Charles Lindbergh

Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. He is most famously remembered for achieving the first nonstop solo flight from New York to Paris on May 20–21, 1927. This remarkable feat, spanning 3,600 miles (5,800 km) and lasting over 33 hours, was accomplished in his custom-built aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis . The flight was undertaken to compete for the $25,000 Orteig Prize , which had been established for the first successful nonstop transatlantic journey between the two cities. While not the absolute first transatlantic flight, as the Alcock and Brown flight had occurred previously, Lindbergh’s was the first solo crossing of the Atlantic and, at that time, the longest continuous flight by nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 km), setting a new world record for flight distance. This achievement propelled Lindbergh to international fame and is considered one of the most significant flights in aviation history, heralding a new era of air transportation and global connectivity. Beyond his aviation triumphs, Lindbergh later became a prominent figure in political activism, advocating for a non-interventionist stance during World War II , which led to accusations of Nazi sympathy.

Lindbergh spent his formative years primarily in Little Falls, Minnesota , and Washington, D.C. . His father, Charles August Lindbergh , served as a U.S. Congressman. In 1924, Lindbergh enlisted as a cadet in the U.S. Army Air Service . The following year, he began his career as an air mail pilot for the U.S. Air Mail service in the Greater St. Louis area, a period during which he meticulously prepared for his ambitious transatlantic flight. For his groundbreaking 1927 flight, President Calvin Coolidge bestowed upon him both the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Medal of Honor , the highest military decorations in the United States. He was also promoted to colonel in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve and received France’s highest order of merit, the Legion of Honor . Lindbergh’s accomplishment ignited a global surge of interest in flight training , commercial aviation , and air mail services, sparking what became known as the “Lindbergh Boom ” and fundamentally transforming the aviation industry.

Time magazine recognized Lindbergh as its inaugural Man of the Year for 1927. In 1929, President Herbert Hoover appointed him to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics . Later, in 1931, Lindbergh collaborated with French surgeon Alexis Carrel on the development of the first perfusion pump , a device that laid the groundwork for future advancements in cardiac surgery and organ transplantation .

The Lindbergh family experienced a profound personal tragedy on March 1, 1932, when their infant son, Charles Jr., was kidnapped and murdered . This event, dubbed the “crime of the century ”, prompted the U.S. Congress to enact the Federal Kidnapping Act , criminalizing kidnapping across state lines. The intense public scrutiny and hysteria surrounding the case led the Lindberghs to seek refuge in Europe from late 1935 until 1939.

In the years leading up to the United States’ entry into World War II , Lindbergh became a vocal proponent of non-interventionism . His public statements on issues of race and his perceived association with Nazi Germany led to widespread accusations of Nazi sympathy. While Lindbergh consistently denied supporting the Nazis and publicly condemned their actions on several occasions, his close ties and numerous interactions with them throughout the 1930s fueled the controversy. He was a prominent supporter of the isolationist America First Committee , and resigned his commission in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve in April 1941 after President Franklin Roosevelt publicly criticized his views. In September 1941, Lindbergh delivered a significant address, “Speech on Neutrality,” articulating his arguments against greater American involvement in the war.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Germany’s declaration of war on the United States, Lindbergh actively supported the American war effort. Despite being denied active duty, he flew 50 combat missions in the Pacific Theater as a civilian consultant, unofficially credited with shooting down an enemy aircraft. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower reinstated his commission and promoted him to brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve . In his later years, Lindbergh achieved recognition as a Pulitzer Prize -winning author, an international explorer, and an environmentalist. He played a role in establishing national parks in the U.S. and advocated for the protection of endangered species and indigenous populations in the Philippines and east Africa . Lindbergh passed away in 1974 at the age of 72 in Kipahulu, Hawaii , from lymphoma .

Early life

Lindbergh was born in Detroit , Michigan, on February 4, 1902. His childhood was largely spent in Little Falls, Minnesota , and Washington, D.C. . He was the only child of Charles August Lindbergh (born Carl Månsson), who had emigrated from Sweden as an infant, and Evangeline Lodge Land Lindbergh of Detroit. Lindbergh had three older paternal half-sisters from his father’s previous marriage. His parents separated in 1909 when he was seven years old.

His father, a U.S. Congressman from 1907 to 1917, was one of the few members of Congress to oppose the entry of the U.S. into World War I , though his term concluded a month before the House of Representatives voted to declare war on Germany . Lindbergh’s mother was a chemistry teacher, first at Cass Technical High School in Detroit and later at Little Falls High School , from which Charles graduated in June 1918. Throughout his childhood and teenage years, Lindbergh attended over a dozen schools across the country, including the Force School and Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., and Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California . He enrolled in the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in late 1920 but left during his sophomore year.

Early aviation career

From a young age, Lindbergh displayed a keen interest in mechanics, particularly in his family’s Saxon Six and later his Excelsior motorbike. While pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering at the university, he became captivated by aviation, despite having had no prior direct experience with aircraft. In February 1922, after leaving college, Lindbergh enrolled in the Nebraska Aircraft Corporation’s flying school in Lincoln . His first flight was on April 9, 1922, as a passenger in a two-seat Lincoln Standard “Tourabout” biplane trainer piloted by Otto Timm .

Though he commenced formal flying lessons shortly thereafter, Lindbergh was unable to solo due to financial constraints preventing him from posting the required damage bond. To gain flight experience and fund further training, Lindbergh left Lincoln in June and spent several months barnstorming across Nebraska , Kansas , Colorado , Wyoming , and Montana . During this period, he worked as a wing walker and parachutist , and briefly as an airplane mechanic at the Billings, Montana, municipal airport .

“Daredevil Lindbergh” in a re-engined Standard J-1, c. 1925. The aircraft in this photograph is frequently misidentified as a Curtiss “Jenny”.

Lindbergh’s return to flying and his first solo flight occurred in May 1923 at Souther Field in Americus, Georgia . He purchased a surplus World War I Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplane for $500. Despite a six-month hiatus from flying, Lindbergh, having secretly prepared himself, took to the air alone after a brief refresher session with another pilot at the field. He then embarked on his first solo cross-country flight to Montgomery, Alabama . For the remainder of 1923, Lindbergh continued barnstorming under the moniker “Daredevil Lindbergh,” piloting his own aircraft and making his first night flight near Lake Village, Arkansas .

Lindbergh as a young 2nd Lt., March 1925.

