Did Father Iannuzzi just indicate his belief in hollow Earth theory? An extended research article.

The cover of one of the books published in fringe circles about a “secret diary” of Admiral Byrd. In this book it is claimed that Byrd flew through an opening in the North Pole into a great undiscovered land inside the Earth, where an alien race of giant beings resides.

The Real Diary of Admiral Byrd

In 1996 a diary—a real diary, one that people can see and touch—of Admiral Richard Byrd’s 1926 flight to the North pole was discovered “in a box assumed to contain only artifacts” (Goerler, “Archives in Controversy”, p. 310). In the diary there was new evidence relevant to a long-standing controvery: was Byrd the first person to fly a plane to the North pole, as he claimed? Certain contemporaries of Byrd, and later historians, had disputed that claim. The facts of the discovery are discussed in Raimund E. Goerler, “Archives in Controversy: The Press, the Documentaries and the Byrd Archives” in The American Archivist, 62(2), 1999, p. 307-324. (Click here to download a pdf of the article for free.)

A very good introduction to the life and acheivements of Richard Byrd can be read here.

Before we continue, who is Raimund Goerler? He was University Archivist at The Ohio State University (OSU) from 1978 to 2010. He edited To the Pole: The Diary and Notebook of Richard E. Byrd, 1925-1927, Ohio State University Press (1998). OSU press has made the entire book available online here for non-commerical use. Details about Goerler can be found here, here and here.

From the abstract of the article:

The diary provided new evidence, and the news of its existence and meaning fueled stories that reached every part of the globe. Interest in Byrd also inspired producers of three documentaries. The archivist [Goerler] who dealt with producers and reporters discusses the media coverage, the challenges of working with reporters and producers … and the impact of the publicity on an archival program (p. 307).

Goeler ends his article with these reflections (my emphasis):

Finally, amidst the impact that media attention can have on an archival program, there is room for comedy as well as controversy. When newspapers reported that the archives was looking for a publisher of the diary, three publishers not associated with OSU [Ohio State University] responded. One asked if the diary was of Byrd's journey into the center of the earth through the poles. According to The Hollow Earth by Raymond Bernard Byrd discovered an opening to the interior of the earth at the North Pole in 1947 and another at the South Pole in 1956. Bernard, who cited Flying Saucer Magazine repeatedly as a source of information, claimed that Byrd found evidence of another world, a place of lush vegetation and warm temperatures, inside the earth. Fearing global competition in a rush for the new land, the government of the United States forbade Byrd to talk about or publish his discoveries. Despite the alleged cover-up, a Hollow Earth Society, an organization of like-minded believers, has used the World Wide Web to advertise books and videos purporting to show Byrd's discovery and to prove that aliens from another planet, or perhaps the descendants of the lost continent of Atlantis, live in the inner earth. While researchers have occasionally asked for documentation from Byrd's papers about his discovery of the hollow earth, nothing has been found. So far, none of the queries have been from producers of documentaries or docudramas (pp. 323-24).

The pseudo-scientific work cited by Goerler is Raymond Bernard, The Hollow Earth: The Greatest Geographical Discovery in History (Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 1969), 29-57. You can consult the work online here. You just need to sign up for a free account.

Bernard, The Hollow Earth, 78-79.

Fr Iannuzzi on Admiral Byrd

In Video 1 of the “Vatican and Aliens” YouTube video series, Iannuzzi claims

• that Admiral Byrd saw something “in the North Pole when he went there”

• that Byrd did not want this experience to be revealed until after his death

• that this is similar to how Bruno Sammaciccia did not want his experience of being visited by extraterrestrials to come to light until after his death.

Video 1: 26:52 - 28:32

Watch from here until 28:32 to listen to the entire quote below, or from here to listen just to the part I’ve put in bold (from 27:51).

Bruno Sammaciccia, he was a theologian, a lay Theologian who participated with Paul VI, it was in 1977 … the national Eucharistic Congress in Pescara, Italy and he put out a book, Bruno Sammaciccia, a theologian, in 1977 entitled Le Miracle Eucharistique De Lanciano which in English is The Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano in Italian it was published his native language in ‘73 and then in ‘77 the translation in French to which Saint Pope John Paul II appended his dedication. Now at the time in ‘77 the pope was still Archbishop of Krakow but he dedicated Bruno Sammaciccia’s book to the Catholic Church. He was visited by extraterrestrials and he wrote all about this but he did not want this to be revealed until after his death. [27:51] Much like Admiral Byrd. He [Byrd] also did not want until his death for his experience to be revealed of what he saw in the North Pole when he went there. But Bruno Sammaciccia again is a reputable individual, he's an academic, he published over a hundred books, he was a distinguished figure in academic circles. Basically in 1956 a group of ETS appeared to him according to his memoirs and they were good, and they shared to him things about how to be better in the world, improve the society in which we live and things like that. But on the flip side as I mentioned you have the bad ones and that in my opinion refers to that one third that fell with Lucifer. [28:32]

A photograph of Admiral Byrd shown in Video 1 of the “Vatican and Aliens” YouTube series featuring Fr Joseph Iannuzzi, who is interviewed by Dr Michael James. Time stamp: 27:53.

A later photograph of Admiral Byrd shown in the same video at 28:00.

Iannuzzi does not elaborate further on the case of Admiral Byrd in the entire YouTube series (“Vatican and Aliens”). What is Iannuzzi referring to when he mentions “what he [Byrd] saw in the North Pole when he went there”? Clearly Iannuzzi means that Byrd saw something extraordinary. He is drawing a parallel between the respective experiences of Sammaciccia and Byrd. And he is drawing attention to the fact that neither of them wanted to go public with their respective experiences in their lifetime. In order to determine what Iannuzzi is referring to (“what he saw in the North Pole when he went there”), then, we’ll have to

• look at the documents and narratives — the academically respectable ones and the fringe / conspiracy theory ones — concerning Byrd and his flight to the North Pole

• find in this material a document or narrative according to which (1) Byrd sees something extraordinary in the North Pole during his flight there and (2) Byrd does not want to go public with this experience in his lifetime.

Now according to the public record (as opposed to conspiracy theories) Byrd flew over the North Pole — or very close to it if you believe the skeptics — just once, in 1926. (The controversy over who was the first to fly over the North Pole is discussed in Raimund E. Goerler (1999), “Richard E. Byrd and the North Pole flight of 1926: fact, fiction as fact, and interpretation”, 1998 IAMSLIC Conference Proeedings, 363-376.) Byrd’s other expeditions were:

• His 1927 Trans-Atlantic flight

• Three Antarctic expeditions in 1928-30, 1933-34 and 1939-40

  • This includes his 1929 flight (Nov 28-29) over the South Pole. ChatGPT: “Byrd's most notable flight over the South Pole occurred on November 29, 1929, during his first Antarctic expedition (1928–1930). He and his crew flew a Ford Trimotor aircraft named the Floyd Bennett and became the first to successfully fly over the geographic South Pole. This historic flight solidified Byrd's reputation as a leading polar explorer.”

• Operation Highjump to Antarctica (1946-47). Byrd was (nominally) officer in charge. (Hofstra writes: “Although he was named officer in charge, active command flowed through established naval channels.”) More on this operation below.

  • This includes his non-triumphant second flight over the South Pole. Hofstra in the same essay writes, “From late 1946 to early 1947, four thousand men and a small fleet of ships and planes mapped more than fifteen hundred miles of coastline. Byrd joined a flight to the South Pole and navigated with his old sun compass, but it was just a gesture.”

• Operation Deep Freeze I to Antarctica (1955-56), in which Antarctic bases were established in three locations, along with a permanent US military presence. This was Byrd’s last expedition to Antarctica. Byrd was (nominally) officer in charge (Hofstra again: “his [Byrd’s] leadership in the huge Antarctic expeditions of the 1940s and 1950s was only nominal …”).

  • His last flight over the South Pole was on January 8, 1956.

See here for further details about Byrd’s expeditions.

Operation Highjump (1946-47)

There are many conspiracy theories circulating concerning this operation. The theories have been debunked multiple times. See, for example, Michael Heiser’s article, and Summerhayes and Beeching’s 2007 article, “Hitler’s Antarctic base: the myth and the reality” in Polar Record 43(224): 1-21 (freely available here). A certain “Captain Antarctica” writes (on this page):

It was this Expedition [Operation Highjump] which figures heavily in conspiracy theories where it is claimed that Byrd’s flotilla encountered Nazi UFO’s and a pitched battle ensued resulting in the defeat of the American forces. None of it is true but that doesn’t stop the story continuing to do the rounds.

Let’s look at the operation in more detail. From the Wikipedia entry on Byrd:

In 1946, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal appointed Byrd as officer in charge of Antarctic Developments Project. Byrd's fourth Antarctic expedition was code-named Operation Highjump. It was the largest Antarctic expedition to date and was expected to last 6–8 months.

The expedition was supported by a large naval force (designated Task Force 68), commanded by Rear Admiral Richard H. Cruzen. Thirteen US Navy support ships (besides the flagship USS Mount Olympus and the aircraft carrier USS Philippine Sea), six helicopters, six flying boats, two seaplane tenders, and 15 other aircraft were used. The total number of personnel involved was over 4,000.

