192:. The building originated as a memorial site for US Navy Petty Office Richard Williams, who was killed early in the mission when his tractor broke through McMurdo's ice. The original plans for McMurdo did not include a chapel, but the building was slowly constructed by volunteers from gathered materials. The chapel was dedicated to "Our Lady of the Snows" in May, 1956. In 1996, when the chapel celebrated its 40th anniversary, Bevilacqua got the consent of the Williams family for the installation of a plaque that honors not only Williams but all the people who later died in Antarctica.
27:
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172:... Dressed in orange-yellowish windproof trousers and olive-drab windproof jacket and headgear, Bev led his team of men in leveling snow, putting down the snow sills, setting the trusses in place beneath the buildings that required them, laying down the floor, raising the sides, snapping in place roof trusses and covering the structures with the roof panels
821:... Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (2007) after CW04 Charles A. Bevilacqua, Civil Engineer Corps (CEC), U.S. Navy (USN) (Seabees), who at the time was the senior enlisted construction Builder Chief and member of the construction crew, which built the original McMurdo Station and the original South Pole Station in the 1955–57 pre-
196:
of his Woburn high school football team. When questioned, he claimed that all other colors of paint had been frozen. The pole remained orange and black until 1980, when it was repainted to red and white. Bevilacqua also put up a sign nearby, "City Limits of Woburn", took pictures, and sent them to the local home newspaper.
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The original plans for the station did not include a chapel...The
Chaplain, Father John C. Condit, and volunteers from the construction battalion gradually gathered enough materials to build what was to become the first church ever erected in Antarctica. All of the work was done by volunteers after
195:
On
December 14, 1956, Bevilacqua and his team erected a 15-foot (4.6 m) pole that remained in use as the "ceremonial South Pole" at least until 2018. The ceremonial pole was supposed to be painted with a red-and-white candy stripe, but Bevilacqua instead painted it orange and black, the colors
676:
Mysteriously, a stockpile of scrap building material began to accumulate at the end of the street near the base of
Observation Hill. Chaplin Father John Condit, a rather free spirit, began to recruit "volunteers" to put this scrap together during their off time. We had no plans, but with Seabee
459:
It was 1955. First Class Petty
Officer Bevilacqua, then 25, was in the South Pacific working as a U.S. Navy Seabee, which is essentially a military construction worker. After seven years of that, he was ready for a change of scenery. When the Navy asked for volunteers to work in Antarctica,
730:
December 14, 1956: Chief
Builder Charles A. Bevilacqua erects a 15-foot tall, orange-and-black striped bamboo pole, topped with a 16-inch mirrored glass ball atop the newly completed garage at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. This "ceremonial" South Pole is still in use
236:
The
Antarctica Society wrote of his life: "Charlie was a dedicated, focused, and gifted individual whose unending hours of punishing and innovative work in often grueling conditions helped to start the U.S. Antarctic Program on its trajectory of unexcelled polar science."
295:
As a BU1 CB was in MCB (Special) and helped to build McMurdo
Station during DF-I. After wintering over at McMurdo he was promoted to BUC and he went to the geographic South Pole and helped to build South Pole Station. Mount Bevilacqua is named in his
497:
The
Wyandot, built in 1942, was on its first trip to Antarctic waters, 'just as it was the first trip for most of us,' wrote diarist Charlie Bevilacqua, a Seebee builder chief assigned to a canvas bunk and locker on the second
334:
I picked out the best bamboo pole I could, that was still in the pile, the longest and straightest one, and I came up with the idea of painting it orange and black, which was my Woburn, Massachusetts, high school
756:
In 1980, the ceremonial South Pole marker was an orange-and-black-painted bamboo pole with a mirrored ball on top. The bamboo pole was painted the current colors of red and white later that same year
91:, which had been set up during World War II. He joined the Seabees right after finishing high school, where he had done a vocational track on carpentry. After training, he worked with Seabees in
851:, with first, second, and third-class petty officers equivalent to the Army rankings of Staff Sergeant, Sergeant, and Corporal, respectively. The highest rank of petty officer is the
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657:
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Charlie
Bevilacqua was senior builder at McMurdo and a builder of the first permanent South Pole station. In 1957, he wintered-over with Bowers at the South Pole.