While barnstorming in Lone Rock, Wisconsin , Lindbergh twice assisted a local physician by flying him across the Wisconsin River for emergency calls, navigating flood conditions. His flying was not without incident; he broke his propeller multiple times and was grounded for a week after an accident in Glencoe, Minnesota , while flying his father to a campaign stop. In October, he sold his Jenny in Iowa and returned to Lincoln, where he partnered with Leon Klink to continue barnstorming across the South in Klink’s Curtiss JN-4C “Canuck.” During this period, Lindbergh also experienced an engine failure shortly after takeoff in Pensacola, Florida , but managed to repair the aircraft himself.

After parting ways with Klink in San Antonio , Texas, Lindbergh reported to Brooks Field on March 19, 1924, for a year of military flight training with the United States Army Air Service , continuing his training at nearby Kelly Field . His most significant aviation accident occurred on March 5, 1925, just eight days before graduation, when a mid-air collision with another Army S.E.5 during aerial combat maneuvers forced him to parachute to safety. Lindbergh graduated first in his class of 104 cadets in March 1925, earning his Army pilot’s wings and a commission as a second lieutenant in the Air Service Reserve Corps .

Lindbergh later reflected that this training period was pivotal in shaping him into a focused, goal-oriented individual and a skilled aviator. However, with no immediate need for additional active-duty pilots, Lindbergh returned to civilian aviation. He continued barnstorming and working as a flight instructor , while also maintaining his reserve status by flying with the 110th Observation Squadron of the Missouri National Guard . He was promoted to first lieutenant on December 7, 1925, and to captain in July 1926.

Air mail pilot

In October 1925, Lindbergh was hired by the Robertson Aircraft Corporation (RAC) at Lambert-St. Louis Flying Field in Anglum, Missouri. He was tasked with establishing and then serving as chief pilot for the new Contract Air Mail Route #2 (CAM-2). This route covered 278 miles (447 km) between St. Louis and Chicago , with intermediate stops in Springfield and Peoria, Illinois . Lindbergh, along with three other RAC pilots, flew the mail using a fleet of four modified surplus de Havilland DH-4s .

On April 13, 1926, Lindbergh formally took the United States Post Office Department ’s Oath of Mail Messengers, and two days later, initiated service on the new route. During his tenure, Lindbergh experienced two instances where challenging conditions forced him to bail out upon night approach to Chicago . These incidents were attributed to a combination of adverse weather, mechanical failures, and fuel exhaustion , but he landed safely on both occasions. In mid-February 1927, Lindbergh traveled to San Diego , California, to oversee the design and construction of the Spirit of St. Louis .

CAM-2 first flight cover.

A CAM-2 “Weekly Postage Report” by Lindbergh.

One of Lindbergh’s Air Mail paychecks.

New York–Paris flight

Orteig Prize

• Main article: Orteig Prize

René Fonck with Lindbergh in 1927. Fonck’s failed 1926 attempt at the Orteig Prize directly inspired Lindbergh.

In 1919, British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown achieved the first nonstop transatlantic flight , departing from St. John’s, Newfoundland , on June 14, 1919, and arriving in Clifden, County Galway , Ireland, the next day.

Around the same time, Raymond Orteig , a French-born hotelier in New York, was approached by Augustus Post , secretary of the Aero Club of America. Orteig agreed to offer a $25,000 award (equivalent to $453,000 in 2024) for the first successful nonstop transatlantic flight between New York City and Paris within five years of the offer’s establishment. When no one claimed the prize by the initial deadline in 1924, Orteig renewed the offer for another five years. This renewed offer attracted several prominent and well-funded aviators, but none were successful in completing the flight. On September 21, 1926, French flying ace René Fonck ’s Sikorsky S-35 crashed during takeoff from Roosevelt Field in New York, resulting in the deaths of crew members Jacob Islamoff and Charles Clavier. Earlier that year, on April 26, 1927, U.S. Naval aviators Noel Davis and Stanton H. Wooster were killed at Langley Field , Virginia, during testing of their Keystone Pathfinder . Tragically, on May 8, French war heroes Charles Nungesser and François Coli departed Paris – Le Bourget Airport in their Levasseur PL 8 seaplane, L’Oiseau Blanc , and disappeared over the Atlantic after being last sighted off the coast of Ireland .

The failure of René Fonck’s flight in September 1926 served as a direct catalyst for Lindbergh’s own attempt. Reading about the crash, Lindbergh concluded that “a nonstop flight between New York and Paris would be less hazardous than flying mail for a single winter.” He subsequently discussed his ambition with businessmen and aviation enthusiasts in St. Louis, commencing the process of gathering resources and contacting aircraft manufacturers.

Spirit of St. Louis

• Main article: Spirit of St. Louis

The [Spirit of St. Louis].

Securing financial backing for the flight proved challenging due to Lindbergh’s relative obscurity at the time. However, two St. Louis businessmen managed to secure a $15,000 bank loan. Lindbergh contributed $2,000 (equivalent to $36,000 in 2024) from his air mail pilot salary, and Robertson Aircraft Corporation (RAC) added another $1,000. This total of $18,000 was significantly less than the resources available to Lindbergh’s competitors.

The group initially attempted to purchase a standard single or multi-engine monoplane from manufacturers such as Wright Aeronautical , Travel Air , and the nascent Columbia Aircraft Corporation . However, all insisted on selecting the pilot as a condition of sale. Ultimately, the smaller Ryan Airline Company (later known as the Ryan Aeronautical Company ) in San Diego agreed to design and construct a custom monoplane for $10,580. The agreement was finalized on February 25, 1927. Christened the Spirit of St. Louis, the fabric-covered, single-seat, single-engine high-wing monoplane was a collaborative design effort between Lindbergh and Ryan’s chief engineer, Donald A. Hall . The Spirit made its maiden flight just two months later, and following a series of test flights, Lindbergh departed from San Diego on May 10, proceeding first to St. Louis and then to Roosevelt Field on New York’s Long Island .

Flight

Lindbergh with the Spirit of St. Louis prior to his flight.

