 This classic episode of the U.S. Army’s The Big Picture television series takes viewers to the most northern body of land in the world to view the activities of Operation Lead Dog. A combined services effort conducted in cooperation with the Danish government and commanded by the Army Transportation Corps, Operation Lead Dog started in May of 1960. First, the Army explorers spanned the icecap from coast to coast before moving north beyond the areas covered by Peary’s travels. The 65-day journey was designed to give the Transportation Corps a good opportunity for a rigid test of their polar vehicles for endurance and mobility. Other technical services made extensive equipment tests and gathered detailed data on the previously untouched polar regions. Archaeologists accompanying the expedition discovered the remains of a Paleo Eskimo camp, believed to be more than 4,000 years old. This video from the National Archives and Records Administration dramatically captures 20th-century man’s re-entry into the land where men fished and hunted more than 2,000 years ago. (30 minutes)
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