Rank: Captain, U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve
Place and Date: From New York City to Paris, France, May 20-21, 1927

Entered Service At: Little Falls, Minn.

Born: February 4, 1902, Detroit, Mich.

General Order No. 5, War Department, 1928

Act of Congress, December 14, 1927

Citation: For displaying heroic courage and skill as a navigator, at the risk of his life, by his nonstop flight in his airplane, the "Spirit of St. Louis," from New York City to Paris, France, 20-21 May 1927, by which Capt. Lindbergh not only achieved the greatest individual triumph of any American citizen but demonstrated that travel across the ocean by aircraft was possible.

Lindbergh attained the rank of brigadier general before leaving military service for good. Though born in Michigan, his family had a home in Minnesota where Lindbergh joined the National Guard, thus entering active duty in National Guard status. In fulfillment of one of the early air mail delivery contracts, Lindbergh found himself in St. Louis and joined the National Guard there. Following training at the San Antonio Air Cadet Training Center in 1924, Lindbergh was assigned for a time to what became today's Selfridge Air National Guard Base. His historic flight was the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight. Leaving the service before the U.S. entered World War II, Lindbergh flew over 50 missions in the Pacific theater as a civilian aviation consultant. He died August 26, 1974.