At 7:52 AM on Friday, May 20, 1927, Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island , bound for Le Bourget Aerodrome near Paris , a distance of 3,610 miles (5,810 km). Lindbergh had managed only a couple of hours of sleep the night before, finding himself too preoccupied to rest adequately. The morning of his departure was marked by rain, but the weather cleared as the plane was positioned on the runway, with daylight breaking through the overcast sky. An estimated crowd of several thousand spectators gathered to witness his takeoff. For the transatlantic journey, the Spirit was loaded with 450 U.S. gallons (1,700 liters) of fuel , meticulously filtered to prevent any blockage in the fuel lines. The fuel load increased the aircraft’s weight by a thousand pounds beyond its test flight capacity, bringing the total weight to 5,200 pounds (2,400 kg; 2.6 short tons). The takeoff run was hampered by the muddy, rain-soaked runway, requiring ground crew to push at the wing struts. The Spirit gained speed agonizingly slowly, clearing the telephone lines at the end of the runway by approximately twenty feet (6.1 m) with a marginal reserve of flying speed.

Crowd assembled at Roosevelt Field to witness Lindbergh’s departure.

An hour after takeoff, at 8:52 AM, Lindbergh was flying over Rhode Island at an altitude of 500 feet (150 m). The passage over Long Island Sound and Connecticut was uneventful, aside from some turbulence. By 9:52 AM, having passed Boston and with Cape Cod to his right, Lindbergh maintained an airspeed of 107 miles per hour (172 km/h) at an altitude of 150 feet (46 m). Approximately an hour into the flight, Lindbergh began to experience fatigue. To combat this, he descended and flew at an extremely low altitude of just 10 feet (3 m) above the water’s surface. By 11:52 AM, he had climbed to 200 feet (60 m), having covered 400 miles (640 km) from New York. Nova Scotia appeared ahead, and after crossing the Gulf of Maine , Lindbergh found himself only “6 miles (10 km), or 2 degrees, off course.” By 3:52 PM, he was flying over the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island , struggling to stay awake despite it only being the afternoon of the first day. At 5:52 PM, Lindbergh was navigating along the Newfoundland coast, passing St. John’s at 7:15 PM. A front-page report in The New York Times on May 21 detailed that Captain Lindbergh’s aircraft was sighted passing over St. John’s at 8:15 PM, heading towards Ireland, flying low between the hills. The Times noted that Lindbergh was following the flight paths of Harry Hawker and Alcock and Brown .

Map of Lindbergh’s route on the May 21, 1927, front page of the San Diego Evening Tribune , by artist Wallace Hamilton.

Great circle sailing chart of the North Atlantic with gnomonic projection , published by the U.S. Hydrographic Office and annotated by Lindbergh. He described this chart as a “nugget of gold” and used it to plot the course of his 1927 flight.

As night fell around 8:00 PM, stars became visible. The sea was obscured by fog, prompting Lindbergh to ascend from 800 feet (240 m) to 7,500 feet (2,300 m) to remain above the rapidly rising cloud layer. An hour later, he was flying at 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Encountering a towering thunderhead , Lindbergh flew into the cloud but retreated upon noticing ice accumulating on the aircraft. He described thrusting a bare hand through the cockpit window and feeling the “sting of ice particles.” After emerging into clear air, he adjusted his course. By 11:52 PM, Lindbergh found himself in warmer air, with no ice remaining on the Spirit. He was flying at 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) at 10,000 feet (3,000 m), approximately 500 miles (800 km) from Newfoundland. Eighteen hours into the flight, Lindbergh reached the halfway point to Paris. Although he had planned to celebrate this milestone, he instead felt a sense of “dread.” Due to crossing multiple time zones, dawn arrived earlier, around 2:52 AM. Approximately two hours later, Lindbergh began to experience hallucinations. During this phase of the flight, he repeatedly fell asleep, awakening only moments later. However, after “flying for hours in or above the fog,” the weather conditions finally began to improve. By 7:52 AM, marking 24 hours in the air, Lindbergh reported feeling less fatigued.

Around 9:52 AM New York time, or 27 hours after departing Roosevelt Field, Lindbergh observed porpoises and fishing boats, confirming his arrival on the other side of the Atlantic. He circled the vessels, noting the absence of fishermen on deck but spotting a face peering from a porthole. Dingle Bay in County Kerry , southwest Ireland , was the first European landmass Lindbergh encountered. He veered for a closer look and consulted his charts, identifying it as the southern tip of Ireland. The local time in Ireland was 3:00 PM. Flying over Dingle Bay, the Spirit was “2.5 hours ahead of schedule and less than 3 miles (5 km) off course,” having navigated “almost precisely to the coastal point he had marked on his chart.” To ensure arrival in daylight, Lindbergh increased his speed to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h). The English coast became visible, and Lindbergh reported feeling fully awake. News spread rapidly across Europe and the United States that Lindbergh had been sighted over England, prompting a crowd to gather at Le Bourget Aerodrome in anticipation of his arrival. At sunset, he flew over Cherbourg , on the French coast, approximately 200 miles (320 km) from Paris, at around 2:52 PM New York time.

Silent short film documenting his flight and landing in Paris.

Throughout the 33+1⁄2-hour flight, the aircraft battled icing , navigated blind through fog for several hours, and Lindbergh relied solely on dead reckoning for navigation, as he was not proficient in celestial navigation and considered radio navigation gear too cumbersome and unreliable. Fortuitously, the prevailing winds over the Atlantic effectively canceled each other out, resulting in zero wind drift and thus accurate navigation across the vast, featureless ocean.

Upon reaching Paris, Lindbergh circled the Eiffel Tower before proceeding to the airfield. He flew over the crowd at Le Bourget Aerodrome at 10:16 PM and landed at 10:22 PM on Saturday, May 21. According to The New York Times, he landed on the far side of the field, approximately half a mile from the assembled spectators. The airfield was not clearly marked on his map, and Lindbergh only knew its general location, some seven miles northeast of the city. He initially mistook the airfield’s bright lights for an industrial complex, unaware they were the headlights of tens of thousands of cars caught in what was described as the largest traffic jam in Paris history, as people flocked to witness his landing.

Samples of the Spirit’s linen covering.

An estimated crowd of 150,000 people stormed the field, unfastened Lindbergh from his cockpit, and carried him aloft for nearly half an hour. Minor damage was inflicted upon the Spirit by souvenir hunters before French military personnel, soldiers, and police safely escorted the plane and its pilot to a nearby hangar. The Times reported that before the authorities could intervene, the “souvenir mad” spectators had “stripped the plane of everything which could be taken off,” and were cutting off pieces of the linen covering when soldiers with fixed bayonets formed a protective cordon around the aircraft. Lindbergh met the U.S. Ambassador to France , Myron T. Herrick , in a small room on the airfield. To evade the frenzied crowd attempting to locate him, the room’s lights were extinguished. Lindbergh shook hands with Herrick and handed him several letters, including three from Col. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. , son of former President Theodore Roosevelt , who had provided letters of introduction. Lindbergh departed the airfield around midnight and was driven through Paris to the ambassador’s residence, making a stop at the French Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe . He finally slept for the first time in approximately 60 hours upon reaching the residence.

