“Then America. Once more the American people welcomed Dick Byrd back as the hero of the moment. He had excited interest in aviation; he had proved many valuable scientific facts; he had proved a hero under trying circumstances; he had added to the friendly feeling felt by the French for the American people; in fact, he had done all things except one. He had not extinguished his spirit of adventure. “No sooner was Admiral Byrd back from his trip across the Atlantic when he was planning another voyage, this time reflecting again the boyish dreams of his early youth. He planned to go to the South Pole to make certain scientific studies, and to fly across the Pole when he was there. “Very carefully he began to plan. He first obtained his ships. The _Larsen_ and the _Sir James Clark Ross_ were to be used as supply ships. _The City of New York_, once an ice breaker, was to be his chief ship, and the _Eleanor Bolling_, named in honor of his mother, was to be the chief supply ship. He took, too, four planes, three for observation flights, and the huge three-motored Fokker, the _Floyd Bennett_. Every division of the expedition was equipped with radio sets. Every division of the expedition was further so equipped that in case of accident, or in case it should be separated from any other unit, it could rescue itself. “Among the preparations was the purchase of about a hundred eskimo dogs, which were to be used in the arctic. Ships, planes, cameras, radios, footgear, and a thousand other details Byrd had to plan carefully. Almost a million dollars had been spent before the ships even left New York. “In the midst of the preparations Admiral Byrd received a terrible blow. This was the death of Floyd Bennett, that someone has already told about. Bennett flew to the aid of Major Fitzmaurice, Captain Koebl and Baron von Huenefeld, who had been forced down in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, during the first east to west crossing of the Atlantic. At Murray Bay, Quebec, he developed influenza, which turned into pneumonia. He died in Quebec. Colonel Lindbergh rushed to Quebec with serum to save his life, but it was of no use. Floyd Bennett, whom everybody loved, and one of the greatest pilots of his day, had flown his last flight. “It meant a loss to all aviation, but to Dick Byrd especially, since the two men had been close friends. There was no man with whom Byrd would rather have flown over the South Pole, as he had flown over the North. In memory of his friend, Byrd named the plane with which he was to fly over the Pole the _Floyd Bennett_.