 The most northern body of land in the world seven eighths of its terrain lies under a blanket of solid ice Temperatures fall to 75 degrees below zero Six months of the year the Sun shines continuously But during the winter the pure white snow is shrouded in darkness Over 800 years ago. It was cited by Eric the red an adventurous viking explorer with perhaps a sense of humor He named it Greenland picture Unofficial report produced for the armed forces and the American people Now to show you part of the big picture here is Sergeant Stuart Queen Lure of the unknown has never failed wet man's desire for exploration Ever since he realized the vastness of his surroundings He has not been content while one corner of uncharted land confronted him Today with most of the world under his control or observation He is turning his eyes to the mysteries about her space Yet his nature will not allow him to neglect the remaining untouched areas of his own environment for centuries Maric the red to Robert Perry The frozen regions of Greenland have stood as a challenge to man's ingenuity In May of 1960 a special task force of the United States Army Began a 65-day journey across the northern extremities of Greenland's ice cap During that time they spanned it from coast to coast and Then traveled up to the northernmost tip of land in the world Operation lead dog was part of a program to test the efficiency and stamina of current polar vehicles and equipment With the testing and exploration Came the satisfaction of man's thirst for adventure and knowledge A huge land mass halfway between the shortest route from North America to Eurasia Greenland has become a crucial point in military planning With this in mind the United States with the cooperation of the Danish government began extensive operations in this area By the summer of 1952 Supplies and equipment had been unloaded along a newly built harbor ready for the construction of Camp Tully on the northwestern coast Built for the Air Force by the Army Corps of Engineers Camp Tully would provide a stepping stone essential to further exploration of the interior From this point and nearby Camp Tutto many expeditions would be charted to the unexplored areas of the ice cap By March of 1960 Preparations began for operation lead dog a 40-man expedition which planned to cross the entire northern ice cap for the first time One of the most extensive polar expeditions yet attempted lead dog was a joint operation of many services Under the command of the Army transportation Corps It included representatives from all the Army technical services as well as members of the Marine Corps Navy and Air Force Following its primary goal of testing the stamina and efficiency of Arctic vehicles It would travel in many instances along the same routes followed by Admiral Robert E. Perry half a century before The famed Arctic Explorer originally believed that a land route to the North Pole existed in Greenland Starting in 1892 he began a series of expeditions over the following years Which took him into the northern regions of Perry land fighting starvation Fatigue snow blindness and the harsh Arctic blizzards with the most rudimentary weapons He was finally forced to abandon this idea due to the dangers of the heavy snow crevasses which dot the edge of the ice cap However Perry's dream of an imperial highway to the pole still continued to stimulate man's curiosity Over 60 years later another expedition awaited the signal to begin But where there had once been dog sleds and fur-lined supplies there were now diesel engines D8 caterpillars and steam heated Dwanigans Men too were being tested the modern machines would help but the men must endure the freezing winds Unseen snow traps and barren unpredictable wastelands May 18 1960 1430 hours Dog ascended the ice cat it would go 600 miles before it would leave it again on Mile 180 the Arctic threw out its first obstacle in the form of a heavy fog or whiteout visibility zero This peculiar Arctic mist erased the horizon and with it all sense of direction with the human eye blinded Radar led the way the first round had been fought and won by operation lead dog But there would be more May 27 or 500 hours the expedition now having traveled 300 miles came upon their first fuel cash Buried the previous year by lead dog 1959 extra fuel was carried by rolling liquid transporters and replenished at these prepared way stations In a land where a stalled vehicle would be at the mercy of sub-zero temperatures it became a vital consideration The standard living area during a polar excursion is the one again Especially heated trailer where the men could spend their off-duty time to eat sleep and relax In colder climates a man's body heat is quickly expended The amount of rations needed is almost twice that consumed under ordinary circumstances As one crew rested for 12 hours another shift took its place Army scientists extracted samples of snow at different levels to measure density rate of moisture precipitation and The wearing