ChatGPT gives the following as the official objectives of Operation Highjump:

Establishing the Antarctic Research Base “Little America IV”
A key objective was to set up a base of operations in Antarctica to support future scientific research and exploration.

Training Naval Personnel in Cold-Weather Operations
The U.S. Navy sought to test men, ships, and equipment under extreme polar conditions to prepare for potential future military operations in cold climates.

Conducting Aerial Mapping and Exploration
Extensive photographic surveys were planned to map large portions of Antarctica’s uncharted coastline and interior. This was seen as vital for geopolitical knowledge during the early stages of the Cold War.

Testing New Equipment and Military Technology
Operation Highjump provided an opportunity to test ships, aircraft, and survival gear in harsh, icy conditions.

Scientific Studies
The mission conducted research on meteorology, geology, ice conditions, and electromagnetic propagation at high latitudes.

ChatGPT lists the following as “conspiracy theories and speculative purposes”

Confrontation with Nazi Bases
Some theories suggest that Operation Highjump was launched to confront secret Nazi bases in Antarctica, where advanced technology (possibly flying saucers) was allegedly being developed after World War II.

Investigating Hollow Earth or UFO Phenomena
A popular but unsubstantiated theory is that Admiral Byrd’s mission involved the discovery of a hidden realm or advanced civilizations beneath the Earth's surface.

Cold War Geopolitical Objectives
Some believe the operation was an early Cold War maneuver aimed at asserting U.S. dominance over Antarctica in anticipation of strategic conflicts with the Soviet Union.

Operation Highjump is the subject of an Academy Award-winning 1948 documentary called The Secret Land. It can be viewed here. It is quite interesting. The declassified report of Operation Highjump is available here.

Byrd’s 1926 flight to the North Pole

The following passages are taken from the article already cited: Raimund E. Goerler, “Archives in Controversy” (available here).

On May 9, 1926, Richard Byrd and copilot Floyd Bennett flew a tri-motor airplane, the Josephine Ford, from Spitzbergen, Norway to the North Pole, and returned in fifteen-and-a-half hours. They claimed to be the first to have reached the North Pole since Commander Robert Peary and Dr. Frederick Cook in separate expeditions claimed to have done so by dog sled in 1909. Three days later, on May 12, 1926, an international expedition headed by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, financed by American Lincoln Ellsworth, and piloted by Italian Colonel Umberto Nobile, flew an airship, the Norge, over the North Pole. For Byrd, the flight to the North Pole launched a thirty-one-year career as a public hero, prominent aviator, and polar explorer. A Congressional Medal of Honor, promotion in rank in the U.S. Navy even though he was retired, and lucrative lecture tours followed in quick succession. A year after his North Pole adventure, Byrd became the third person to achieve a successful transatlantic flight, following Charles Lindbergh … In 1928 Byrd's personal fame enabled him to raise enough money from private donors and companies to lead the largest expedition to Antarctica. So prominent a hero was Byrd that parents named children after him; even Byrd's dog, Igloo, who had accompanied him on the expeditions to the North and South Poles, was a celebrity and the subject of a biography. (308)

The skeptics

Byrd also had his skeptics. Soon after Byrd's flight over the North Pole in 1926, supporters of Amundsen's flight questioned Byrd's achievement. Despite the international acclaim for Byrd, some publicly doubted that the plane could have reached the Pole as quickly as it did. They suspected that Byrd had turned back before the Pole, possibly because of an oil leak in one engine. Byrd himself acknowledged the oil leak, but claimed that it happened very near the North Pole, so close that he and Floyd Bennett continued the flight. After Byrd's death in 1957, books and articles appeared that formally challenged the success of Byrd's polar flight. One of these publications claimed that Byrd's pilot had confessed privately that the accomplishment had been a fraud and that they had only flown out of the sight of reporters, and then circled long enough to have claimed to have reached the North Pole. (309)

Byrd never responded to the doubters during his lifetime, and after his death family members did not permit access to his papers. In 1985 Ohio State University acquired Byrd's papers—some 1.5 million items. Although Byrd was not a graduate of Ohio State University, the family knew of its prominence in polar research and wished to have the explorer's papers there. Between 1993 and 1994 a federal grant made possible the arrangement, description, and cataloging of the collection. (310)

The Diary turns up

In the process of making Byrd's papers available, artifacts—such as clothing and equipment from expeditions—received relatively little attention in the haste to meet the deadlines of the grant. The goal was to catalog and describe the vast quantity of correspondence, photographs, and expeditionary records. As luck would have it, Byrd's notebook and diary of the 1926 flight turned up early in 1996 in a box assumed to contain only artifacts. Labeled "1925," the book does begin with remarks about the year 1925 and an expedition to Greenland. In addition, the diary includes a log of Byrd's transatlantic flight of 1927, as well as daily entries of his expedition to the North Pole in 1926. For the most part, the diary and notebook are in chronological disarray. Apparently Byrd purchased a diary in 1925, recorded some pages, and then frugally used the remaining pages pre-marked "1925" to record events in 1926 and 1927. In the diary, Byrd's flight to the North Pole in May 1926 comes before an expedition to Greenland that took place in July 1925. (310)

Byrd wrote several pages while actually on the plane to the North Pole and scribbled messages on blank pages to communicate with his pilot as the roaring engines deafened the two men. Periodically, navigator Byrd communicated to pilot Bennett that the plane was heading off course. At one point Byrd informed Bennett, "We should be at the North Pole now. Make a circle . . ." Several pages also contained navigational calculations, a few of which showed signs of erasure. These would prove to be highly controversial. (310)

Controversy and media attention

So important was Byrd's diary as evidence in a historical controversy that publication and distribution seemed appropriate, even compelling. In April 1996, however, the Ohio State University Press declined publication. The acting director of the press doubted that there would be widespread interest in Byrd and feared that sales of the diary would be disappointing. At the same time, Dennis Rawlins, another important figure in the developing controversy, visited the campus to attend a conference. Rawlins, the editor of Dio, a journal of historical astronomy, had previously published his skepticism of Byrd's (and of Robert Peary's) accomplishment of reaching the North Pole and his navigational abilities in a book, Peary at the Pole: Fact or Fiction. So little did Rawlins think of Byrd as a navigator and explorer that he claimed that Byrd's sole instrument of navigation during his flight to the South Pole in 1929 was a bottle of cognac. (310-312)

At the invitation of the OSU archivist, Rawlins examined the newly found diary and used his expertise to evaluate the navigational calculations and erasures. Rawlins confirmed that the diary was an extraordinary document. In a sixteen page, single-spaced report … Rawlins compared the erasures in the diary against the data that Byrd had submitted in his official reports to the U.S. Navy and to the National Geographic Society and concluded that Byrd had falsified data in his official report. Rawlins praised the archives for making the diary available and even complimented Byrd's courage and navigational ability. Nevertheless, Rawlins concluded that the erased navigational calculations proved that Byrd had lied about reaching the North Pole. (312-313)

…

Truthfully said, no one expected the scope and scale of attention that the story about Byrd's diary would bring. In the late evening of May 8, the Associated Press called the OSU archivist at home to ask for comments about the stories that were to appear in the New York Times and the Washington Post the next morning. On May 9, the media arrived in full force and National Public Radio aired its broadcast on Morning Edition. CBS Evening News called to request a telephone and videotaped interview after the press conference. At the press conference, some twenty-five reporters asked questions about Byrd, the archives, the discovery of the diary, and its significance. Many took photographs of the diary and of the archivist holding it cautiously with white cotton gloves. Also in the room were photographs of Byrd, books about Byrd, and a model of one of Byrd's airplanes. That evening stories about the diary appeared on CBS Evening News, CNN, NBC, and even Brazilian National Television. At the end of the day, a radio talk-show broadcast from Washington, D.C. featured the diary and the archives. For the following two weeks, reporters called with questions and for telephone interviews. Eventually the news that had been orchestrated sounded around the world, in newspapers not only in the United States but in Europe—notably in Norway and in Italy—and as far away as Australia. One week later, the archivist conducted a telephone interview about Byrd's diary with the BBC and had scheduled a television appearance on CNN. (313-14)

Publication of the Diary

One indisputable accomplishment was the publication of Byrd's diary as To the Pole: The Diary and Notebook of Richard E. Byrd, 1925-1927, one of the principal goals of the original effort to draw the attention of the media … By September 1996, the new director of the Ohio State University Press reversed the press's initial decision not to publish the diary, and encouraged the archivist [Goerler] to edit it for publication. Published in 1998, the book contains the diary, cites documents in Byrd's papers concerning the North Pole flight and provides an epilog of his career in Antarctica and a chronology of his entire life. (322)

Nowhere in the 1998 book To the Pole, edited by Raimund E. Goerler, nowhere in Goerler’s two 1999 articles (“Archives in Controversy” and “Richard E. Byrd and the North Pole flight of 1926”) and nowhere in Hofstra’s biographical essay, is there any mention of:

• a different expedition of Admiral Byrd to the North Pole—i.e., not the 1926 expedition

• an existing different diary written by Byrd—a “secret” diary, not the diary discovered in 1996

• an encounter that Byrd did not want disclosed in his lifetime

• Byrd’s discovering a “hole” in the North Pole or his entry into “hollow Earth”, or

• an encounter with a non-human race of intelligent beings, or with advanced technology of non-human origin.