The National Aeronautic Association of the United States certified Lindbergh’s flight based on the data recorded by a sealed barograph aboard the Spirit.

Global fame

Lindbergh experienced an unprecedented surge in public adoration following his historic flight. Biographer A. Scott Berg noted that people were “behaving as though Lindbergh had walked on water, not flown over it.” The New York Times featured a prominent, front-page headline: “Lindbergh Does It!” His mother’s home in Detroit was inundated by a crowd estimated at nearly a thousand people. Lindbergh became an “international celebrity,” receiving invitations from across Europe, marriage proposals, requests for endorsements, and countless gifts and letters. An estimated “200 songs were written” in tribute to Lindbergh and his flight, including “Lucky Lindy! ” by L. Wolfe Gilbert and [Abel Baer], which premiered to acclaim in Manhattan clubs on the very night of his landing. Eager to explore Europe, Lindbergh remarked in a speech weeks later that his flight marked his first time abroad and that he arrived with the “expectancy, and the hope, of being able to see Europe.”

The morning after his arrival in Paris, Lindbergh appeared on the balcony of the U.S. embassy , offering brief and modest remarks to the cheering crowd. The French Foreign Office flew the American flag, a gesture never before extended to anyone other than a head of state. At the Élysée Palace , French President Gaston Doumergue presented Lindbergh with the Légion d’honneur , pinning the award to his lapel in the presence of Ambassador Herrick . Lindbergh also made flights in the Spirit to Belgium and Britain before returning to the United States. On May 28, he landed at Evere Aerodrome in Brussels , Belgium, circling the field three times for the enthusiastic crowd. He was greeted by Belgian military officers and officials, including Prime Minister Henri Jaspar , who led a procession to a platform where the Spirit was displayed. Lindbergh expressed his enjoyment of the flight, stating the aircraft’s motor was in excellent condition. Belgian troops secured the Spirit to prevent damage similar to that experienced in Paris. He then visited the Belgian royal palace at the invitation of King Albert I , where he was made a Knight of the Order of Leopold . The United Press reported that approximately one million people were in Brussels to greet Lindbergh, marking the largest welcome ever accorded a private citizen in Belgium.

The Spirit mobbed by a crowd at Croydon Air Field in South London on May 29, 1927.

Following Belgium, Lindbergh traveled to the United Kingdom , arriving at Croydon Air Field on May 29, where a crowd of 100,000 people “mobbed” him. Before landing, he flew over London, where crowds gathered on rooftops and in the West End . Approximately 50 minutes before his landing, roads leading to Croydon airport were gridlocked. Accompanied by six British military planes, Lindbergh appeared on the horizon at 5:50 PM, but the immense crowd breached security lines, forcing him to circle the airfield while police attempted to manage the situation. It took ten minutes to clear a space sufficient for landing. Police reserves were deployed in large numbers but proved insufficient to control the throng. Upon landing, the crowd waved American flags, broke through fences, and overwhelmed police. Lindbergh was described as “grinning and serene” amidst the chaos. The United Press reported injuries, including a broken leg for one individual and internal injuries for another who fell from a hangar roof. British officials expressed surprise at the intensity of the welcome. A limousine transported Lindbergh to a reception room where he addressed the crowd, remarking, “All I can say is that this is worse than what happened at Le Bourget Field. But all the same, I’m glad to be here.” His immediate request upon reaching the reception room was, “Save my plane!” Mechanics then moved the Spirit to a hangar under military guard.

Newsreel of Lindbergh landing in Brussels , Belgium, soon after his historic transatlantic flight.

Lindbergh then flew the Spirit 90 miles from Croydon to Gosport , where it was dismantled for shipment back to New York. On May 31, accompanied by an attaché from the U.S. Embassy , Lindbergh visited British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin at 10 Downing Street . He then proceeded to Buckingham Palace , where King George V awarded him the British Air Force Cross . A crowd had gathered at the palace hoping to glimpse Lindbergh, requiring police reserves from Scotland Yard to manage the situation. Upon his return to the United States aboard the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Memphis (CL-13) on June 11, 1927, a fleet of warships and military aircraft escorted him up the Potomac River to the Washington Navy Yard . There, President Calvin Coolidge presented him with the Distinguished Flying Cross . This award technically contravened Coolidge’s own executive order, which stipulated that only one decoration could be awarded for a single act of heroism, and Lindbergh had already received the Medal of Honor for the same feat.

President Calvin Coolidge awards Lindbergh the Distinguished Flying Cross , June 11, 1927.

Lindbergh flew from Washington, D.C., to New York City on June 13, arriving in Lower Manhattan . He proceeded up the Canyon of Heroes to City Hall, where he was welcomed by Mayor [Jimmy Walker]. A ticker-tape parade followed to Central Park Mall , where he received the New York Medal for Valor at a ceremony hosted by New York Governor [Al Smith]. An estimated 4,000,000 people witnessed Lindbergh that day. That evening, Lindbergh, accompanied by his mother and Mayor Walker, was the guest of honor at a banquet and dance hosted at [Clarence MacKay]’s Long Island estate, Harbor Hill .

The New York City “WE” Banquet, held on June 14, 1927.

The following night, Lindbergh was honored at a grand banquet at the Hotel Commodore , attended by approximately 3,700 people. He officially received the prize money for his flight on June 16.

On July 18, 1927, Lindbergh was promoted to the rank of colonel in the Air Corps of the Officers Reserve Corps of the U.S. Army .

On December 14, 1927, a Special Act of Congress awarded Lindbergh the Medal of Honor , a rare distinction for non-combat actions. The medal was presented by President Coolidge at the White House on March 21, 1928. This award was notable as it contradicted Coolidge’s earlier executive order regarding the awarding of multiple decorations for a single act. The legislative process authorizing the award also faced scrutiny regarding procedural irregularities.