away or elation of the glacier in this way It is possible to chart the growth and movement of the ice calf itself Radiation readings were tabulated by representatives of the army's chemical core The scientific data accumulated during lead dog would prove a valuable contribution to man's Understanding and eventual mastering of the Arctic as time went on the men became more and more aware of their extreme Isolation in their remote corner of the world some turn to thoughts of home others searched for ways to keep occupied Three possible recreational and morale feature had been provided yet It took a great effort to shut out the emptiness of this Arctic region a 30 1960 Their loneliness increased as the convoy entered regions which had not yet been explored or charted Roots had to be plotted by theodolite and gyro compass lead dog 1959 had only gone this far from here on lead dog 1960 would be on its own a trail was marked every quarter mile by brightly colored flags attached to bamboo poles Once the goal had been reached these flags would be the guide on the return trip Time was vital the plan of the journey was to rendezvous on the eastern coast of Greenland with a special helicopter party from camp To talk over a major setback occurred at mile 480 a D8 caterpillar was suddenly put out of action as its crankcase split under the extreme cold Parts for its repair were unavailable and would have to be flown in from to tall a decision must be made Lead dog radioed back to to tall that the vehicle plus all additional bulk weight Would be left at mile 480 to be picked up on the return trip June 12 1960 0800 hours 24 days after leaving base camp lead dog arrived at crown prince Christian land Located on the east coast of the ice cat They had traveled over 600 miles and spanned the entire northern half of Greenland The helicopter party had not yet arrived, but was reported to be on the way While waiting a vehicle test was organized by dispatching a scouting patrol to find a safe land route to Lake Centrum Located off the ice cap on the eastern coast The lightweight weasels would soon have to prove their dependability Along the marginal area between the lake and the eastern ice cap soft snow and hidden crevasses layers of trap for unsuspecting Travellers and a sharp vigilance was maintained by the men of the patrol Lake Centrum is the home of the Air Force Cambridge Research Camp a party of scientists who had been living and studying in that area Since the beginning of May on the same day the ground expedition arrived the helicopter party appeared and brought Additional scientific personnel to join the expedition on the ice cap together. They would soon ventured north into Perry land Arriving by helicopter were Colonel Sandridge CO of transportation environmental operations group and other army scientists the rendezvous had been completed Among the supplies brought by the aircraft which included food fresh milk and the new crankcase for the cripple caterpillar Was the long-awaited male? Isolated for over a month the men of lead dog gathered for their first word from their family's back home From the 16th of June to the 22nd plans for the embarkation to Perry land were halted The Arctic winds lashed out with violent energy bringing with them a crippling snowstorm and what was even worse a delay in the time schedule The men made the best of the situation as the winds raged on a complete checkup of equipment was undertaken One faulty mechanism once they had reached Perry land where resupply was impossible could have meant ruined to the expedition The blizzard also provided the military personnel with a chance to attend a lecture by one of their group count seagull canute The famed Arctic Explorer who has spent 18 years exploring the Danish country He warned the crew of the dangerous snow crevasses which had halted Perry's ambitions in the northern areas After a week of anxiety word was radiated in that the scouting party sent to patrol the ice cap was now returning to the ground train a Flare was ignited to guide them through the dense blizzard the weasel vehicles had borne up admirably during the precarious journey and The patrol had provided the expedition with one of their many firsts This was the first time a ground vehicle had successfully left the ice cap on the lake centrum area The patrol leader sergeant fields also gave lead dog a souvenir of the occasion Strapped to the front of his vehicle was the skull of an ancient musk ox a less fortunate polar traveler June 24 1200 hours the storm had passed and the expedition prepared for the final lap of its journey Perry land the helicopters would go on alone taking with them Colonel Sandridge and the scientific party They plan to fly along the northeastern coast charting the terrain and venturing as far north as weather and time permitted The ground swing would return to mile 480 for the cached equipment and then turn northward to join the helicopters at Perry land This was another first for the record as helicopters had never