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Chief
Charles A. Bevilacqua, a twenty-six year old Seabee from Woburn, Massachusetts, was actually in charge of the building of the houses and tunnel construction
936:
424:... They derive their authority from the same source as commissioned officers but remain specialists, in contrast to commissioned officers, who are generalists.
153:) on the geologic South Pole". Together with 18 other Seabees, he parachuted to the site to establish a camp and identify the Pole so that it could be marked.
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ingenuity and a "can do" spirit, it turned into a chapel complete with steeple and belfry...On May 6, 1956, the chapel was dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows.
549:... he vividly recalls parachuting from a plane with a team of 18 other Seabees in an effort to pinpoint the geologic South Pole—and establish a camp there.
339:... But the question came up, why was it orange and black and not red and white, and my answer was that was the only paint that wasn't frozen. (p. 27)
760:... This Pole marker is distinguished from the actual U.S. Geological Survey post a few yards away that marks the exact location of 90 degrees south.
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Warrant officers hold warrants from their service secretary and are specialists and experts in certain military technologies or capabilities
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Charles A. Bevilacqua, head of the Seabees team that built the first permanent station at the South Pole. 1956 photo by Dick Prescott, NSF.
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Bevilacqua asked Fr Eccleton to make a trip to the Madonna, encased in rocks that looks out on the bay. 'We erected the shrine for Willy.'
176:... By December 6, Bev and his builders had already finished the garage-powerhouse shell and had begun work on the mess hall foundation.
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881:
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229:" was named for him, as "the senior enlisted construction Builder Chief and member of the construction crew, which built the original
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In 1955, when Bevilacqua decided to volunteer for an opportunity for Seabees to work in Antarctica, he was a 26-year-old First Class
717:
689:
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After leaving Antarctica, Bevilacqua continued to serve in Seabees construction battalions until 1978, including service in the
114:. Bevilacqua persisted despite being turned down at first, and eventually succeeded in being taken on as an expert in building
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Bev sported a set of Irish-style black chin whiskers without a moustache that lent his appearance an extremely salty air
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868:. The highest warrant officer rank is 5, but Navy rules set a strict limit on the number of CWO5s at any one time.
475:
Deep Freeze: The United States, the International Geophysical Year, and the Origins of Antarctica's Age of Science
207:
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and the installation of the first South Pole "ceremonial pole", which he painted orange and black to honor his
864:"Warrant officers" are the highest rank for enlisted men, with a rank above any petty officer but below any
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319:"Antarctic Deep Freeze Oral History Project: Interview with Charles A. Bevilacqua, CWO4, CEC USN (Ret.)"
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60:, high school. He served with the Seabees construction battalions 1948–1978, including service in the
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Bevilacqua who in 1956 became one of the first humans ever to step foot on the geologic South Pole
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Interview with Charles A. Bevilacqua, Antarctic Deep Freeze Oral History Project (August 3, 1999)
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The altar itself had been fashioned with loving skill by Charles A. Bevilacqua or Woburn, Mass.
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Interview with Charles A. Bevilacqua, Natick Veterans Oral History Project (November 7, 2017)
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584:... I found him an especially likable individual and at times we would sit down and converse.
164:, described Bevilacqua as "especially likeable", noting his appearance as well as his role:
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in Antarctica, "a mostly ice-free mountain rising to 1,164 meters 1.5 miles north of
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Ceremonial South Pole marker in 1980, painted orange and black by Bevilacqua in 1956
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He and his team then "wintered over" at the South Pole, the first people to do so.
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and was then promoted to Chief Builder, in which role he led the building of
627:"Chapel of the Snows: New Chapel of the Snows dedicated at McMurdo Station"
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510:"Naval History and Heritage Command: Wyandot (AKA-92)" (April 24, 2017)
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and the original South Pole Station in the 1955–57 pre-IGY period".
545:... arrived with the Navy's first construction crew in Antarctica
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149:, Bevilacqua was "one of the first humans ever to step foot (
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694:. USA: National Science Foundation. 1995. p. 154.