Recall what Goerler wrote at the end of his article (my emphasis):

Despite the alleged cover-up, a Hollow Earth Society, an organization of like-minded believers, has used the World Wide Web to advertise books and videos purporting to show Byrd's discovery and to prove that aliens from another planet, or perhaps the descendants of the lost continent of Atlantis, live in the inner earth. While researchers have occasionally asked for documentation from Byrd's papers about his discovery of the hollow earth, nothing has been found. (324)

Christian Haag, writing for Logically Facts in 2023, came to the same conclusion (there is no evidence of a secret diary or documentation of Byrd’s supposed discovery of hollow Earth) in his fact-checking report:

Several videos refer to the "lost and secret diaries of Admiral E. Byrd" passed to his son as the source of their theories. A new diary was uncovered in 1996, dating from 1926, and disputed Byrd's claim of being the first person to reach the North Pole. However, the videos circulating on social media refer to different diaries, which are widely available. These include "The missing diary of Admiral Richard E. Byrd" by Timothy Green Beckley, "The secret lost diary of Admiral Richard E. Byrd and the Phantom of the Poles" by Timothy Green Beckley et al., and "Admiral Richard Byrds missing Diary: A flight to the land beyond the North Pole into the Hollow Earth" by Geoff Douglas. Each of these books contains identical prints of the diary. 

However, the three books do not cite any actual first-hand sources or claim that they have seen any original diaries. Logically Facts has found no evidence that Byrd passed down a secret diary to his son. Logically Facts contacted the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center about the diary, and it responded that they “receive questions about the hollow earth every year, and that there are no records to support these claims in their archive.” As such, there is no credible evidence that Admiral Byrd encountered a new civilization.

Our search continues

Recall our objective: to find a document or narrative according to which (1) Byrd sees something extraordinary in the North Pole during his flight there and (2) Byrd does not want to go public with this experience in his lifetime. Clearly we are not going to find anything of this sort in the academically respectable literature. When Iannuzzi mentions “what he [Byrd] saw in the North Pole when he went there” he must be referring to something he read or watched in the weird and wonderful world of pseudo-science and conspiracy theory. As I explained earlier, there are many conspiracy theories surrounding Operation Highjump. But Operation Highjump took place in Antarctica and had nothing to do with the North Pole. So we must narrow our search to fringe / conspiracy literature about Byrd’s expedition (or a supposed expedition) to the North Pole.

Now the only fringe / conspiracy theory concerning Admiral Byrd and the North Pole that comes up in an extensive search on Google — supplemented with a few searching prompts to ChatGPT — is this one ubiquitous theory about the secret diary of Admiral Byrd and his journey to hollow Earth. The same theory is repeated almost ad nauseam in various media: books, blog entries, forum discussions, YouTube videos and so forth. In one variation of the theory, Byrd flew into hollow Earth at the South Pole. In another variation, Byrd flew into hollow Earth at both poles. Sometimes the narrative about a “secret diary” and “inner Earth” is combined with other elements, such as the claim that the Nazis had set up a base at the South Pole, or that Byrd discovered spacecraft which the Nazis had reversed engineered from alien technology. Christian Haag points out that elements of the Operation Highjump cluster of conspiracy theories re-appear in the Secret Diary / Inner Earth theory:

The text contains several allusions to the supposed Operation Highjump. Byrd encounters disc-shaped aircraft called "Flugelrad" with swastikas on them. He meets aliens who speak with a "Nordic or Germanic accent." They are described as "tall with blonde hair" and end the encounter with "auf wiedersen [sic]" thus connecting the aliens and their technology with the Nazis.

Predecessors to the “Secret Diary”

Three other influences on the “Secret Diary” myth are worth mentioning. First there is F. Amadeo Giannini, Worlds Beyond the Poles: Physical Continuity of the Universe (1959). Consult the text online here (see pp. 17, 30-32 including illustrations, 42). In this very strange book Giannini claims that

• the Earth is part of an infinite and continuous plane in which all things in the universe are joined without any intervening space—there is no such a thing as a physically discrete planet (a finite sphere).

• there are unexplored lands beyond the North and South Poles; these connecting lands are all part of the one “super-terrestrial continuum”

• the appearance of physically discrete spheres (planets, stars, asteroids, etc) separated by space is an illusion.

Says Giannini:

In February, 1947, a United States Navy Arctic expeditionary force, under the command of Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, achieved a memorable seven-hour flight over land extending beyond the northern geographic “center" or mathematically prescribed northern “end” of the Earth. That flight confirmed that there is no northern physical end to the Earth … The northern Physical Continuity of the Earth with celestial areas of the Universe also has its counterpart in the land now known to extend beyond the South Pole … We may move, as Rear Admiral Byrd moved, beyond the North Pole and out of physical bounds of this Earth, on the same physical level as this Earth … Except for the vast ice barriers at the Arctic and Antarctic regions … we might even walk (p. 42).

Image of Giannini, Worlds Beyond the Poles, p. 42.

Giannini takes the historical fact of Operation Highjump, which took place in Antarctica and officially ended in February 1947, and combines it imaginatively with some details from Byrd’s 1926 flight to the North Pole. Giannini’s claim that the U.S. Airforce flew “beyond” the South Pole on January 13, 1956 and into lands further out in the same physical continuum (p. 17), is a creative improvisation on the historical fact of Operation Deepfreeze I (1955-56). Recall the fact that Byrd was officer in charge for both operations / expeditions, at least nominally.

February 1947 fact check: There is no way to reconcile (1) Giannini’s claim that Byrd was flying over the North Pole at some point in February 1947, with the support of a U.S. Navy “expeditionary force” with (2) the verifiable fact of Byrd’s occupation with Operation Highjump until late February 1947 before journeying back to the U.S.. February 1947 was when navy ships and personell (4,700 men!) were recalled due to weather conditions. Byrd arrived in Washington in early April 1947, having been onboard Mount Olympus, the expedition’s command ship.* On top of that, there would be a public record of a U.S. Naval expedition to the North Pole in February 1947, if one actually occurred. Nor can Navy ships travel from the U.S. to the Arctic Circle without their movement at sea—or their absence from where they were docked—being noticed! Giannini made up the whole story of this 1947 flight to the North Pole, using a couple of historical facts for inspiration.

*See the declassified documents of Operation Highjump here (for example pp. 273-275 and 292-303 of the pdf) and Lisle Rose (1980), Assault on Eternity: Richard E. Byrd and the Exploration of Antarctica, 1946-47, pp. 241-242 (text available here).

The biographical essay by Warren R. Hofstra gives us further evidence that Byrd did not make a secret journey to the North Pole in 1947:

The Byrd Arctic Expedition steamed out of New York harbor on 5 April 1926, accompanied by innumerable small craft, tugs, and fireboats sounding every horn or siren at their disposal. As was characteristic of all Byrd's future efforts, this one was conducted in the full glare of public attention whipped to a frenzy by months of carefully cultivated newspaper coverage. Byrd had entered what historians have called the Ballyhoo Years as one of its prime stars. This was a time in which America was swept by fads from baseball to mah-jongg. Culture heroes assumed proportions larger than life. Their every move was followed by millions of Americans; their achievements marked by huge national celebrations, of which the epitome was the ticker-tape parade down Broadway in New York City. Driving this development was an emerging mass culture, the cultural counterpart of burgeoning consumerism in a mass-production, mass-consumption economy created by industrialization, capitalism, and national markets. As more and more Americans were drawn into a common set of values, ideals, habits, and aspirations by new media such as radio and movies, those who excelled in any public endeavor and stood above the crowd became objects of intense fascination …

So it was with Byrd. Some in his position, such as Charles Lindbergh, attempted to withdraw from public view. Others, like Babe Ruth and Clara Bow, reveled in it, sometimes spinning out of control into lives of waste and dissipation. Byrd, however, sought to put this new culture and the millions of people it touched to his own uses, relying on his media image as America's lone adventurer and last explorer to generate not only public interest in his exploits but also a market for the sale of that image. In this way he raised the immense funds his work required. All this was in the future, however, as Byrd set out for the North Pole in 1926.

We should also keep in mind the deterioration in Byrd’s health after his carbon monoxide poisoning during his stay at an isolated weather station in Antarctica (Summer of 1933-34). Hofstra in the same essay writes:

The South Pole flight [Nov 1929] was, arguably, the apex of Byrd's career. His second expedition to the Antarctic, 1933-35, was devoted strictly to exploration and science. Lacking any single dramatic venture to fix public attention and financial support on his endeavors, Byrd elected to man an isolated weather station by himself during the long and grueling Antarctic winter … [I]t ended in disaster for Byrd who, poisoned by a poorly vented stove and faulty gasoline-powered generator, had to be rescued by his own men. The blow to his self-esteem and the damage to his health haunted the remainder of his days …

Speaking of the last two decades of Byrd’s life (1937-57) Hofstra adds:

Byrd never again matched his most notable triumphs—he failed to equal the flights over the poles or the Atlantic, his leadership in the huge Antarctic expeditions of the 1940s and 1950s was only nominal, and there were no more ticker-tape parades down Broadway. He may have never fully recovered from damage he did to his health at Advance Base.

