US Navy Peacetime Medal of Honor Recipient, Aviator, Explorer. On May 9, 1926, he and Robert Byrd took off and made history by being the first men to fly over the North Pole. For this feat, both men were awarded the Medal of Honor. Plans were made for a second trip, this time to the South Pole. Unfortunately, he did not live to realize the triumph of the South Pole Expedition. In April 1928, while suffering a high fever, he heard of the flight of Irish-German crew of the 'Bremen', which was forced down at Greenley Island, Quebec, on an attempted non-stop flight from Europe. Bennett was not acquainted with any of the pilots on board the 'Bremen', but they were fellow fliers and explorers in trouble, and despite his fever, he took off immediately from Detroit to try a rescue At Murray Bay, he was stricken with influenza, but refused to turn back. Halfway on his journey across Canada, Bennett died of pneumonia. Out of respect for Bennett, Admiral Byrd took a stone from Bennett's grave in Arlington and dropped it over the South Pole on the flight that he and Bennett had planned together. His official Medal of Honor Citation reads "For distinguishing himself conspicuously by courage and intrepidity at the risk of his life as a member of the Byrd Arctic Expedition and thus contributing largely to the success of the first heavier-than-air flight to the North Pole and return".
US Navy Peacetime Medal of Honor Recipient, Aviator, Explorer. On May 9, 1926, he and Robert Byrd took off and made history by being the first men to fly over the North Pole. For this feat, both men were awarded the Medal of Honor. Plans were made for a second trip, this time to the South Pole. Unfortunately, he did not live to realize the triumph of the South Pole Expedition. In April 1928, while suffering a high fever, he heard of the flight of Irish-German crew of the 'Bremen', which was forced down at Greenley Island, Quebec, on an attempted non-stop flight from Europe. Bennett was not acquainted with any of the pilots on board the 'Bremen', but they were fellow fliers and explorers in trouble, and despite his fever, he took off immediately from Detroit to try a rescue At Murray Bay, he was stricken with influenza, but refused to turn back. Halfway on his journey across Canada, Bennett died of pneumonia. Out of respect for Bennett, Admiral Byrd took a stone from Bennett's grave in Arlington and dropped it over the South Pole on the flight that he and Bennett had planned together. His official Medal of Honor Citation reads "For distinguishing himself conspicuously by courage and intrepidity at the risk of his life as a member of the Byrd Arctic Expedition and thus contributing largely to the success of the first heavier-than-air flight to the North Pole and return".
Bio by: Soorus
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