Admiral Richard E. Byrd was an American naval officer, aviator, and explorer who went on several Antarctic expeditions between 1928 and 1956. Byrds first major Antarctic expedition was conducted between 1928 and 1930, and he conducted several more expeditions in the following years. Byrds federal appointment as head of the newly organized United States Antarctic Service in 1938 represented a significant shift in the nations strategic valuation of the earths poles. During World War II, Byrd served on the staff of the chief of naval operations and evaluated Pacific islands as operational sites. After the war, he was placed in charge of the U.S. Navys Operation High Jump, which was the largest and most ambitious exploration of Antarctica yet attempted. Byrds last trip to Antarctica was in 1955-56, when he was appointed as officer in charge of the U.S. Navy Operation Deep Freeze I, which established permanent Antarctic bases at McMurdo Sound, the Bay of Whales, and the South Pole. Byrd spent only one week in the Antarctic during this expedition and started his return to the United States on February 3, 1956. Admiral Byrd died in his sleep of a heart ailment at the age of 68 on March 11, 1957, at his home in Boston.