Climb For America's Children

3705 Arctic Blvd #1124   Anchorage, Alaska 99503
907-522-7777  E-mail

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Colonel Norman Vaughan


About Colonel Norman D. Vaughan

Colonel Norman D. Vaughan, 96, a member of the first Byrd Antarctic Expedition in 1928-1930, was the first American to drive dogs in the Antarctic. He was also Admiral Richard E. Byrd's chief dog driver during the 1929 Antarctic Geological Party, which set foot on land never before seen by man. His book, With Byrd at the Bottom of the World, is a captivating account of this expedition. In December, 1994, he returned to the Antarctic and climbed his namesake, Mount Vaughan, 10,302’, three days before his 89th birthday. Mount Vaughan was named in Norman’s honor by Admiral Byrd for his contributions to the Byrd Antarctic Expedition. His mission was to pay tribute to all the dogs of the Antarctic, to draw attention to the preservation of the Antarctic, and to be a role model to young and old to be active and live younger, longer, healthier more active lives. National Geographic Explorer was there.

Vaughan was a dog driver in the 1925 Grenfell Mission, Newfoundland/Labrador - a medical mission in which he assisted Doctor Grenfell in delivery of medical help via dog sled.

He served in World War II in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Search and Rescue, with 425 dogs under his command. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge with 209 dogs and 17 drivers, and commanded the dog sled ambulances used for the rescue of wounded soldiers. He also instigated the rescue by dog team of 26 air crew on the Greenland ice sheet, and retrieved a top secret Norden bombsight single-handedly. He became Chief of Search and Rescue for the North Atlantic Division of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the air wing of the United Nations. In the Korean War, he served in the Psychological Warfare Department, assigned to the Pentagon.

Vaughan has always enjoyed the spirit of competition. In 1932 he participated in the Dog Racing Event during the Olympic Games, and 20 years later, was the first non-Alaskan dog driver to compete in the North American Sled Dog Championships. He has also mushed in 13 Iditarod Sled Dog Races and was awarded Most Inspirational Musher and the True Grit Award (1987), and in 1990 was named Musher of the Year, as well as entered into the Musher Hall of Fame. His last finish was in 1990, at the age of 84.

For 12 years, Vaughan was also involved with the salvage of six P-38 planes from the Lost Squadron in Greenland.

Vaughan’s latest venture since 1997 is the organizing of an annual 868-mile Serum Run to commemmorate the 1925 dash to Nome to take anti-toxin serum to hundreds of dying people stricken by diptheria. There were 18 of the fastest dog teams, in relay from village to village, who passed off a precious bundle of serum one to the other in the darkness of mid-January. Today Norman leads a group of 30 dog mushers and snowmachiners from village to village to keep the story alive in the schools and to promote immunizations.

Vaughan’s motto in life is "Dream big and dare to fail."

Books: My Life of Adventure and With Byrd at the Bottom of the World
To order click here

Norman D. Vaughan 3807 Iowa Dr., #3 Anchorage, AK 99517
(907-245-1453)     cvaughan@adventurequestinc.com
Adventure Quest, Inc


Home | Founders Statement | Mission Statement | Promotional Campaign | Who Benefits | How the Program Works
 Board of Directors | Pledge | Denali Expedition | Endorsements
| Promotional Team | Climbing Team
Environmental Statement | Sponsors | Official Sponsorship Opportunities | Benefits of Sponsorship | Calendars