Mr. Hubbard continued to fund his research by his ever more popular fiction writing. His stories and novels spanned every genre from adventure and travel to mystery, western, romance, science fiction and fantasy. Writing not of machines and robots but of real people and real adventures, he pioneered a whole new era of science fiction writing as one of the creators of what came to be known as the “Golden Age of Science Fiction.”

His expeditions continued as well. Elected a member of the prestigious Explorers Club in New York City, he was bestowed custody of its flag, a high honour in the field of exploration, for the Alaskan Radio Experimental Expedition in May 1940. This expedition greatly assisted in the codification of the coastal charts of British Columbia and Alaska. Also, as Mr. Hubbard himself noted, the expedition provided an opportunity to examine the mythological cycles of “the Aleut and Tlingit Indians as well as the Haidas, the last being very close to the white race. I was particularly very interested in their stories and legends concerning the Great Flood, having found this legend in almost any primitive race I have met.”

The Explorers Club, headquartered in New York, provided support for some of the 20th century’s most daring expeditions, including L. Ron Hubbard’s 2,000-mile 1940 voyage to re-chart the treacherous inland passage waters off the coast of British Columbia and Alaska.

In December 1940, L. Ron Hubbard earned his “License to Master of Steam and Motor Vessels” from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Three months later, he obtained a second certificate attesting to his marine skill: “License to Master of Sail Vessels, Any Ocean.”

Throughout all of this, however, Mr. Hubbard was continuing in his quest to answer the riddles of man. His writings and explorations had the purpose of financing his researches and expanding his knowledge of the world and life.

Then came the war.

When the U.S. entered World War II, Mr. Hubbard was commissioned as a lieutenant (junior grade) in the U.S. Navy and served as a commander of corvettes. He saw action in both the Atlantic and Pacific, and thoroughly distinguished himself in the eyes of those who served beneath him. Yet he was not a man who enjoyed war, and having seen enough killing to last him a lifetime — and the effects of that bloodshed on men’s sanity — he vowed to redouble his efforts to create a saner world. With this same sense of compassion, he also did all he could to safeguard his crews, prompting one of his men to write:

“I feel I owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude. First for your acquaintance. Secondly because you have portrayed to me all the attributes of a ‘story book’ naval officer. I can see for myself that you were an officer and a gentleman long before Congress decided so.”