Distinguished Flying Cross

Description

The Distinguished Flying Cross is a four-bladed propeller, about 1 5/8 inches across, superimposed over a bronze pattee cross, with five rays forming a one-inch square emerging from the reentrant angles of the cross. The medal is suspended from a rectangular bar. The ribbon is striped with vertical bands of red, white, and blue.

Criteria for Award

According to PERSCOM, the Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded "to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States, distinguishes himself by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight...The extraordinary achievement must have resulted in an accomplishment so exceptional and outstanding as to clearly set the individual apart from his comrades or from other persons in similar circumstances." Rather than the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross must be awarded for single, outstanding acts of heroism, rather than for sustained and ongoing service.

History and Notable Recipients

The Distinguished Flying Cross was established in July 1926 by the Air Corps Act. It provided for the possibility of retroactive award back until 1917. The medal was designed by Arthur E. Dubois and Elizabeth Will, whose design was selected by the Commission of Fine Arts.

Notable recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross:

• The first Distinguished Flying Cross was awarded to Capt. Charles Lindbergh in 1927 for his solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
• The medal was awarded retroactively to the Wright brothers, requiring a special act of Congress, since the medal could otherwise not be awarded to civilians.
• The only other civilian to receive the award was aviatrix Amelia Earheart.
• Other notable recipients were Chuck Yeager, Richard Byrd, Buzz Aldrin, and George Herbert Walker Bush.