*

The second text to consider was already mentioned above: Raymond Bernard, The Hollow Earth: The Greatest Geographical Discovery in History (1969), 29-57. Consult the text online here. Bernard takes the continuous “beyond the poles” imagined by Giannini but folds that continuum back into the globe at the poles. But he takes much of his inspiration from something published by Ray Palmer at the end of 1959 in “Flying Saucers” magazine (itself edited by Palmer). Palmer takes some of the fantastic claims that Giannini makes about Byrd’s expeditions in his (Giannini’s) 1959 book Worlds Beyond the Poles and adjusts them to fit the hollow Earth theory. Palmer (and then Bernard) also take a number of (putative) quotes from Byrd and dramatically stretch their significance to support the hollow Earth theory. Some of these “sayings” of Byrd cannot be verified as authentic in the first place. The putative quotations include:

• “The present expedition has opened up a new vast land” (Bernard, 29)

  • Quote cannot be verified

• The south polar expedition is “the most important expedition in the history of the world” (29-30)

  • Quote cannot be verified

  • Brinsley Le Poer Trench in Secret of the Ages: UFOs Inside the Earth (1976) follows suit in reading far too much into this statement (p. 103) and the next two as well (pp. 105, 101).

• Antarctica is “that enchanted continent in the sky, land of everlasting mystery” (Bernard, 27)

  • Admittedly, expansive poetic expressions such as this are present in Byrd’s recollections of Antarctica, especially in his autobiography.

  • See also Trench, p. 105

• “I’d like to see the land beyond the Pole. That area beyond the Pole is the center of the Great Unknown” (Bernard, 31)

  • Byrd may have said this in a radio interview before setting south in Operation Highjump, but this cannot be verified today.

  • See also Trench, p. 101

Quotation fact check: Even if Byrd is the author of each of these sayings, there is no indication that he was thereby suggesting anything like a hollow Earth theory! The sayings lend themselves readily to “scientifically respectable” readings (which is not to deny the aesthetic / spiritual depth of some of the expressions); the far-fetched interpretations imposed by conspiracy theorists are completely unwarranted and completely unnecessary.

Palmer incorporated into his tale the claim that Byrd and his flight-companion reported by radio that they descended into a great valley at the North Pole, and that he was astounded to see forests and rivers (where he was expecting to see only ice) hemmed in by mountain ranges, and even a great beast that looked like a mammoth (Bernard, 28-29). Bernard makes it clear that he believes Palmer’s story (24-25); he refers to this deep valley as the “polar depression” or “polar concavity” (31) that leads into hollow Earth and is one of the two outer openings of hollow Earth.

All of this story-telling becomes the imaginative foundation for Palmer’s claim that hollow Earth is very likely to be the place from which flying saucers originate (29, 41).

Speaking in his own voice now, Bernard claims that two massive discoveries occurred early in 1947: Lt Commander David Bunger discovered a warm land “beyond” the South Pole, and Admiral Byrd discovered a warm land “beyond” the North Pole (43). But we know that Byrd could not have been anywhere near the North Pole in early 1947 — see the “February 1947 fact check” above.

A third potential influence on the “Secret Diary” is Brinsely Le Poer Trench (1976) Secret of the Ages: UFOs From Inside the Earth, 100-105 (already cited above; book is available here). Trench wonders whether Byrd flew over both poles in 1929 and over both poles in 1947 (103). “Did the Admiral fly several times some way into the interior of the Earth? I am sure that he did just that!” (105). There is no reference to the “Secret Diary” in this book, so I’m confident that the hoax appeared some time after this book’s publication, which was in 1976.

A few other books that speak of hollow Earth prior to the publication of the “Secret Diary”, sometimes in connection with Byrd, are listed in Trench, pp. 13-14.

Hollow Earth fact check (ChatGPT):

The idea that the Earth is hollow is a scientifically debunked hypothesis. Here are seven reasons we know the Earth is not hollow:

1. Seismic Wave Studies

Seismic waves from earthquakes travel through the Earth at speeds and in patterns that confirm it is composed of layers: crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core.

Seismic waves behave differently depending on the material they pass through. For example:

P-waves (primary waves) travel through solids, liquids, and gases but slow down in the liquid outer core.

S-waves (secondary waves) do not travel through liquids, confirming the presence of a liquid outer core.

2. Earth’s Gravity

The Earth’s measured gravitational field corresponds to a solid body with a dense core. If the Earth were hollow, its gravity would be much weaker and inconsistent with what we observe.

Calculations of Earth's mass and density (from its size and gravitational pull) match the solid Earth model.

The Earth’s magnetic field is generated by the dynamo effect—the motion of molten iron and nickel in the liquid outer core.

A hollow Earth wouldn’t support the complex convection currents required for this magnetic field to exist.

3. Evidence from Volcanism

Volcanic activity is driven by molten rock (magma) from the Earth’s mantle and core.

A hollow Earth would lack the solid and molten materials needed to create volcanoes and related tectonic activity.

4. Direct Observations from Drilling

The deepest hole ever drilled, the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, reached 12.3 kilometers (7.6 miles) deep and encountered high temperatures and pressure consistent with a solid interior.

While this is a fraction of the Earth's diameter, it matches predictions for a layered, solid structure.

5. Satellite Observations

Satellites measure the Earth’s shape (an oblate spheroid) and its gravitational field with precision. These observations are consistent with a solid, layered Earth.

The Earth’s response to tidal forces and rotational dynamics also aligns with a solid structure.

6. Astronomical Evidence

Other planets and moons in our solar system, studied through gravitational and seismic data, show similar solid or layered structures.

There is no evidence of hollow celestial bodies, and the physics of planet formation (accretion) naturally leads to dense, solid interiors.

———

In conclusion, the combined evidence from geology, physics, and astronomy overwhelmingly supports the model of a solid Earth with distinct layers. The hollow Earth theory is inconsistent with all available scientific data

Now in the “preparatory” texts we looked at above, there is no mention of any “secret diary” that one might refer to in support of the fantastic story. Bernard’s book was published in 1969, Trench’s in 1976. At some point in the late 1970s or 1980s (it is hard to say), Byrd’s “secret diary” conveniently appears so as to corroborate the details of the story in Bernard’s book, complete with Nazi UFOs and Aryan racial references to boot. The fantastic story comes first; a document is then produced to match the story. The “diary” gets circulated; it becomes a common trope and reference point in fringe / conspiracy theory circles.*

*Different fringe / conspiracy theory circles have their different theoretical “soups”, as it were. Elaborating on this metaphor: As soon as a tasty-looking new ingredient is discovered, it is promptly added to a communal soup. The new ingredient is now part of their soup, an essential ingredient in their recipe. Other groups might then copy the first group, taking the same ingredient and adding to their respective soups. Note also that adding something to a soup is quick and easy, but removing an ingredient is difficult.

Scientists and historians unanimously rejected (and still reject) the “secret diary” as a hoax. In this case the hoax is a very bad one—it is not even credible at first glance. And yet, people get drawn into communities in which obviously fake documents such as these are uncritically accepted as true. I see this as a dysfunctional manifestation of God-given spiritual needs: the need to believe in something, and the need to belong to some community of faith. To put things simply: it is false religion combined with curiositas.

There is a serious side to all this, then. On that note, I tend to agree with the following judgement, which appears in the Haag article already cited:

Steven Tucker, who has written two books debunking the ideas about Nazi UFOs, writes "if you can believe that Adolf Hitler built spaceships, then the idea that Auschwitz never existed seems fairly reasonable by comparison." As such, beliefs in these kinds of theories could also lend themselves to holocaust denial and other harmful historical revisionist claims.

The “Secret Diary”: Publications

There is no official version of this “Secret Diary” but various documents containing the text can be found online — here and here, for example. There are a few published books which, as far as I can tell, present the very same text of the “secret diary” (recall what Christian Haag wrote in 2023 about the three texts he checked all being the same).

• The Missing Diary of Admiral Richard E. Byrd (1990, 2013)

  • Timothy Green Beckely and Tim R. Schwartz. See the image at the very top of this article.

  • “A secret expedition and journey to a paradise inside the earth.”

• The Secret Lost Diary of Admiral Richard E. Buard and the Phantom of the Poles (2012)

  • Timothy Green Beckley, William Reed, Commander X, Tim R Schwartz

  • This book cover goes nicely with the opening theme of Star Wars.

  • "Includes proof that there is a vast, uncharted, civilization exists [sic] inside the planet."

• Admiral Richard E. Byrd's Missing Diary: A Flight to the Land Beyond the North Pole into the Hollow Earth (2017)

  • complied by Geoff Douglas 2017, otherwise known as “Previously lecturer Geoff Douglas” (I kid you not) on amazon.com.au

  • From the blurb: “In the winter of 1947, Admiral Richard E. Byrd allegedly flew a secret mission across the frozen waters of the arctic. There, he claimed to have seen a previously unknown land with forests and even prehistoric animals. Even more incredible, he encountered flying discs from a technologically advanced civilization hidden deep within the hollow Earth. This incredible adventure is revealed in Byrd's diary which had been missing for many years. Had it been sealed away by the U.S. government in fear of the haunting message given to Byrd by the inhabitants of the hollow Earth? Or is the truth even more shocking?”

