From <http://www.k2news.com/sayre.htm>
SAYRE EXPEDITION CELEBRATES 40th REUNION

The 40th reunion of the 1962 Sayre expedition to the North Face of Mt. Everest was celebrated September 16, 2001 at the Tisbury Senior Center, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Over 100 friends, relatives, and well wishes viewed slides and watched the expedition movie. The four climbers signed commemorative T-shirts and autographed personal copies of the expedition book, Four Against Everest (used copies available through Amazon.com).

The expedition consisted of Woodrow Wilson Sayre, now 82, a retired philosophy professor and the grandson of president Woodrow Wilson; Norman Hansen, 78, a Boston lawyer, Hans Peter Duttle, 63, a Swiss school teacher and climbing instructor; and Roger Hart, 61, a geologist from Seal Rock, Oregon.

Financed privately by Sayre for $12,411.59, the expedition followed a 20 mile route pioneered by New Zealanders, Sir Edmund Hillary and George Lowe. The four climbers without porters or bottled oxygen ascended the Ngo-Jumbo icefall to the Nup La at 19, 400 feet, relayed 120 pounds of supplies each down the West Rongbuk Glacier, and ascended the East Rongbuk Glacier on the north side of Mt. Everest. They reached the north col at 23,000 feet on May 29, 1962, and, after an accident and a night's bivouac in the open, Sayre attained an approximate altitude of 25,500 feet on the north face before more accidents another open bivouac, and the threat of bad weather turned them back toward base camp in Nepal. Less than ten climbers, all who had help from porters and bottled oxygen, had summited Everest prior to the Sayre expedition which was the thirteenth expedition overall to approach the mountain. Miraculously they all returned home to their careers and, perhaps even more miraculously, are all still active in them.

Considered a maverick expedition by some climbers especially those associated with the American expedition the following year, an article in Life magazine( March 13, 1963) and the book Four Against Everest where popular with the general public and inspired many non climbers to take up the sport.

At the reunion, Randy McNeely, a member of the American Alpine Club, noted that many Everest historians attribute the safe return of the Sayre expedition to incredible luck with the weather but pointed out that apparently some people, i.e. the members of the Sayre expedition, create their own luck.

From WikiTree
U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 Name: Woodrow W Sayre Birth Year: 1919 Race: White, citizen (White) Nativity State or Country: Pennsylvania State: Massachusetts County or City: Norfolk Enlistment Date: 22 Jun 1942 Enlistment State: Massachusetts Enlistment City: Boston Branch: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA Branch Code: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA Grade: Private Grade Code: Private Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men) Source: Civil Life Education: 4 years of college Marital Status: Married Height: 70 Weight: 156
Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University 1957-1964, and at Springfield College, Mass. from 1965. Led first American expedition to North face of Mount Everest, 1962.
Address in 2001: W. Chop Road, Vinyard Haven, Massachusetts 02568. Telephone (508) 693-9243.
Massachusetts Death Index, 1970-2003 Massachusetts Death Index, 1970-2003 Name: Woodrow Wilson Sayre Death Place: Tisbury Death Date: 16 Sep 2002 Birth Date: 22 Feb 1919 Spouse: Patricia Faust
Vineyard Gazette Online Archived Edition: Friday, September 27, 2002 Woodrow W. Sayre Was Adventurous Climber, Thinker Philosophy professor and mountain climber Woodrow Wilson Sayre died at his home in Vineyard Haven, on Sept. 16. He was 83. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Williams College, Dr. Sayre served in the United States Air Force from 1942 to 1947 before earning his master's and doctorate degrees from Harvard University. He was then a professor of philosophy at Pomona College in California, at Tufts University in Medford, and at Springfield College in Springfield. A maverick in mind, spirit, and heart, Dr. Sayre led a four-man, privately-financed expedition to Mount Everest in 1962. Only 12 attempts on the peak had been made to that point, all of them using bottled oxygen, which Sayre and his team did not use. Though accidents and bad weather stopped the team short of the summit, Sayre himself reached an altitude of 25,500 feet. His book, Four Against Everest, helped popularize climbing by describing its beauties and exhilarations, and dramatizing its unequalled opportunities for both solitude and companionship. Immortal friendships are formed, he wrote, "when you have walked the feather edge of danger with someone, when you have held his life at the end of a rope. The deepest friendships spring from sharing danger as well as safety, failure as well as success." A beloved presence on Martha's Vineyard for many decades, Woodrow Sayre was a master of chess, Scrabble, sailing, crossword puzzles, and duplicate bridge. He served on the Tisbury finance committee, and was a stirring performer in many Island dramatic events. He was the son of Francis B. Sayre, former commissioner to the Philippines, and of Jessie Wilson Sayre, daughter of President Woodrow Wilson. He is survived by his daughters, Jennifer Sayre of Martha's Vineyard and Martha Sayre Caliri of Braintree; his granddaughter, Mollie Caliri; his stepchildren, Elizabeth Badaracco of Framingham and Jeffrey Sayre of Martha's Vineyard, and his brother, Francis B. Sayre, Jr., retired dean of the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Woodrow Sayre's life was one of intellectual, spiritual and physical adventure. "Mere security is a barren ideal," he wrote. "It is more exciting to discover new lands, and to think what may be just over the next ridge." A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 3 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church in Vineyard Haven. The family has asked that memorial gifts in his name be given to Grace Church. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs.
WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT: from an unidentified, undated clipping. Woodrow WIlson Sayre Engaged to Wed Edith W. Chase. President Wilson's Grandson, Son of Philippines Official, to Marry Alumna of Smith Special to the New York Times. MILTON, Mass., March 21--Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Chase of this place have announced the engagement of their daughter, Miss Edith Warren Chase, to Woodrow WIlson Sayre, son of Francis Bowes Sayre, United States High Commissioner of the Philippines, and the late Mrs. Jessie Woodrow Sayre. The bridegroom-elect's father, who had been in the Philippines since the surprise Japanese attack on Dec. 7, arrived early this week in Honolulu en route to Washington. Miss Chase is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. H. Clifford Gallagher of Milton, and the late Judge and Mrs. Frederick Chase of Hanover, N. H. She was graduated from Milton Academy and in 1940 from Smith College. The prospective bride, who made her debut in the season of 1936-37, is a member of the Junior League. She is associated with the Family Welfare Society in Cambridge. Mr. Sayre is a grandson of the late President Wilson, and the late Mrs. Ellen Louise Axson Wilson, and of the late Mr. and Mrs. Robert Haysham Sayre of Bethlehem, Pa. He was graduated from the St. Albans School in Washington, D. C., and in 1940 from Williams College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa Society. He is now engaged in graduate study in philosophy at Harvard. Plans are being made for a June wedding.