World War II

Admiral Byrd was assigned to active duty on the staff of Admiral Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor perpetrated WWII in December, 1941. Ironically Byrd was ordered to survey tropical islands in the South Pacific that would be suitable for American bases, about as far from the frozen lands of Antarctica as you can get.  

Japanese surrender on battleship Missouri

In the spring of 1945 Admiral Byrd was assigned to the staff of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. Byrd was on Tinian Island when the Enola Gay took off to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. He was also on the deck of the USS Missouri for the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo  Bay.

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