• Tim R. Swartz (2007) Admiral Byrd's Secret Journey Beyond the Poles

  • (Otherwise known as “Attack of the Giant Pineapple Rings and Hard-Boiled Eggs” and “It’s in Comic Sans but I swear it’s true!” — I’m kidding.)

  • “Discover a Hidden World Inside the Earth! Land Without a Horizon. Secrets of the Hollow Earth.”

• William Kern (2018) Admiral Byrd's Lost Secret Diary Rediscovered

  • Surely this one has the best aesthetic. I’m loving the Indiana Jones vibe.

  • “The Secret Diary - Mystery of the Hollow Earth - Admiral Byrd and Operation Highjump - Operation Highjump - The Mysteries of the Poles”

• The North Pole and Inner Earth Chronicles (2023)

  • compiled by Sebastian Richard.

  • two made-up stories in one convenient volume!

  • The Smoky God: A Voyage to the Inner World and The Secret Diary of Admiral Richard E. Byrd.

  • “unabridged original accounts”.

• Secret Exploits of Admiral Richard E Byrd: The Hollow Earth? Nazi Occultism? Secret Societies and the JFK Assassination (2017)

  • By Tim E Cridland, Tim R Swartz, Micah Hanks and others.

The text of the “Secret Diary”

The text to follow (in two sections) is the entirety of Byrd’s so-called “Secret Diary”. It makes for an entertaining read! Bold text is my emphasis. Text in blue contain references to German nationality, Aryan mythology or Nazi ideology.

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 February 19, 1947

0600 Hours- All preparations are complete for our flight north ward and we are airborne with full fuel tanks at 0610 Hours

0620 Hours- fuel mixture on starboard engine seems too rich, adjustment made and Pratt Whittneys are running smooth

0730 Hours- Radio Check with base camp. All is well and radio reception is normal

0740 Hours- Note slight oil leak in starboard engine, oil pressure indicator seems normal, however.

0800 Hours- Slight turbulence noted from easterly direction at altitude of 2321 feet, correction to 1700 feet, no further turbulence, but tail wind increases, slight adjustment in throttle controls, aircraft performing very well now

0815 Hours- Radio Check with base camp, situation normal.

0830 Hours- Turbulence encountered again, increase altitude to 2900 feet, smooth flight conditions again

0910 Hours- Vast Ice and snow below, note coloration of yellowish nature, and disperse in a linear pattern. Altering course for a better examination of this color pattern below, note reddish or 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 Hours- Both Magnetic and Gyro compasses beginning to gyrate and wobble, we are unable to hold our heading by instrumentation. Take bearing with Sun compass, yet all seems well. The controls are seemingly slow to respond and have sluggish quality, but there is no indication of Icing!

0915 Hours- In the distance is what appears to be mountains.

0949 Hours- 29 minutes elapsed flight time from the first sighting of the mountains, it is no illusion. They are mountains and consisting of a small range that I have never seen before!

0955 Hours- Altitude change to 2950 feet, encountering strong turbulence again.

1000 Hours- We are crossing over the small mountain range and still proceeding northward as best as can be ascertained. Beyond the mountain range is what appears to be a valley with a small river or stream running through the center portion. There should be no green valley below! Something is definitely wrong and abnormal here! We should be over Ice and Snow! To the portside are great forests growing on the mountain slopes. Our navigation Instruments are still spinning, the gyroscope is oscillating.

1005 Hours- I alter altitude to 1400 feet and execute a sharp left turn to better examine the valley below. It is green with either moss or a type of tight knit grass. The Light here seems different. I cannot see the Sun anymore. We make another left turn and we spot what seems to be a large animal of some kind below us. It appears to be an elephant! NO!!! It looks more like a mammoth! This is incredible! Yet, there it is! Decrease altitude to 1000 feet and take binoculars to better examine the animal. It is confirmed - it is definitely a mammoth-like animal! Report this to base camp

1030 Hours- Encountering more rolling green hills now. The external temperature indicator reads 74 degrees Fahrenheit! Continuing on our heading now. Navigation instruments seem normal now. I am puzzled over their actions. Attempt to contact base camp. Radio is not functioning!

1130 Hours- Countryside below is more level and normal (if I may use that word). Ahead we spot what seems to be a city!!!! This is impossible! Aircraft seems light and oddly buoyant. The controls refuse to respond!! My GOD!!! Off our port and starboard wings are a strange type of aircraft. They are closing rapidly alongside! They are disc-shaped and have a radiant quality to them. They are close enough now to see the markings on them. It is a type of Swastika!!! This is fantastic. Where are we! What has happened. I tug at the controls again. They will not respond!!!! We are caught in an invisible vice grip of some type!

1135 Hours- Our radio crackles and a voice comes through in English with what perhaps is a slight Nordic or Germanic accent! The message is: 'Welcome, Admiral, to our domain. We shall land you in exactly seven minutes! Relax, Admiral, you are in good hands.' I note the engines of our plane have stopped running! The aircraft is under some strange control and is now turning itself. The controls are useless.

1140 Hours- Another radio message received. We begin the landing process now, and in moments the plane shudders slightly, and begins a descent as though caught in some great unseen elevator! The downward motion is negligible, and we touchdown with only a slight jolt!

1145 Hours- I am making a hasty last entry in the flight log. Several men are approaching on foot toward our aircraft. They are tall with blond hair. In the distance is a large shimmering city pulsating with rainbow hues of color. I do not know what is going to happen now, but I see no signs of weapons on those approaching. I hear now a voice ordering me by name to open the cargo door. I comply.

END LOG

The “diary” continues on, but I insert here my commentary.

Fact check based on sun position on February 19

From approximately September 23 to March 21, the North Pole experiences continuous night. On February 19, the day of the year marked for the alleged flight log, you need to be south of approximately 78.5° N to see the sun from sea level. This latitude —which is about 1280 km south of the North pole — is called the latitude of polar night; it marks the boundary where the sun would be visible on the horizon at some point on that date (Feb 19, 1947). Further south, daylight becomes longer, while the North Pole itself remains in continuous darkness until about March 21. ChatGPT did the calculation for me; the result is confirmed by looking at the appropriate sunrise/sunset charts at timeanddate.com/sun.

Axel Heiberg Island is listed as 79.75 degrees north of the equator (just over one degree north of the latitude of polar night on that date (78.5° N)). As you can see, on February 19th, 1947, the sun did not rise at this location (at sea level).

Longyearbyen is listed as 78.2 degrees north of the equator (just over one degree south of the latitude of polar night on that date (78.5° N)). As you can see, on February 19th, 1947, daylength was about 3 hours 25 minutes at this location (at sea level).

ChatGPT tells me that “For most practical purposes, the latitude of polar night on a specific date can be considered effectively constant over a century. The minor shifts of a few kilometers due to orbital mechanics are primarily of scientific interest rather than having noticeable real-world effects.” But just to be sure, I looked at the values for this day of the year (February 19) in 1947.

What about altitude? ChatGPT tells me that “At an altitude of 2,900 feet, you would experience polar night further north by approximately 0.5° (or about 55 km / 34 miles) compared to sea level.”

Now 78.5° N, the latitude of polar night at sea level, is 1,280 km south of the North Pole. The shifted latitude of polar night (taking into account an altitude of 2,900 feet) would be about 55 km further north, which is 1,225 km south of the North Pole.

What this means is that a truthful and accurate report of a northward flight to the North Pole on February 19th, 1947, will not have the sun visible to the pilot when the plane is at an altitude of 2,900 feet or lower — unless the plane is at least 1,225 km south of the North Pole when the sun is visible to the pilot (it might have to be a little bit further south again if it is too early in the day, but we will ignore that).

How much further north would the sun be visible if we allow a higher altitude? Let’s allow a very generous 40,000 feet (though the highest reported altitude in the “Secret Diary” is 2,950 feet).

ChatGPT tells me:

Theoretically, the Lockheed P-80, with a service ceiling of 46,000 feet, could have been among the highest-flying planes capable of reaching the North Pole in 1947. However, this was a military aircraft, not typically used for polar exploration. Civilian and exploration aircraft like the Douglas DC-4 or B-29 Superfortress would have been more common for such missions, with practical altitude limits of 30,000 feet or less.

…

The latitude of polar night at sea level is 78.5°N on February 19. At 40,000 feet, polar night shifts north by 1.24°.

This gives us a latitude of polar night of 79.74 degrees N. Let’s round this up to 80 degrees N, which is 1,113 km south of the North Pole, taking us only 112 km further north compared to when the altitude was set at 2,900 feet. As you can see, adding a generous 37,100 feet to the reported altitude will only take us about 112 km closer to the North Pole.

With these more generous constraints in place, we come to this conclusion:

A truthful and accurate report of a northward flight to the North Pole on February 19th, 1947, will not have the sun visible to the pilot — unless the plane is at least 1,113 km south of the North Pole at the time when the sun is visible to the pilot.

