In the mid-1970s, a type-written sheaf of paper began to circulate through mimeograph clubs and fringe book-stores claiming to be Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s secret diary of 19 February 1947. No publisher, copyright, or archival catalogue number appeared on the document; the earliest traced reference is a 1974 digest called The Missing Secret of Admiral Byrd printed in Los Angeles . Because it surfaced nearly three decades after the alleged flight, its provenance is entirely unverified.
A later, unverifiable rumour asserted that the diary had been “discovered among the admiral’s personal effects by his son after Byrd’s death in 1957.” In fact, Richard E. Byrd Jr. did inherit many of his father’s papers, but the only items he formally catalogued and sold (in 1958 and again in 1996) were the 1926 North-Pole flight notebook and the 1934 Advance Base winter diary—neither of which contains any reference to inner worlds, disc craft, or polar gateways . No estate inventory, auction record, or family statement lists a 1947 “hollow-earth” holograph, and archivists at Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar Research Center confirm that no such manuscript has ever been deposited .
What follows, therefore, is offered exactly as it has appeared online since the 1970s: unfoot-noted, unedited, and of unknown authorship.
Below is the full text of this Diary as obtained from the internet:
The Exploration Flight over the North Pole
I must write this diary in secrecy and obscurity. It concerns my Arctic flight of the nineteenth day of February in the year of Nineteen and Forty Seven.
There comes a time when the rationality of men must fade into insignificance and one must accept the inevitability of the Truth!
I am not at liberty to disclose the following documentation at this writing… perhaps it shall never see the light of public scrutiny, but I must do my duty and record here for all to read one day.
In a world of greed and exploitation of certain of mankind can no longer suppress that which is truth.
Flight Log – Base Camp Arctic – 19 February 1947
| Time (hrs) | Entry |
|---|---|
| 0600 | All preparations are complete for our flight northward and we are airborne with full fuel tanks at 0610 Hours. |
| 0620 | Fuel mixture on starboard engine seems too rich; adjustment made and Pratt Whitneys are running smoothly. |
| 0730 | Radio check with base camp. All is well and radio reception is normal. |
| 0740 | Note slight oil leak in starboard engine; oil pressure indicator seems normal, however. |
| 0800 | Slight turbulence noted from easterly direction at altitude of 2,321 feet; correction to 1,700 feet. No further turbulence, but tail wind increases; slight adjustment in throttle controls. Aircraft performing very well now. |
| 0815 | Radio check with base camp; situation normal. |
| 0830 | Turbulence encountered again; increase altitude to 2,900 feet; smooth flight conditions again. |
| 0910 | Vast ice and snow below; note coloration of yellowish nature dispersed in a linear pattern. Altering course for better examination. Note reddish-purple color also. Circle this area two full turns and return to assigned compass heading. Position check made again to base camp and relay information concerning colorations in the ice and snow below. |
| 0910 | Both magnetic and gyro compasses beginning to gyrate and wobble; we are unable to hold heading by instrumentation. Take bearing with sun compass; yet all seems well. Controls are slow to respond and have sluggish quality, but no indication of icing. |
| 0915 | In the distance is what appears to be mountains. |
| 0949 | Twenty-nine minutes elapsed flight time from first sighting of mountains; it is no illusion. They are mountains—consisting of a small range I have never seen before. |
| 0955 | Altitude change to 2,950 feet; encountering strong turbulence again. |
| 1000 | We are crossing over the small mountain range and still proceeding northward as best can be ascertained. Beyond the mountain range is what appears to be a valley with a small river or stream running through the center. There should be no green valley below! Something is wrong and abnormal here; we should be over ice and snow. To port side are great forests growing on mountain slopes. Navigation instruments still spinning; gyroscope oscillating back and forth. |
| 1005 | I alter altitude to 1,400 feet and execute sharp left turn to better examine valley below. It is green with either moss or tight-knit grass. Light here seems different; I cannot see the sun any more. Make another left turn and spot what seems to be a large animal—an elephant! No—looks more like a mammoth! Decrease altitude to 1,000 feet and take binoculars; it is confirmed—definitely a mammoth-like animal. Report this to base camp. |