Lindbergh was named the first Time magazine Man of the Year (now Person of the Year), appearing on the cover on January 2, 1928, at the age of 25. He remained the youngest Time Person of the Year until Greta Thunberg in 2019. Elinor Smith Sullivan, who won the 1930 Best Woman Aviator of the Year Award, described Lindbergh’s impact: “People seemed to think we [aviators] were from outer space or something. But after Charles Lindbergh’s flight, we could do no wrong. It’s hard to describe the impact Lindbergh had on people. Even the first walk on the moon doesn’t come close. The twenties was such an innocent time, and people were still so religious—I think they felt like this man was sent by God to do this. And it changed aviation forever because all of a sudden the Wall Streeters were banging on doors looking for airplanes to invest in. We’d been standing on our heads trying to get them to notice us but after Lindbergh, suddenly everyone wanted to fly, and there weren’t enough planes to carry them.”

The Spirit of St. Louis on display at the National Air and Space Museum .

Autobiography and tours

• Main article: “WE” (1927 book)

“WE” 1st Edition, 1927.

Just two months after his arrival in Paris, G. P. Putnam’s Sons published Lindbergh’s 318-page autobiography, “WE.” This marked the beginning of his extensive writing career, ultimately contributing to 15 books. The book’s dust jacket stated Lindbergh’s intention to share “the story of his life and his transatlantic flight together with his views on the future of aviation.” The title “WE” was intended to signify the “spiritual partnership” between Lindbergh and his airplane during the flight. However, as biographer A. Scott Berg noted in 1998, Putnam’s chose the title without Lindbergh’s explicit approval, and he would later express dissatisfaction, clarifying that “WE” referred to him and his backers, not him and his plane, despite his frequent unconscious use of the phrase suggesting otherwise.

Putnam’s offered special autographed editions of “WE” for $25 each, which sold out before publication. The book was translated into numerous languages and sold over 650,000 copies in its first year, earning Lindbergh more than $250,000. Its success was significantly boosted by Lindbergh’s three-month, 22,350-mile (35,970 km) tour of the United States in the Spirit of St. Louis, undertaken on behalf of the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics . Between July 20 and October 23, 1927, Lindbergh visited 82 cities across all 48 states, participated in 1,290 miles (2,080 km) of parades, and delivered 147 speeches to an audience of 30 million people.

Lindbergh then embarked on a tour of 16 Latin American countries from December 13, 1927, to February 8, 1928. This “Good Will Tour” included stops in Mexico (where he met his future wife, Anne Morrow, daughter of U.S. Ambassador Dwight Morrow ), Guatemala , British Honduras , El Salvador , Honduras , Nicaragua , Costa Rica , Panama , the Canal Zone , Colombia , Venezuela , St. Thomas , Puerto Rico , the Dominican Republic , Haiti , and Cuba . The tour covered 9,390 miles (15,110 km) in just over 116 hours of flight time. Exactly one year and two days after its inaugural flight, Lindbergh flew the Spirit from St. Louis to Washington, D.C., where it has remained on public display at the Smithsonian Institution ever since. Over the preceding 367 days, Lindbergh and the Spirit had logged a total of 489 hours and 28 minutes of flight time.

A “Lindbergh boom ” in aviation commenced, characterized by a 50% increase in airmail volume within six months, a tripling of pilot license applications, and a quadrupling of aircraft numbers. President Herbert Hoover appointed Lindbergh to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics .

Lindbergh and Pan American World Airways president Juan Trippe explored the feasibility of an air route connecting Alaska and Siberia to China and Japan. In the summer of 1931, with Trippe’s backing, Lindbergh and his wife flew from Long Island to Nome, Alaska , and then proceeded to Siberia, Japan, and China. This expedition utilized a Lockheed Model 8 Sirius named Tingmissartoq . The route did not become commercially viable until after World War II, as pre-war aircraft lacked the range for a nonstop flight from Alaska to Japan, and the United States had not yet officially recognized the Soviet government. In China, they contributed to disaster relief efforts following the Central China flood of 1931 . Anne Morrow Lindbergh documented this journey in her book North to the Orient .

Air mail promotion

Lindbergh-autographed USPOD penalty cover with C-10 flown by him over CAM-2.

Lindbergh leveraged his global fame to champion the cause of air mail service. For instance, in February 1928, at the request of Basil L. Rowe, owner of West Indian Aerial Express (and later a chief pilot for Pan Am ), Lindbergh carried approximately 3,000 special souvenir covers. These covers were flown between Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic ; Port-au-Prince, Haiti ; and Havana, Cuba . These were the final three stops on his “Good Will Tour” of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the only franked mail pieces he ever transported in the Spirit of St. Louis.

Two weeks after his Latin American tour, on February 20 and 21, 1928, Lindbergh piloted a series of special flights over his former CAM-2 route. Tens of thousands of self-addressed souvenir covers were submitted from around the world. To ensure each cover could be claimed as having been flown by him, Lindbergh switched to one of the three planes used by him and his fellow CAM-2 pilots at each stop. The covers were subsequently backstamped and returned to their senders as part of the air mail service promotion.

Cover flown aboard the first airmail flight by Charles Lindbergh, from Brownsville, Texas to Mexico City, March 10, 1929.

Between 1929 and 1931, Lindbergh transported smaller quantities of souvenir covers on inaugural flights over routes in Latin America and the Caribbean . These routes, which he had previously helped chart as a consultant for Pan American Airways , were designated as Foreign Air Mail (FAM) routes 5 and 6 under contract with the Post Office.

On March 10, 1929, Lindbergh undertook an inaugural flight from Brownsville, Texas , to Mexico City via [Tampico], piloting a Ford Trimotor aircraft carrying U.S. mail. A number of mailbags went missing during this flight, becoming known in philatelic circles as the “Lost Mail Flight” covers. The historic flight garnered significant press attention and marked the commencement of expanded airmail service between the United States and Mexico.

Personal life

American family

In his autobiography, Lindbergh expressed disdain for pilots he characterized as womanizing “barnstormers” and criticized Army cadets for their “facile” approach to relationships. He articulated an ideal of romance as stable and long-term, valuing a partner with keen intellect, robust health, and strong genetic heritage, stating, “my experience in breeding animals on our farm [having taught me] the importance of good heredity.”

Anne Morrow Lindbergh was the daughter of Dwight Morrow , a partner at J.P. Morgan & Co. , who had served as Lindbergh’s financial advisor and as the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in 1927. Lindbergh met Anne in Mexico City in December 1927 during a goodwill tour, an invitation extended by Morrow, who was accompanied by humorist and actor Will Rogers .