Now at 0910 hours in the report it says that bearings were taken from a sun compass, which of course requires the sun to be visible in the sky.*

*ChatGPT on the sun compass:

The sun compass was a simple instrument with a rotating disk marked with the cardinal directions. The user would align the instrument with the sun, and based on the sun’s angle and time of day, they could estimate direction and sometimes their latitude (especially near the equinox when the sun’s position is more predictable).

At the North Pole, the sun would circle the horizon, making this method especially useful when determining true directions relative to the poles.

So at this point they must have been at least 1,113 km south of the North Pole. 50 minutes later, at 1000 hours, they cross over a mountain range and see a valley below which is supposed to be the entrance into hollow Earth. The Sun has not yet disappeared from view—not until 1005 does that occur—and they are still taking their bearings from the Sun in order to proceed north, so again, they must be at least 1,113 km south of the North Pole.

The orange dotted circle is the Arctic Circle (≈ 66.5° N) which is 2,615 km south of the North Pole. 80 degrees N or 1,113 km south of the North Pole is indicated with the red circle, which I added to an original image from https://www.swoop-arctic.com/travel/map. For context, that latitude runs through Salm Island, one of the southern islands in Franz Josef Land. In 1926 Richard Byrd took off in a Fokker trimotor airplane for the North Pole from Ny-Ålesund, which is about 100 km NW from Longyearbyen in Svalbard. The latitude of Ny-Ålesund is 78.925 degrees N. That is only 1.075 degrees, or 119.92 km, south of the red circle. Byrd would have crossed that latitude in the first hour of his (roughly) 7 hour 45 minute 1926 flight to the North Pole (his return trip was roughly 15 hours 30 mins long; average speed ≈ 160 km/hr).

Returning to the “Secret Diary”, we have determined that, if the logged report is true, then Byrd’s plane must have descended into a valley and into hollow Earth somewhere along the red circle on the map (80 degrees N), or somewhere further south. We determined this on the basis of the latitude of polar night on February 19, 1947 and the time of the sun sightings reported in the log. This gives us three possibilites.

1. the logged report is false

2. Byrd’s plane did not descend into a hole at the North Pole

3. Byrd’s plane descended into a hole with a radius of at least 1,113 km whose geometric centre (at the surface) is at the North Pole.

ChatGPT tells me that the surface area of the “cap” inside the 80 degrees N latitude line is 3,874,513 square km, assuming the Earth is a perfect sphere. This is about half the area of Australia which is 7,688,287 square km. Obviously, a hole that size could not remain unnoticed, nor could its presence by covered up by the government! If a hole that size exists at the top of the world, then the Arctic Ocean would be draining into it. This is not something that could have been discovered for the first time in 1947. Option (3) is obviously false.

There is no way, then, that Byrd could have flown a plane into a hole at the North Pole at the date and time reported in the “Secret Diary”. This is our third proof (one I constructed myself) that the “Secret Diary” is a hoax. The first proof (see above) starts by demonstrating that hollow Earth theory is false. The second proof (see above) starts by demonstrating that Byrd cannot have been anywhere near the North Pole in February 1947.*

*Based on the information above we can narrow down the possibilities for the latitude of the plane when it (supposedly) took off. I was unable to incorporate this information into a further proof that the “secret diary” is a hoax, but I include it here anyway. At 1000 hours (says the log report) they have been travelling for at least 3 hours 50 minutes (230 minutes). ChatGPT tells me that “The Douglas DC-4 was a widely used long-range propeller-driven aircraft in 1947, well-suited for polar exploration and long-haul flights due to its reliability and range” and that its crusing speed is around 370km/hr, maximum speed around 450 km/hr. Suppose the plane is flying at a relatively slow 350 km/hr (5.83333 km/min); this will eaily take into account any slight departures from travelling due North. Distance travelled = 230 minutes times 5.83333 km/min = 1341.67 km. We determined that the closest to the North Pole they could have been when they descended into the valley is 1113 km south of the North Pole. Add 1341 km to this and we get 2454 km south of the North Pole or 67.95 degrees N. This is roughly the latitude of Kiruna, the northernmost city in Sweden; and just north of Sisimiut in Greenland. If the plane was flying any faster than 350 km/hr on average, then the plane took off somewhere even further south.

The text of the “Secret Diary” (continued)

The “Secret Diary” continues:

From this point I write all the following events here from memory. It defies the imagination and would seem all but madness if it had not happened. The radioman and I are taken from the aircraft and we are received in a most cordial manner. We were then boarded on a small platform-like conveyance with no wheels! It moves us toward the glowing city with great swiftness. As we approach, the city seems to be made of a crystal material. Soon we arrive at a large building that is a type I have never seen before. It appears to be right out of the design board of Frank Lloyd Wright, or perhaps more correctly, out of a Buck Rogers setting!! We are given some type of warm beverage which tasted like nothing I have ever savored before. It is delicious. After about ten minutes, two of our wondrous appearing hosts come to our quarters and announce that I am to accompany them. I have no choice but to comply. I leave my radioman behind and we walk a short distance and enter into what seems to be an elevator.

We descend downward for some moments, the machine stops, and the door lifts silently upward! We then proceed down a long hallway that is lit by a rose-colored light that seems to be emanating from the very walls themselves! One of the beings motions for us to stop before a great door. Over the door is an inscription that I cannot read. The great door slides noiselessly open and I am beckoned to enter. One of my hosts speaks. 'Have no fear, Admiral, you are to have an audience with the Master...' I step inside and my eyes adjust to the beautiful coloration that seems to be filling the room completely. Then I begin to see my surroundings. What greeted my eyes is the most beautiful sight of my entire existence. It is in fact too beautiful and wondrous to describe. It is exquisite and delicate. I do not think there exists a human term that can describe it in any detail with justice! My thoughts are interrupted in a cordial manner by a warm rich voice of melodious quality, 'I bid you welcome to our domain, Admiral.'

I see a man with delicate features and with the etching of years upon his face. He is seated at a long table. He motions me to sit down in one of the chairs. After I am seated, he places his fingertips together and smiles. He speaks softly again, and conveys the following: '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 under my breath! 'Yes, ' the Master replies with a smile, 'you are in the domain of the Arianni, the Inner World of the Earth. We shall not long delay your mission, and you will be safely escorted back to the surface and for a distance beyond. But now, Admiral, I shall tell you why you have been summoned here.

Our interest rightly begins just after your race exploded the first atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. It was at that alarming time we sent our flying machines, the "Flugelrads" , to your surface world to investigate what your race had done. That is, of course, past history now, my dear Admiral, but I must continue on. You see, we have never interfered before in your race's wars, and barbarity, but now we must, for you have learned to tamper with a certain power that is not for man, namely, that of atomic energy. Our emissaries have already delivered messages to the powers of your world, and yet they do not heed. Now you have been chosen to be witness here that our world does exist. You see, our Culture and Science is many thousands of years beyond your race, Admiral.' I interrupted, 'But what does this have to do with me, Sir?' The Master's eyes seemed to penetrate deeply into my mind, and after studying me for a few moments he replied, 'Your race has now reached the point of no return, for there are those among you who would destroy your very world rather than relinquish their power as they know it...'

I nodded, and the Master continued, 'In 1945 and afterward, we tried to contact your race, but our efforts were met with hostility, our Flugelrads were fired upon. Yes, even pursued with malice and animosity by your fighter planes. So, now, I say to you, my son, there is a great storm gathering in your world, a black fury that will not spend itself for many years. There will be no answer in your arms, there will be no safety in your science. It may rage on until every flower of your culture is trampled, and all human things are leveled in vast chaos. Your recent war was only a prelude of what is yet to come for your race. We here see it more clearly with each hour…do you say I am mistaken?' 'No, ' I answer, 'it happened once before, the dark ages came and they lasted for more than five hundred years.' 'Yes, my son, ' replied the Master, 'the dark ages that will come now for your race will cover the Earth like a pall, but I believe that some of your race will live through the storm, beyond that, I cannot say. We see at a great distance a new world stirring from the ruins of your race, seeking its lost and legendary treasures, and they will be here, my son, safe in our keeping. When that time arrives, we shall come forward again to help revive your culture and your race. Perhaps, by then, you will have learned the futility of war and its strife...and after that time, certain of your culture and science will be returned for your race to begin anew. You, my son, are to return to the Surface World with this message...' With these closing words, our meeting seemed at an end. I stood for a moment as in a dream....but, yet, I knew this was reality, and for some strange reason I bowed slightly, either out of respect or humility, I do not know which. Suddenly, I was again aware that the two beautiful hosts who had brought me here were again at my side. 'This way, Admiral, ' motioned one. I turned once more before leaving and looked back toward the Master. A gentle smile was etched on his delicate and ancient face. 'Farewell, my son, ' he spoke, then he gestured with a lovely, slender hand a motion of peace and our meeting was truly ended.

