Posted on 12/24/2005 9:18:22 AM PST by NormsRevenge
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Norman Vaughan, a dog handler and driver in Admiral Richard Byrd's 1928 expedition to the South Pole, died Friday just a few days after turning 100 years old.
Vaughan died at Providence Alaska Medical Center surrounded by family and friends, said nursing supervisor Martha George.
He was well enough Dec. 17 to enjoy a birthday celebration at the hospital attended by more than 100 friends and hospital workers. His actual birthday was Monday.
Vaughan's motto was "Dream big and dare to fail." Days before his 89th birthday he and his wife, Carolyn Muegge-Vaughan, returned to Antarctica and climbed to the summit of 10,320-foot Mount Vaughan, the mountain Byrd named in his honor.
"It was the climax of our dream," he told The Associated Press in a 2005 interview at his Anchorage home. "We had to risk failure to get there."
Vaughan sought adventure his entire life.
His exploits included finishing the 1,100 mile-Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race six times after age 70. At age 96, he carried the Olympic torch in Juneau, passing the flame from a wheelchair, 70 years after he competed in the Olympics as a sled dog racer.
Vaughan wanted to climb Mount Vaughan again to celebrate his 100th birthday but the expedition fell short of money. He planned to sip champagne at the summit — the first taste of alcohol for the lifetime teetotaler.
Vaughan had a taste of champagne during a birthday celebration, however.
Vaughan left Harvard University to join Byrd on his expedition, which included creation of the first settlement in Antarctica and the first air flight over the South Pole.
He was part of a crew that drove dog teams 1,500 miles across the frozen continent to collect geological samples and other scientific data.
Antarctic explorer Norman Vaughan is seen in this Feb. 2, 2000 file photo at The Royal Geograpical Society in London. Vaughan died Friday, Dec. 23, 2005, at about 10:30 a.m. at Providence Alaska Medical Center surrounded by family and friends, said nursing supervisor Martha George. Vaughan, who had turned 100 years old a few days ago, explored Antarctica as a young man and spent much of his life seeking adventure. (AP Photo/PA, Ian Nicholson )
"We had to risk failure to get there."
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RIP
Norm
"Dream big and dare to fail."
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I thought that was John Edwards motto. ;-)
http://www.normanvaughan.com/feats.html
The Man : Military Feats
With 425 dogs under his command in WWII, trained men and dogs for daring rescues.
Instigated the rescue by dog team of 26 air crew on the Greenland ice sheet, saving the fighter pilots and bombardiers of the Lost Squadron.
Under enemy eyes, returned solo by dog team to the crashed planes to salvage the top-secret Norden bombsight.
Fifty years later, traveled to Greenland for 11 years to help salvage one Lost Squadron P-38 plane from its prison of ice.
Persuaded top brass to risk a brilliant scheme to evacuate wounded soldiers by dog sled from the Battle of the Bulge with 209 dogs and 17 drivers.
Served as Chief of Search and Rescue for the North Atlantic Division of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the air wing of the U.N.
Served in the Psychological Warfare Department with the Pentagon in the Korean War.
Maybe all that military work is why we knew him as Col. Norman Vaughan here in Alaska. Quite the man, the world is a poorer place with his passing.
Wow.
Awesome!
It was my privelege to meet Norman Vaughan a few years ago.
The first half of the twentieth century was really the golden age of exploration and adventure, with the last and most difficult corners of the Earth finally conquered by men who were fully equal to the task. There just aren't any like them anymore.
What a neat guy. He accomplished a hell of a lot in his 100 years.
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