before been used on extensive operations in northern Greenland The next day the ground swing departed for mile 480 June 27 Now heading northward toward the pole. They could expect more in the way of wind and storms Weather calculations began to show signs of a heavy blizzard heading in their direction as it grew closer Lead dog experienced its last visit from the outside world You won a otter airplanes raced against the weather to bring mail and supplies It was imperative to service the aircraft quickly as the approaching storm would soon make flight impossible Even now a dangerous risk was present the soft snow which surrounded the area made the takeoffs Unpredictable and dangerous each plane would hazard the chance of being tangled in the mushy terrain in its attempt to reach the air July arrived and with it the expected storm winds have been known to reach violent and heavy velocity So much so that heavy equipment weighing hundreds of pounds has lost its footing Meanwhile the helicopter party experienced an historical moment as they flew over independence fjord on the 4th of July 68 years ago to the day Perry entered in his journal July 4th 1892 have this day reached and discovered a large body of water have named the fjord Independence in honor of this day so dear to the hearts of all Americans and on the same day the ground swing raised the first 50-star flag next to the Danish flag Participating in the ceremony were Lieutenant Walton swing commander Sergeant fields of Alaska and PFC Charlie Korea the native of Hawaii July 6th 1960 all 500 hours the outskirts of Perry land Now began the dangerous task of cleaning out the treacherous crevasses that lie beneath the snow a Crevasse is an empty pocket hidden under a layer of soft snow a Specially built detector was placed before the train Designed to discover the underground pits by electronic impulses Each crevasse had to be blown open to judge the size and then bridged before the expedition could continue I'll after mile the air ripped with explosion The helicopters had no trouble scaling over the dangers of the ice cap by the 6th of July They had penetrated deep into Perry land guided the ground train by the discovery of a safe land Route and had even journeyed to Cape Marsh Jessup the most northern tip of land in the world The flight proved valuable for the geographers revealing that existing maps of the area had been in error by several miles Now well past the ice cap the helicopters came upon a snow-free land along the northern coast Here along Brundelands fjord they landed to set up camp and begin the exploration of one of the few Relatively unknown areas on earth, and they have ever been the ground is nearly free of snow Greenland is likened to a huge inverted soup bowl Filled in the center with solid ice yet clear and ice-free along the rims of its coastline Warning brings with it a hearty breakfast and the promise of a fruitful day The scientists of lead dog took full advantage of their short time in Perry land Count canute was extremely impressed by the speed and mobility of the helicopters in a few days They had enabled him to reach and explore the lands which would have taken him 10 years to cover by earlier methods One of the rich finds of the trip were the remnants of a paleo eskimo camp Believed to be over 4,000 years old Here in the centuries before Christ men hunted and fished along the clear waters of the fjord and here in the 20th century men can at last explore and share the experience of the long in prison land July 12 1960 the arctic light would soon begin to fail Lead dog began to prepare for the trip home The Brundelands fjord camp was struck and the helicopter party prepared to join the ground swing Which was engaged in vehicle tests along the edge of the ice cap with the two parties now joined Colonel Sandridge and his officers reviewed the work accomplished by lead dog The overland route through the crevasses had been charted Valuable scientific data had been accumulated and the vehicles had proved themselves to be more than effective under the harsh arctic conditions With the satisfaction that comes with the job successfully completed the helicopter crews gave their last farewell to the ground train and embarked for to talk July 22 1960 1300 hours after a journey of over 1800 miles the swing arrived back at canto tol Colonel Kirkering to toe base commander was on hand to offer congratulations on a job. Well done The last embarkation the men would return to Fort Eustis, Virginia Headquarters of the Army transportation Corps with an enviable feeling of pride Today with the polar regions becoming increasingly vital to the defense of our way of life The men of lead dog had demonstrated the Army's ability to master the Arctic like Perry They experienced the supreme joy of entering a new untouched world The big picture is an official report for the armed forces and the American people Produced by the Army pictorial Center presented by the Department of the Army in cooperation with this state