Quickly, we walked back through the great door of the Master's chamber and once again entered into the elevator. The door slid silently downward and we were at once going upward. One of my hosts spoke again, 'We must now make haste, Admiral, as the Master desires to delay you no longer on your scheduled timetable and you must return with his message to your race.' I said nothing. All of this was almost beyond belief, and once again my thoughts were interrupted as we stopped. I entered the room and was again with my radioman. He had an anxious expression on his face. As I approached, I said, 'It is all right, Howie, it is all right.' The two beings motioned us toward the awaiting conveyance, we boarded, and soon arrived back at the aircraft. The engines were idling and we boarded immediately. The whole atmosphere seemed charged now with a certain air of urgency. After the cargo door was closed the aircraft was immediately lifted by that unseen force until we reached an altitude of 2700 feet. Two of the aircraft were alongside for some distance guiding us on our return way. I must state here, the airspeed indicator registered no reading, yet we were moving along at a very rapid rate. 215 Hours - A radio message comes through. 'We are leaving you now, Admiral, your controls are free. Auf Wiedersehen!!!!' We watched for a moment as the flugelrads disappeared into the pale blue sky. The aircraft suddenly felt as though caught in a sharp downdraft for a moment. We quickly recovered her control. We do not speak for some time, each man has his thoughts...

ENTRY IN FLIGHT LOG CONTINUES

220 Hours- We are again over vast areas of ice and snow, and approximately 27 minutes from base camp. We radio them, they respond. We report all conditions normal....normal. Base camp expresses relief at our re-established contact.

300 Hours- We land smoothly at base camp. I have a mission...

END LOG ENTRIES

March 11, 1947

I have just attended a staff meeting at the Pentagon. I have stated fully my discovery and the message from the Master.

All is duly recorded. The President has been advised. I am now detained for several hours (six hours, thirtynine minutes, to be exact.) I am interviewed intently by Top Security Forces and a medical team. It was an ordeal!!!! I am placed under strict control via the national security provisions of this United States of America. I am ORDERED TO REMAIN SILENT IN REGARD TO ALL THAT I HAVE LEARNED, ON THE BEHALF OF HUMANITY!!! Incredible! I am reminded that I am a military man and I must obey orders.

December 30, 1956 - FINAL ENTRY

These last few years elapsed since 1947 have not been kind... I now make my final entry in this singular diary. In closing, I must state that I have faithfully kept this matter secret as directed all these years. It has been completely against my values of moral right. Now, I seem to sense the long night coming on and this secret will not die with me, but as all truth shall, it will triumph and so it shall. This can be the only hope for mankind. I have seen the truth and it has quickened my spirit and has set me free! I have done my duty toward the monstrous military industrial complex. Now, the long night begins to approach, 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 who are of darkness shall fall in its Light... FOR I HAVE SEEN THAT LAND BEYOND THE POLE, THAT CENTER OF THE GREAT UNKNOWN.

Further Observations on the “Secret Diary”

• Recall Fr Iannuzzi’s claim that Byrd “did not want until his death for his experience to be revealed of what he saw in the North Pole when he went there.” In the “Secret Diary” it is written (1) that Byrd sees something extraordinary in the North Pole during his flight there and (2) that Byrd does not want to go public with this experience in his lifetime (see the last two entries). The “Secret Diary”, then, describes a (supposed) event that clearly matches Iannuzzi’s brief comment on Byrd. But as already explained, there are no other references in the literature — academically respectable or otherwise — of a (supposed) event that matches Iannuzzi’s comment. It is likely, then, that Iannuzzi was referring to the events described in the “Secret Diary”. Given the ubiquity of the latter and the absence of any alternative interpretation that might fit Iannuzzi’s comment, this appears to be the only interpretation possible. We will revisit this point below, however.

• Even if, hypothetically, Iannuzzi had some other narrative in mind — and it would have to involve some extremely obscure document about Byrd that does not turn up anywhere after extensive research — he certainly cannot expect his audience to come to any other conclusion about his meaning, other than the one we have drawn here. For the “Secret Diary” story is very easy to discover, it is repeated all over the place, it quite obviously matches Iannuzzi’s comment, and Iannuzzi gives no indication whatsoever that he is referring, not to this, but to something else.

• The last sentence in the “Diary” repeats one of the alleged sayings of Byrd mentioned by Giannini, Palmer and Bernard in 1959 and 1969 (see above).

• The description of warm land, forests and a mammoth-like beast in a great valley at the North Pole is simply a repetition of the story told by Palmer and Bernard in their respective 1959 publications.

• The multiple references to Nazi Germany and Aryan mythology repeat a common trope found in conspiracy theories about Operation Highjump.

• Note too the references to the spiritual “evolution” of alien races and of mankind, and the displacement of Jesus as Saviour and Christian eschatology in favour of a future alien intervention—a time of peaceful co-operation with aliens in which man becomes more enlightened and moves into a New Age. These are common themes in the popular literature on encounters with aliens and UFOs.

• It is surprising, and rather concerning, that Fr Iannuzzi is effectively steering his audience toward this sort of literature. He does this by

  • (implicitly) presenting some of the books favourably

  • citing the events narrated in them in support of his belief in aliens (most of which are good, in his view, so that communicating with them is no cause of concern—recall his comment about Bruno Sammaciccia in Video 1: 27:51 - 28:32: “Basically in 1956 a group of ETS appeared to him according to his memoirs and they were good, and they shared to him things about how to be better in the world, improve the society in which we live and things like that. But on the flip side as I mentioned you have the bad ones and that in my opinion refers to that one third that fell with Lucifer …”) and

  • without warning his audience of the dangerous views and practices contained in them—e.g., anti-Christian soteriology and eschatology, telepathic communication with spiritual entities, clairvoyance and automatic writing.

• On top of that, there is the (extreme) conspiracy-theory mindset which Iannuzzi inevitably encourages whenever he engages publically in this style of thinking. (A friend of mine tells me that this way of thinking about the world is historically rooted in anti-Catholicism. I cannot confirm the truth of this claim as yet; I plan to look further into it). This is a dangerous road to go down intellectually, psychologically and spiritually.

• Byrd could not have been at the Pentagon on March 11, 1947, just as he could not have been anywhere near the North Pole in February 1947. He didn’t return from Operation Highjump until April 1947 (see above).

• It is unlikely that Byrd would have referred to the “base camp” in generic terms only.

• It is highly unlikely that Byrd would have failed to write down the co-ordinates of his positions during his flight.

• It is highly unlikely that Byrd would have written about “the military industrial complex” in 1956. The first known use of the phrase is U.S. President Eisenhower’s farewell speech on January 17, 1961.

• ChatGPT gives us a few more proofs that the “Secret Diary” is a hoax:

The so-called "Secret Diary" of Admiral Richard E. Byrd, which claims he flew into the Earth's hollow interior and encountered an advanced civilization, is widely regarded as a hoax. Here are several reasons why this document is not credible:

1. Lack of Authenticity

The "diary" is not recognized by any reputable historian, archivist, or institution, including those managing Byrd's official records.

Admiral Byrd’s official diaries and logs from his expeditions, available in public archives, contain no mention of a hollow Earth or any similar claims.

2. No Evidence in Official Records

Byrd's well-documented polar expeditions … were thoroughly recorded. These records confirm the nature of his flights and findings and include no evidence of a "hollow Earth."The "Secret Diary" does not align with his other documented writings or the scientific objectives of his expeditions.

3. Unscientific Claims

The "diary" describes encounters with an advanced civilization inside the Earth … which are entirely unsupported by any physical evidence or scientific principles.

These claims contradict everything we know about Earth's structure, as confirmed by geology, physics, and seismic studies.

4. No Supporting Testimonies

None of Byrd's contemporaries or crew members reported witnessing or participating in events described in the "Secret Diary."

Large-scale polar expeditions involve teams of people, and such extraordinary claims would not have gone unnoticed or uncorroborated.

5. Timing of Publication

The "diary" surfaced decades after Byrd’s death, and there is no evidence he wrote it.

Many hoaxes related to hollow Earth theories gained popularity in the mid-20th century, a period rife with interest in conspiracy theories and pseudoscience.

6. Connection to Hollow Earth Mythology

The "diary" closely aligns with the hollow Earth myths popularized by writers such as John Cleves Symmes and Jules Verne, as well as mid-20th-century UFO conspiracy theories.

It appears to be a deliberate fabrication to support these ideas rather than an authentic historical document.

7. No Corroborating Scientific Data

Modern exploration and satellite imaging of the polar regions reveal no physical evidence of entrances to a hollow Earth.

The detailed knowledge we have of Earth's interior structure (via seismic wave analysis and other methods) leaves no room for such a phenomenon.

Conclusion

The "Secret Diary" of Admiral Byrd is widely regarded as a hoax, concocted to promote hollow Earth theories and fringe beliefs. It lacks authenticity, corroboration, and any basis in science or Byrd’s known writings and accomplishments.

• Finally, we haven’t yet mentioned the extremely hazardous weather conditions that prevail near the North Pole in February. From ChatGPT:

In February, the North Pole experiences some of the harshest winter weather conditions due to its extreme latitude. Here's a breakdown:

1. Temperature

Average temperatures: Between -40°C (-40°F) and -30°C (-22°F).

These freezing temperatures could affect the performance of aircraft engines, fuel systems, and instruments.

2. Darkness

February is still part of the polar night, where the Sun remains below the horizon. While there may be some twilight, it is generally dark 24 hours a day.

Limited visibility could complicate navigation, especially in 1947 when navigation technologies were less advanced than today.

3. Wind and Wind Chill

Strong, frigid Arctic winds are common, leading to wind chill temperatures significantly colder than the air temperature.