The couple married on May 27, 1929, at the Morrow estate in Englewood, New Jersey . They resided in New Jersey after their marriage before relocating to the western part of the state. They had six children: Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. (1930–1932), who was tragically kidnapped and murdered as an infant; Jon Morrow Lindbergh (1932–2021); Land Morrow Lindbergh (born 1937), who studied anthropology at Stanford University ; Anne Lindbergh (1940–1993); Scott Lindbergh (born 1942); and Reeve Lindbergh (born 1945), who became a writer. Lindbergh taught Anne to fly, and she actively participated in his explorations and air route charting.

Lindbergh’s interaction with his children was limited, as he saw them for only a few months each year. He meticulously tracked each child’s infractions, including minor ones like gum-chewing, and required Anne to document all household expenses.

Lindbergh’s grandson, aviator Erik Lindbergh , has been significantly involved in the private spaceflight and electric aircraft industries.

Glider hobby

In March 1930, Lindbergh and his wife visited the Monterey Peninsula to pursue advancements in glider design and utilization. They stayed at Del Monte Lodge in Pebble Beach, seeking suitable locations for glider launches. Lindbergh frequented the Palo Corona Ranch in Carmel Valley, California , where he soared a glider from a ridge for 10 minutes, covering 3 miles before landing below the Highlands Inn . Other flights extended to 70 minutes. In 1930, Anne Morrow Lindbergh became the first woman to receive a U.S. glider pilot license.

Kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr.

• Main article: Lindbergh kidnapping

1932 missing person poster for Lindbergh’s son.

Lindbergh testifying at the Richard Hauptmann trial in 1935. Hauptmann is shown in half-profile to the right.

On the evening of March 1, 1932, twenty-month-old Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. was abducted from the nursery of the Lindberghs’ rural residence, Highfields , in East Amwell, New Jersey , near Hopewell . A man claiming to be the kidnapper collected a $50,000 ransom on April 2. A portion of the ransom was paid in gold certificates , which were soon to be withdrawn from circulation, and their serial numbers were recorded. On May 12, the child’s remains were discovered in woodland not far from the Lindbergh home.

The case was widely publicized as the “Crime of the Century ” and was described by H. L. Mencken as “the biggest story since the Resurrection .” In response to the abduction, Congress passed the “Lindbergh Law” , which criminalized kidnapping as a federal offense if the victim was transported across state lines or if interstate commerce, such as the mail, was used in the commission of the crime, including ransom demands.

Richard Hauptmann , a 34-year-old German immigrant carpenter, was apprehended near his residence in the Bronx , New York, on September 19, 1934, after attempting to pay for gasoline with one of the ransom bills. Subsequently, $13,760 of the ransom money and other incriminating evidence were found in his home. Hauptmann’s trial for kidnapping, murder, and extortion commenced on January 2, 1935, in Flemington, New Jersey, amidst a media circus. He was convicted on February 13, sentenced to death, and executed at Trenton State Prison on April 3, 1936. The question of his guilt remains contested.

In Europe (1936–1939)

Lindbergh, a deeply private individual, grew increasingly weary of the relentless public attention following the kidnapping and trial. Concerned for the safety of his second son, Jon, the family departed from Manhattan for Liverpool in the early hours of December 22, 1935, aboard the United States Lines freighter SS American Importer. They traveled under assumed names, utilizing diplomatic passports secured through the personal intervention of former U.S. Treasury Secretary Ogden L. Mills .

News of the Lindberghs’ departure for Europe did not surface until a full day later, and even after their ship’s identity became known, radiograms addressed to Lindbergh were returned marked “Addressee not aboard.” They arrived in Liverpool on December 31 and then proceeded to South Wales to stay with relatives.

[Long Barn], the Lindberghs’ rented home in England.

The family eventually rented “Long Barn ” in Sevenoaks Weald , Kent. In 1938, the family, now including their third son, Land, born in London in May 1937, relocated to Île Illiec , a small four-acre (1.6 ha) island Lindbergh purchased off the Breton coast of France.

With the exception of a brief visit to the U.S. in December 1937, the Lindberghs resided and traveled extensively throughout Europe in their personal Miles M.12 Mohawk aircraft. They returned to the U.S. in April 1939, settling in a rented seaside estate at Lloyd Neck , Long Island, New York. This return was prompted by a request from General H. H. (“Hap”) Arnold , then chief of the United States Army Air Corps , where Lindbergh held the reserve rank of colonel. His duties involved evaluating new aircraft developments, recruitment strategies, and identifying suitable locations for a new air force research institute and additional air bases. Assigned a Curtiss P-36 fighter, he toured various facilities, reporting his findings to Wilbur Wright Field . This four-month period marked Lindbergh’s first active military service since graduating from the Army’s Flight School fourteen years prior.

Scientific activities

Lindbergh’s correspondence with the Longines watch company led to the development of a watch designed to aid pilots in navigation. Introduced in 1931, the “Lindbergh Hour Angle watch” remains in production today.

In 1929, Lindbergh became an early supporter of rocket pioneer Robert H. Goddard . By facilitating Goddard’s receipt of an endowment from Daniel Guggenheim in 1930, Lindbergh enabled the expansion of Goddard’s research. Lindbergh remained a steadfast advocate for Goddard’s work throughout his life.

A Lindbergh perfusion pump, c. 1935.

In 1930, Lindbergh’s sister-in-law succumbed to a fatal heart condition. This personal tragedy spurred Lindbergh to investigate the possibility of repairing hearts through surgery. Beginning in early 1931 at the Rockefeller Institute and continuing during his time in France, Lindbergh collaborated with Nobel Prize-winning French surgeon Alexis Carrel on the perfusion of organs outside the body. While perfused organs demonstrated surprising survivability, they exhibited progressive degenerative changes within days. Lindbergh’s invention, a glass perfusion pump dubbed the “Model T” pump, is credited with enabling future advancements in cardiac surgery . Despite its initial limitations, the pump’s development was crucial. In 1938, Lindbergh and Carrel outlined the concept of an artificial heart in their book, The Culture of Organs, though the actual construction of such a device would take decades. Later, Lindbergh’s pump was further refined by others, ultimately contributing to the development of the first heart-lung machine .

