2-839-980 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Aero Club of America Aviation Medal of Merit awarded to Captain St. Clair Streett, 1920. Obverse: relief of an eagle flying over the globe, embossed text "AERO CLUB OF AMERICA"; Reverse: inscribed text "AWARDED TO CAPTAIN ST. CLAIR STREETT FOR THE MERITORIOUS FLIGHT MINEOLA - ALASKA 9000 MILES NINETEEN TWENTY"; bronze hanger with embossed text "Aviation Medal of Merit"; red silk ribbon. Capt. St. Clair Streett and his fellow pilots of the Alaskan Flying Expedition made one of the greatest flights in aviation. They received numerous honors and awards as they journeyed to and from Alaska over 9,000 miles. The Aero Club of America (today's National Aeronautic Association), the nation's premier aviation organization, bestowed upon them medals of merit upon their return. As the decades of the 1920s progressed, subsequent flights of spectacle overshadowed the expedition’s achievement, which is largely forgotten today.