Wind shear or turbulence could pose challenges for flight stability.

4. Snow and Ice

Snowstorms and blizzards are frequent, which could result in reduced visibility and hazardous conditions for takeoff, landing, and flight.

Accumulated ice on aircraft wings and propellers can impair aerodynamics.

5. Atmospheric Pressure

Low temperatures lead to dense air and higher atmospheric pressure at ground level, which can slightly improve engine performance in propeller-driven aircraft.

However, the high altitude cold air could cause freezing in fuel lines and instruments, leading to potential malfunctions.

Impact on a Flight in February 1947

Aircraft Limitations:

Planes in 1947 were typically propeller-driven and not as well-equipped for extreme cold as modern jets. Fuel systems, hydraulics, and lubricants could freeze or malfunction.

Cabin heating systems were rudimentary, leading to challenging conditions for the crew and any passengers.

Navigation Challenges:

Magnetic compasses would behave erratically near the magnetic North Pole, complicating navigation.

Navigators would have to rely on celestial navigation, which is challenging in polar darkness.

Visibility: Snowstorms and constant darkness would make visual navigation nearly impossible, increasing reliance on instruments.

Survivability: In the event of an emergency landing, survival would be difficult due to extreme cold and remote location. Rescue efforts would be challenging in such conditions.

Conclusion

Flying near the North Pole in February 1947 would have been an extremely hazardous endeavor. Severe cold, darkness, strong winds, and the limitations of mid-20th-century aviation technology would combine to make such a mission perilous.

• While ChatGPT sometimes gets things wrong, this is not one of those times (I challenge the reader to prove otherwise!). So whoever thinks that highly decorated Admiral Byrd might have been stupid enough to set off to the North Pole by plane in February 1947 is just plain wrong. Even supposing that Byrd did attempt an absurdly suicidal expedition such as this (not to mention the gross irresponsibility of badly mismanaging funds and hired equipment!) and by some miracle managed to reach his destination and return safely — why do the log entries report a very smooth trip to the North Pole? And why does Byrd not express any surprise at there being such miraculously convenient weather in February? It was for good reason that Byrd set off on his real flight to the North Pole in May of 1926, when conditions are far, far more favourable.

• There are therefore three reasons why Byrd could not have flown to the North Pole on February 19, 1947, the date specified in the “Secret Diary”:

  • Extremely hazardous weather conditions

  • Polar night

  • Byrd was still occupied with Operation Highjump at this stage (his return journey was on USS Mount Olympus, which arrived home in April 1947).

• Clearly, whoever claims that Byrd flew to the North Pole in February 1947 is on this point out of touch with reality and hasn’t got the faintest clue what he is talking about. This includes the following people:

  • whoever claims that the log reports in the “Secret Diary” are true

  • whoever thinks that the log reports in the “Secret Diary” might be true. For example, Michael E. Salla, who in his 2004 book, Exopolitics: Political Implications of the Extraterrestrial Presence (see here) writes, “A little known expedition of Admiral Byrd to the North Pole at the same time of Operation High Jump where he supposedly came into contact with an advanced subterranean race with Nordic physical characteristics suggests that the Thule Society had indeed been correct in its assessment of the existence of such a race. Admiral Byrd disclosed the circumstances of this encounter in a posthumously published entry in his diary. … The veracity of Byrd’s dairy continues to be debated, but Byrd’s comments to the Chilean Press suggests he was sufficiently unnerved by events related to his polar expedition(s) in 1946/47 for such an encounter to have occurred” (193). “In a secretive flight to the Arctic Ocean in 1947, Admiral Richard Byrd reported in his diary—whose veracity continues to be debated — of his encounter with an ancient humanoid race in a subterranean city under the North Pole …” (255).

  • All the authors and editors mentioned above who circulate the "Secret Diary": Timothy Green Beckeley, Tim R. Schwarz, William Reed, Geoff Douglas, William Kern, Sebastian Richard, and Tim E. Cridland et. al.

  • Authors of the mentioned “predecessors” of the “Secret Diary”: Giannini, Palmer, Bernard, Trench.

  • Fr Iannuzzi, potentially.

• The History Channel, which is notorious for presenting conspiracy theories and pseudo-science as factual, published this episode of Ancient Aliens on YouTube 2 years ago (“Crystal City Discovered Under Antarctica”). The narrative has changed from Byrd entering hollow Earth at the North Pole in February 1947, to him entering hollow Earth at the South Pole. It appears that the producers realised that the February 1947 narrative just doesn’t make sense (even they have standards, apparently!). Their “solution” was to erase all the clear references in the “Secret Diary” to travelling north, the North Pole, and the Arctic. In the video, an intriguing narrative based on the other parts of the “Secret Diary” is presented, a narrative now relocated from one end of the Earth to the other (literally). What would motivate them to do such an immoral and cynical thing? Money, possibly?

• Finally, note the following. Of all of the fringe / conspiracy literature cited so far—the seven books in which the “Secret Diary” is published, the four “predecessors” of the “Secret Diary”, and Salla’s Exopolitics—exactly none of them involves Byrd encountering aliens or UFOs or a non-human race on or above the surface of the North Pole, let alone something of that description that he didn’t want revealed until after his death.

What, then, does Fr Iannuzzi believe?

There are two possibilities to consider. Either Fr Iannuzzi believes in hollow Earth, or he does not.

Belief

• If it turns out that he does believe it, then in my view we ought to ignore everything that he says that touches on the physical sciences. At the very least, we ought to treat his statements with a very high degree of suspicion, thoroughly fact-checking all his comments for ourselves, and consulting the knowledge of properly-educated science graduates and scientists. Speaking personally, I would even be wary of the theological statements of someone—even a trained theologian—who believes that the Earth is hollow. In my judgement, a belief of that sort (when held by an educated man in today’s world) is often a sign that there is something seriously wrong with a man’s intellectual approach to the world, his way of reasoning about things.

• I admit that such a man (a believer in hollow Earth) might be morally good, even quite holy. He might be competent and trustworthy in others areas of life. But I’d be reluctant to accept that he might be a good critical thinker or a good teacher. I imagine I’d object if such a man were to become a catechist or school teacher to one of my children.

  • Such a man can be a problem and a blessing simultaneously. Consider a more extreme example. A spiritually abusive bishop might bring many blessings to his diocese, not by virtue of his abusiveness of course, but because good and evil can be mixed together in the same person (admittedly, the evil would have to diminish as higher levels of holiness are reached). Recent history tells us that the mixture in the same priest of good and evil, order and disorder, charity and dyfunction, can be a dangerous mixture. The good that a priest does, and the good reputation that he enjoys (as a strong Catholic culture warrior, for example) so often blind people—unsuspecting victims, the people to whom they disclose their abuse, and the people who ought to be looking out for the vulnerable—to the abuse that he is committing. Now one might assume that the “good” that such a priest did for the flock was all a sham—a way of gaining trust deceptively, gaining power, and feeding one’s pride. This is often the case, I have no doubt. However, the presence of sin and brokenness is often more complicated and double-sided. The same father can be a genuinely good father in some respects, and also an abusive father. The double-sidedness of things is a big part of why it is hard for us to identify and accept that someone close to us is an abuser. In many cases it also makes it difficult for us to separate ourselves psychologically from the abuser and begin to heal. Far easier, I think, to separate from someone psychologically (also physically) if that person never loved us, never blessed us, never did good to us.

  • I should mention here that this is my philosophical opinion and not professional advice. I am neither a trained counsellor nor a trained psychologist (I have a major in Psychology, and relevant personal experience, but that’s it). If you need help, get help from a professional. Or reach out to someone you trust, as a first step.

  • Let the reader understand that, with the above comments, I am not sending a message “between the lines” about Fr Iannuzzi. I was simply reflecting on the mixture of good and evil in the same person, and on recent disclosures of abuse in the Church. I believe I’ve uncovered some true principles here. If and how they might apply to Fr Iannuzzi in particular, is another question. Suffice it to say: we should not dimiss out of hand the possibility that someone is abusing his authority, just because we have benefited a lot from his ministry, or from his work as a teacher, etc. (And just to be clear, being appropriately wary and prudent does not mean adopting an attitude toward others of “guilty until proven innocent”. There is a false dichotomy we need to avoid here.)

• According to his website, Fr Iannuzzi has a postgraduate degree in Medicine and a Bachelor of Philosophy (Ph.B.). In a more sane world, perhaps, it would be safe to assume that nobody in the developed world with these degrees (not to mention the others) would ever come to believe, or even be inclined to believe, that the Earth is hollow. On the one hand, I find it very hard to believe that Fr Iannuzzi believes it. On the other hand, the whole situation with these interviews is so bizarre at times it’s hard to know what to think. With everything I’ve uncovered so far about Fr Iannuzzi’s claims while fact-checking the “Vatican and Aliens” video series (see my previous posts for some indication), almost nothing surprises me any more.

*

I intend to round off this article with another section entitled “Belief,” followed by a conclusion. But this post is quite long already and the philosophical argument in the next section isn’t short. So I am posting just this first part of the research article now. I will complete my overall argument—and the research article as a whole—in the following post.

Final Comments

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