Pre-war activities and politics

Overseas visits

In July 1936, shortly before the commencement of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, American journalist William L. Shirer noted in his diary: “The Lindberghs are here [in Berlin], and the Nazis, led by Göring, are making a great play for them.”

This visit marked the first of several undertaken by Lindbergh between 1936 and 1938 at the request of the U.S. military establishment to assess German aviation capabilities. During this visit, the Lufthansa airline hosted a tea for the Lindberghs and invited them for a flight aboard the massive four-engine Junkers G.38 , christened Field-Marshal Von Hindenburg. Shirer, a passenger on this flight, recounted Lindbergh taking the controls and executing steep banks, which reportedly alarmed many passengers. The prevailing sentiment was that the Lindberghs were favorably impressed by the Nazi regime’s advancements. Shirer also observed Lindbergh’s reluctance to engage with foreign correspondents, who were keen to provide visitors with insights into the Third Reich.

Hanna Reitsch demonstrated the Focke-Wulf Fw 61 helicopter to Lindbergh in 1937. Lindbergh was granted the unique opportunity to examine Germany’s latest bomber, the Junkers Ju 88 , and its frontline fighter aircraft , the Messerschmitt Bf 109 , even piloting the latter. He praised the Bf 109, stating he knew of “no other pursuit plane which combines simplicity of construction with such excellent performance characteristics.”

The accuracy of Lindbergh’s reports remains a subject of debate. However, Cole asserts that British and American officials generally considered them valuable, albeit slightly exaggerated. Arthur Krock , chief of [The New York Times]’s Washington Bureau, wrote in 1939 that Lindbergh’s foreign assessments were crucial to the modernization and efficiency of the U.S. Air Corps, defending him against critics who deemed his activities uninformed and unfair. General Henry H. Arnold , a five-star general in the U.S. Air Force, stated in his autobiography that Lindbergh provided the only truly useful information regarding Hitler’s air force until his return in 1939. Lindbergh also conducted an aviation survey in the Soviet Union in 1938.

Generalfeldmarschall Göring presenting Colonel Lindbergh with a medal on behalf of Adolf Hitler in October 1938.

In 1938, Hugh Wilson , the American ambassador to Germany, hosted a dinner for Lindbergh attended by Germany’s air chief, Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring , and prominent figures in German aviation, including Ernst Heinkel , Adolf Baeumker , and Willy Messerschmitt . At this dinner, Göring presented Lindbergh with the Commander Cross of the [Order of the German Eagle]. Lindbergh’s acceptance of this award became controversial, particularly following the Kristallnacht pogrom against Jewish people just weeks later. Lindbergh declined to return the medal, later explaining:

“It seems to me that the returning of decorations, which were given in times of peace and as a gesture of friendship, can have no constructive effect. If I were to return the German medal, it seems to me that it would be an unnecessary insult. Even if war develops between us, I can see no gain in indulging in a spitting contest before that war begins.”

Ambassador Wilson supported Lindbergh’s decision, writing to him that refusing the decoration under those circumstances would have been “a breach of good taste” and “an act offensive to a guest of the Ambassador of your country, in the house of the Ambassador.”

Lindbergh’s personal reaction to the Kristallnacht was recorded in his diary: “I do not understand these riots on the part of the Germans,” he wrote. “It seems so contrary to their sense of order and intelligence. They have undoubtedly had a difficult ‘Jewish problem ’, but why is it necessary to handle it so unreasonably?”

Lindbergh had planned to spend the winter of 1938–39 in Berlin. He had tentatively secured a house in Wannsee , but German acquaintances advised against it due to its previous ownership by Jewish individuals. Albert Speer then offered to build the Lindberghs a house anywhere they desired. However, on the advice of his close friend Alexis Carrel , Lindbergh canceled the trip.

Isolationism and America First Committee

In 1938, the U.S. Air Attaché in Berlin invited Lindbergh to assess the growing power of Nazi Germany’s Air Force . Impressed by German technological advancements and the perceived scale of their aircraft production, and influenced by the staggering casualty figures from World War I , Lindbergh advocated against U.S. involvement in the escalating European conflict. In September 1938, he informed the French cabinet that the Luftwaffe possessed 8,000 aircraft and could produce 1,500 monthly. Although this figure was seven times the actual number determined by the Deuxième Bureau , it contributed to France’s policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany through the Munich Agreement . At the urging of U.S. Ambassador Joseph Kennedy , Lindbergh drafted a confidential memo to the British warning that a military response to Hitler’s violation of the Munich Agreement would be catastrophic, citing France’s military weakness and Britain’s over-reliance on its navy. He strongly recommended that they bolster their air power to redirect Hitler’s aggression towards “Asiatic Communism ”.

Following Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia and Poland, Lindbergh opposed providing aid to threatened nations, arguing that “repealing the arms embargo would not assist democracy in Europe” and questioning the logic of neutrality if the intention was to aid one side in overcoming the other. He equated assistance with war profiteering, stating, “To those who argue that we could make a profit and build up our own industry by selling munitions abroad, I reply that we in America have not yet reached a point where we wish to capitalize on the destruction and death of war.”

In August 1939, Albert Einstein , whom Lindbergh had met years earlier in New York, proposed that Lindbergh deliver the Einstein–Szilárd letter to President Roosevelt, alerting him to the potential of nuclear fission . However, Lindbergh did not respond to either Einstein’s or Leo Szilard ’s subsequent letters. Two days later, Lindbergh delivered a nationwide radio address advocating for isolationism and expressing what were perceived as pro-German sentiments and antisemitic insinuations regarding Jewish control of the media, stating, “If our people know the truth, our country is not likely to enter the war.” Following this speech, Szilard remarked to Einstein, “Lindbergh is not our man.”

In October 1939, after the outbreak of hostilities between Britain and Germany, and a month after Canada declared war on Germany , Lindbergh delivered another nationwide radio address criticizing Canada for drawing the Western Hemisphere into a European conflict based on loyalty to the British Crown rather than the independence of the Americas . Lindbergh further asserted that the entire continent and its surrounding islands should be free from the “dictates of European powers.”

In November 1939, Lindbergh published a controversial article in Reader’s Digest that, while deploring the war, argued for a German assault on the Soviet Union . Lindbergh wrote, “Our civilization depends on peace among Western nations… and therefore on united strength, for Peace is a virgin who dare not show her face without Strength, her father, for protection.”

