 Distinguished Flying Cross was established by an Act of Congress of July 2, 1926 (amended by Executive Order 7786 on January 8, 1938), for award to any person who, serving any branch of the service including the National Guard and the Organized Reserves after 6 APR 17: For Heroism or Extraordinary Achievement while Participating in Aerial Flight. Award: This medal is awarded to any officer or enlisted man of the armed forces of the United States who shall have distinguished himself by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The decoration may also be given for an act performed prior to November 11, 1918, when the individual has been recommended for, but has not received the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Distinguished Service Medal.
Subsequent awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross are indicated by oak-leaf clusters for Army and Air Force personnel and by additional award stars for members of the Naval services.
During wartime, members of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations serving with the United States are eligible for the D.F.C. It is also given to those who display heroism while working as instructors or students at flying schools.
Design: Designed by Elizabeth Will and Arthur E. DuBois. It is a bronze cross pattee, with rays between the arms of the cross. On the obverse is a propeller of four blades, with one blade in each arm of the cross and in the re-entrant angles of the cross are rays which form a square. The cross is suspended by a recatgular-shaped bar and centered on this is a plain shield. The reverse is blank and suitable for engraving the recipients name and rank.
When this decoration was originally created there was a movement to have this awarded in different classes, and though this idea was never approved, some copies of the higher class were made, they are the same design as the approved Distinguished Flying Cross, slightly larger, and with a pin attached to the reverse, so that it would be worn as a breast decoration. This class was never approved and was never officially awarded.
Ribbon: The Ribbon has a narrow red center stripe, flanked on either side by a thin white stripe, a wide stripe of dark blue, a narrow white stripe and narrow dark blue at the edge of the ribbon. Bronze V device worn to denote Valor/Heroism. History: The Distinguished Flying Cross was awarded first to Captain Charles A. Lindbergh, of the U.S. Army Corps Reserve, for his solo flight of 3600 miles across the Atlantic in 1927, a feat which electrified the world and made "Lindy" one of America's most popular heroes. The first D.F.C. to be awarded to a Navy man was to Commander Richard E. Byrd, of the U.S. Navy Air Corps, on May 9, 1926, for his exciting flight to and from the North Pole. Both these famous aviators also received the Medal of Honor with the Distinguished Flying Cross. The Aviatrix Amelia Earhart also received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Hers was the only such award, as an executive order on March 1, 1927, ruled that D.F.C. should not be conferred on civilians. |
