"Len Bourgeois" wrote: 

Y'all, there were times when out on flights around the Antarctic that we either couldn't get back to Willy Field or had to stay at other inland stations for mission purposes. One such time was an RON at Byrd Station when we had to stay at least two or three days. The people there were great and let us have the run of the place. I can remember driving the big Polaris snow mobiles and being given tours like we were VIPs. One night in particular we had gotten into a little too much of the beer that was offered and we found the escape tunnel that is somewhat parallel to the main tunnel and leads to a vertical shaft that has a ladder that leads to the snow on the surface. We somehow got in a race to see who could get through the tunnel the fastest and in just a little while got bored of that and then someone started unscrewing the bulbs that illuminated the tunnel. I have been a spelunker and know complete darkness but this was darkness that was even scary. Maybe it was because of the cold ice walls that were very close at hand or maybe the curves that the tunnel took, I don't remember which but I do recall that it was an eerie feeling. I think the Seabees were a little pissed when they had to replace all the bulbs. We never fessed up to the fact that 319 crew had anything to do with their disappearance. LennieB