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90 south: the story of the American South Pole conquest
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Bevilacqua's journal records his experiences in the
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213:He died at the age of 89 on November 25, 2019.
937:United States Navy personnel of the Korean War
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665:The Antarctican Society Newsletter (Vol 05-06)
855:, equivalent to an Army Sergeant First Class.
478:. University Press of Colorado. p. 101.
324:. Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program
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710:"This Week in Seabee History: December 9–15"
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708:Blazich, Frank A. Jr. (December 10, 2018).
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598:"Two ministers hold services in Antarctica"
188:Bevilacqua made the altar for the original
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37:(June 8, 1930 – November 29, 2019) was a
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259:Bevilacqua, Charles A.; Benson, James,
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291:EXPLORER'S GAZETTE- Volume 19, Issue 4
917:Military personnel from Massachusetts
656:McCormick, Patrick "Rediron" (2006).
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460:Bevilacqua threw his hand in the air.
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847:A "petty officer" in the Navy is a
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524:Warchol, Richard (March 13, 1998).
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317:Belanger, Dian O (August 3, 1999).
156:The expedition's scientific leader
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772:Minneci, Beth (October 22, 2000).
439:Minneci, Beth (October 22, 2000).
359:"Charles A. Bevilacqua, 1930–2019"
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125:, including the trip there on the
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912:People from Woburn, Massachusetts
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644:their daily duties were finished.
54:Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station
526:"Navy Puts the Antarctic on Ice"
262:Charles A. Bevilacqua Collection
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366:The Antarctican Society Page 11
596:Guy, Don (December 25, 1956).
206:, retiring with rank of CWO4 (
1:
774:"Bonds they built on the ice"
472:Belanger, Dian Olson (2010).
408:"U.S. Military Rank Insignia"
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68:wars as well as Antarctica.
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132:, which passed through the
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932:United States Navy sailors
570:. Putnam. pp. 191–193
410:. US Department of Defense
184:Chapel of the Snows (1956)
216:
849:non-commissioned officer
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602:Fort Worth Star-Telegram
384:www.currentobituary.com
208:Warrant officer Grade 4
83:In 1948, he joined the
46:Operation Deep Freeze I
744:"1980 Ceremonial Pole"
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140:on December 27, 1956.
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379:CurrentObituary.com.
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78:Woburn, Massachusetts
58:Woburn, Massachusetts
35:Charles A. Bevilacqua
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866:commissioned officer
691:Antarctic News Clips
631:SouthPoleStation.com
564:Siple, Paul (1959).
89:Civil Engineer Corps
853:Chief Petty Officer
805:"Antarctica Detail"
441:"A life on the ice"
284:"In Memory Page 21"
190:Chapel of the Snows
160:, in his 1959 book
136:before arriving at
658:"Birth of McMurdo"
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103:, and, during the
48:, helped to build
39:United States Navy
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781:The Antarctic Sun
720:on April 11, 2021
485:978-1-60732-067-8
448:The Antarctic Sun
146:Los Angeles Times
143:According to the
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902:1930 births
604:. p. 4
227:Mount Evans
204:Vietnam War
101:Philippines
922:South Pole
896:Categories
241:References
158:Paul Siple
105:Korean War
93:Micronesia
811:April 11,
786:April 11,
750:April 11,
724:April 11,
670:April 15,
637:April 13,
608:April 15,
574:April 12,
535:April 11,
491:April 12,
453:April 11,
414:April 13,
328:April 11,
221:In 2007,
123:Antarctic
72:Biography
530:LA Times
389:April 9,
269:April 9,
927:Seabees
825:period.
129:Wyandot
85:Seabees
66:Vietnam
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807:. USGS
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731:today.
633:. 1989
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335:colors
296:honor.
217:Legacy
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99:, the
95:, the
62:Korean
42:Seabee
835:Notes
777:(PDF)
661:(PDF)
498:deck.
444:(PDF)
362:(PDF)
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287:(PDF)
813:2021
788:2021
752:2021
726:2021
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610:2021
576:2021
537:2021
493:2021
480:ISBN
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271:2021
127:USS
64:and
823:IGY
210:.)
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