Obituary of Brian H. Shoemaker

Brian H. Shoemaker, US Navy Captain (Ret.) and expert in Arctic and Antarctic logistics, died in Lacey, Washington, on January 20, 2017 of complications from pneumonia. He was 79. Captain Shoemaker was a helicopter pilot and had a distinguished 28-year career with the US Navy. He flew combat missions during two tours of Vietnam before beginning his long-term involvement with polar operations. In 1967, he wintered over at McMurdo Station, Antarctica with Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VX-6) and was one of the first pilots to fly helicopters in support of field research during the Austral winter in Antarctica. He also supported both public and classified research operations in the Arctic, including logistics for floating Ice Station T-3. From 1975 to 1976, he served as Commanding Officer of the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory in Barrow, Alaska. From 1982 to 1985, he returned to the US Antarctic Program (USAP), this time as the Commander of Operation Deep Freeze for the US Navy. He worked closely with the National Science Foundation, the US government agency responsible for management of the USAP, providing research support and operational logistics, and made numerous deployments to Antarctica. After retiring from the US Navy in 1988, Brian Shoemaker remained active in polar issues and special projects. In 1993, Brian Shoemaker became the Secretary of the American Polar Society (APS) and publisher of The Polar Times. As Secretary, he worked to connect and introduce scientists, explorers and enthusiasts around the world to the issues and importance of the polar regions. He later went on to devote his efforts to lecturing on Antarctic cruise ships and collecting oral histories of the early figures in US Arctic and Antarctic exploration. He eventually interviewed over six dozen of the early figures in Arctic and Antarctic exploration whose stories are now archived at the Byrd Polar Research Center in Columbus, Ohio. Brian Shoemaker was born on July 4, 1937. He was a 1959 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied Geography. He also earned a Masters in Oceanography from the Naval Postgraduate School, as well as a Masters in Polar Studies from the Scott Polar Research Centre in Cambridge, England, where he wrote his thesis on the historical and future implications of the Antarctic Treaty inspection process. His is survived by his wife of 49 years, Johanne Shoemaker; his children, Ingrid Stone of Springfield, Virginia, and Robert Shoemaker of Papillion, Nebraska; and two grandchildren. Please leave memories of Brian or condolences for his family in the Guestbook below.