, 75-77, 80, 85-87, 90-92, 97, 104-105, 115-118, 126-127, 129, 135-136, 138-144, 146-147, 150-152, 156-157, 160-162, 164, 166-167, 173, 177, 180, 184, 200, 205, 209, 213, 236, 240-241, 243-245, 249-258, 260-261, 268, 271, 282, 288-289, 291, 293, 299-303, 305-307, 309-316, 323, 325-327, 329, 332-334, 342, 357-358, 378, 393.
Location: Ct, CtAv, CtB, CtBSH, CtChh, CtDar, CtEham, CtEhar, CtEly, CtFa, CtFar, CtGro, CtH, CtHamd, CtM, CtMil, CtNa, CtNbC, CtNh, CtNowa, CtPlv, CtPom, CtPut, CtRk, CtS, CtShel, CtSoP, CtStr, CtThms, CtWal, CtWhay, CtWill, CtWillE, CtWrt, DLC, ICU, IEN, MB, MdBP, MiU, NcD, NcRS, NIC, NN, OC, OCl, OCU, OO, OU, PHC, PPAmP, PPL, RPJCB, TU, ViU, WaU. U.S. Navy (Section 23-101.4).

Byrd, Richard Evelyn. Little America, aerial exploration in the Antarctic, the flight to the South pole. New York, (New York), London: G. P. Putnam's Sons; 1930; xvi, 422 pp., illus., ports., maps, appendix, index, d.w., 24 cm.
Notes: Title page reads: "LITTLE AMERICA / AERIAL EXPLORATION IN THE ANTARCTIC / THE FLIGHT TO THE SOUTH POLE / By / RICHARD EVELYN BYRD / Rear Admiral, U. S. N., Ret. / [printers' ornament] / / WITH 74 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS / / G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS / NEW YORK LONDON / 1930" Illustrated lining-papers. "The geological sledge trip, by Dr. Laurence M. Gould": pp. 393-412.
For references to Harold I. June of Stamford, Connecticut, who was a member of the expedition and participated in the first flight to the South Pole, see: pp. 72, 81, 100, 102-103, 108, 118, 124-125, 128, 139, 141, 156, 167, 174-175, 178-183, 185-186, 200, 211, 221, 234, 242-244, 246, 248, 250, 260, 268, 280, 305, 308, 312, 317-323, 327-328, 331-332, 335, 338-341, 343, 345, 348, 351-352, 375-377, 388-389, 413. Also, see photographs opposite pp. 236, 272.
Location: Ct, CtAns, CtAv, CtBris, CtChh, CtDabN, CtDer, CtEham, CtEhar, CtFa, CtFar, CtFaU, CtGu, CtH, CtHamd, CtManc, CtMer, CtMil, CtNb, CtNbC, CtNbH, CtNc, CtNh, CtNm, CtNowa, CtOl, CtPlv, CtPom, CtRk, CtS, CtShel, CtSoP, CtStr, CtSu, CtSw, CtWB, CtWal, CtWhar, CtWhay, CtWill, CtWilt, CtWrf, CtWrt, DLC.

On the used book market:

Beyond the Barrier: The Story of Byrd's First Expedition to Antarctica
Little America: Aerial Exploration in the Antarctic, the Flight to the South Pole

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