| 1030 | Encountering more rolling green hills. External temperature indicator reads 74 degrees Fahrenheit! Continuing on heading. Navigation instruments seem normal now; radio is not functioning. |
| 1130 | Countryside below more level. Ahead we spot what seems to be a city! Aircraft seems light and oddly buoyant; controls refuse to respond. Off port and starboard wings are strange type of aircraft—disc-shaped with radiant quality. They are closing rapidly. Markings visible: a type of swastika. We are caught in invisible vice grip; controls useless. |
| 1135 | Radio crackles; voice in English with slight Nordic or Germanic accent: “Welcome, Admiral, to our domain. We shall land you in exactly seven minutes. Relax, Admiral, you are in good hands.” Engines have stopped; aircraft turning itself. |
| 1140 | Another message: “We begin landing process now.” Plane descends as if in great unseen elevator; touchdown with slight jolt. |
| 1145 | Making hasty last entry. Several men approaching—tall, blond. In distance a large shimmering city pulsating with rainbow hues. I comply with order to open cargo door. |
From Memory – Events after Landing
The radioman and I are taken from aircraft and received cordially. We board a small platform-like conveyance with no wheels; it moves toward glowing city with great swiftness. City appears made of crystal material. Arrive at large building—design reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright or Buck Rogers. Offered warm beverage tasting like nothing I have savored before. After ten minutes, two hosts announce I am to accompany them. We enter elevator, descend, then proceed down long hallway lit by rose-colored light from walls themselves. Stop before great door; inscription unreadable. Door slides open.
“Have no fear, Admiral, you are to have an audience with the Master.”
I step inside. Surroundings too beautiful and wondrous to describe. A man with delicate features, etched by years, sits at long table.
“We have let you enter here because you are of noble character and well known on the Surface World, Admiral.”
“Surface World?” I half-gasp.
“Yes, you are in the domain of the Arianni, the Inner World of the Earth.”
He continues:
“Our interest began after your race exploded atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We sent our flying machines—Flugelrads—to investigate. You have learned to tamper with atomic energy, not for man. Our emissaries delivered messages to your powers, yet they do not heed. You have been chosen to witness that our world exists. Our culture and science are thousands of years beyond yours.”
I ask what this has to do with me.
“Your race has reached the point of no return… a great storm gathers… a black fury that will not spend itself for many years… We shall keep safe certain of your treasures until you have learned the futility of war. You are to return with this message.”
Meeting ends; I bow slightly. Hosts escort me back to elevator; we ascend. Rejoin radioman; board craft. Engines idle; cargo door closes; aircraft lifted by unseen force to 2,700 feet. Two disc craft accompany us.
| Time (hrs) | Entry |
|---|---|
| 215 | Radio message: “We are leaving you now, Admiral, your controls are free. Auf Wiedersehen!” Disc craft disappear. Plane recovers control. |
| 220 | Again over vast ice and snow, 27 minutes from base camp. Radio them—response normal. |
| 300 | Land smoothly at base camp. I have a mission. |
Washington, 11 March 1947
Attended staff meeting at Pentagon. Stated fully my discovery and message from the Master. All recorded. President advised. Detained six hours thirty-nine minutes, interviewed by top-security forces and medical team—an ordeal. Placed under strict control via national-security provisions. Ordered to remain silent in regard to all I have learned, on the behalf of humanity.
Final Entry – 30 December 1956
These last years since 1947 have not been kind. I have faithfully kept this matter secret as directed, against my values of moral right. Now the long night approaches; this secret will not die with me. As all truth shall, it will triumph. I have seen the truth and it has quickened my spirit. I have done my duty toward the monstrous military-industrial complex. The long night begins, but there shall be no end. Just as the long night of the Arctic ends, the brilliant sunshine of Truth shall come again, and those of darkness shall fall in its Light.
FOR I HAVE SEEN THAT LAND BEYOND THE POLE, THAT CENTER OF THE GREAT UNKNOWN.
Admiral Richard E. Byrd
United States Navy
24 December 1956
Leticia (a.k.a Letty) is a bibliophile who loves to read and write, she is also a Content Associate and Curator at Clue Media. She spends her spare time researching diverse topics and lives in New York with her dog.