In late 1940, Lindbergh became the spokesperson for the isolationist America First Committee . He addressed packed audiences at Madison Square Garden and Chicago’s Soldier Field , with millions listening via radio. He emphatically argued that America should not engage in conflict with Germany. Lindbergh later articulated his rationale in writings published posthumously: “I was deeply concerned that the potentially gigantic power of America, guided by uninformed and impractical idealism, might crusade into Europe to destroy Hitler without realizing that Hitler’s destruction would lay Europe open to the rape, loot and barbarism of Soviet Russia ’s forces, causing possibly the fatal wounding of Western civilization.”

Lindbergh speaking at an AFC rally.

In April 1941, Lindbergh testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs , opposing the Lend-Lease bill and proposing that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Germany. President Franklin Roosevelt publicly denounced Lindbergh’s views as those of a “defeatist and appeaser,” drawing a parallel to U.S. Rep. Clement L. Vallandigham , a leader of the “Copperhead” movement during the American Civil War . Consequently, Lindbergh resigned his colonel’s commission in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve on April 28, 1941, citing “no honorable alternative” given Roosevelt’s public questioning of his loyalty. The New York Times reported his resignation prominently on its front page the following day.

On September 11, 1941, Lindbergh delivered a speech at the Des Moines Coliseum for an America First rally, accusing three groups – the British, Jewish Americans, and the Roosevelt Administration – of “pressing this country toward war.” He contended that the British were employing propaganda to secure American aid due to their inability to defeat Nazi Germany, and that President Roosevelt’s administration sought to leverage the war to consolidate power. The speech included specific accusations against American Jews regarding their alleged influence over government and news media , despite Jewish Americans comprising less than 3% of newspaper publishers and being a minority within foreign policy bureaucracies. Lindbergh’s remarks employed recognizable antisemitic tropes and were met with widespread criticism from newspapers, politicians, and clergy across the nation, who condemned America First and Lindbergh for his antisemitism.

Antisemitism and views on race

• • This article is part of a series on Eugenics .

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Organizations Without significant post-war activity • ABCL • Alberta Eugenics Board • AASPIM • AES • Carnegie Institution for Science • Carrel Foundation • CSHL • Co-operative Women’s Guild • EBNC • ERO • Fabian Society • Galton Laboratory • German Society for Racial Hygiene • Gobineau Association • Heredity Commission • HBF • Human Betterment League • Immigration Restriction League • INED • IAAEE • International Eugenics Conference • IFEO • Kaiser Wilhelm Institute • Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry • PAA • Progressive League • Race Betterment Foundation • RHA • Rockefeller Foundation • State Institute for Racial Biology

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Related • Demographic engineering • Dysgenics • Fujimorism • Genetic discrimination • History of eugenics • Idiocracy • Pedigree chart • Political views of Bertrand Russell • Political views of H. G. Wells • Raymond Cattell bibliography • Ronald Fisher bibliography • Selective breeding

• History of Science portal • • v • t • e

Lindbergh’s speeches and writings reflected his espousal of views on race, religion, and eugenics that bore similarities to those held by German Nazis , leading to suspicions of Nazi sympathy. However, in a September 1941 speech, Lindbergh stated, “no person with a sense of the dignity of mankind can condone the persecution of the Jewish race in Germany.” Interventionist pamphlets highlighted the praise his efforts received in Nazi Germany , quoting him as saying, “Racial strength is vital; politics, a luxury.” President Roosevelt expressed a strong dislike for Lindbergh’s opposition to his administration’s interventionist policies, confiding in Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau that he was “absolutely convinced Lindbergh is a Nazi.” In 1941, Roosevelt wrote to Secretary of War Henry Stimson , comparing Lindbergh’s speech to the rhetoric of Joseph Goebbels and lamenting Lindbergh’s apparent abandonment of democratic principles in favor of perceived Nazi efficiency. Shortly after the war’s conclusion, Lindbergh toured a Nazi concentration camp , reflecting in his diary: “Here was a place where men and life and death had reached the lowest form of degradation. How could any reward in national progress even faintly justify the establishment and operation of such a place?”

In a speech on October 12, 1939, Lindbergh stated, “Our bond with Europe is a bond of race and not of political ideology. We had to fight a European army to establish democracy in this country. It is the European race we must preserve; political progress will follow. Racial strength is vital; politics, a luxury. If the white race is ever seriously threatened, it may then be time for us to take our part in its protection, to fight side by side with the English, French, and Germans, but not with one against the other for our mutual destruction.”

Critics have suggested that Lindbergh was influenced by the German philosopher Oswald Spengler , a conservative authoritarian popular during the interwar period . In a 1935 interview, Lindbergh stated, “There is no escaping the fact that men were definitely not created equal…”

Lindbergh developed a significant friendship with automobile pioneer Henry Ford , known for his antisemitic publication, The Dearborn Independent . In a notable comment made to Detroit’s former FBI field office special agent in charge in July 1940, Ford stated, “When Charles comes out here, we only talk about the Jews.”

Lindbergh viewed Russia as a “semi-Asiatic” nation in contrast to Germany and believed that Communism posed a threat to the West’s “racial strength,” potentially leading to the displacement of European populations by “a pressing sea of Yellow, Black, and Brown.” He expressed a preference for an alliance with Nazi Germany over Soviet Russia if forced to choose, provided that Soviet Communism was defeated. He favored Nordics but believed Russia could become a valuable ally against potential aggression from East Asia after its communist influence was eliminated.

In a 1939 article for Reader’s Digest, Lindbergh elaborated on his views regarding the white race : “We can have peace and security only so long as we band together to preserve that most priceless possession, our inheritance of European blood, only so long as we guard ourselves against attack by foreign armies and dilution by foreign races.”

Lindbergh observed that certain races had “demonstrated superior ability in the design, manufacture, and operation of machines,” and that “The growth of our western civilization has been closely related to this superiority.” He admired “the German genius for science and organization, the English genius for government and commerce, the French genius for living and the understanding of life,” believing that these qualities could be blended in America to create “the greatest genius of all.”

In his book The American Axis, Holocaust researcher and investigative journalist Max Wallace concurred with President Roosevelt’s assessment of Lindbergh as “pro-Nazi.” However, Wallace found no evidence to substantiate the Roosevelt administration’s accusations of dual loyalty or treason. Wallace characterized Lindbergh as a well-intentioned but misguided and bigoted Nazi sympathizer whose leadership of the isolationist movement had a detrimental impact on Jewish people .

Alongside the controversial Catholic radio priest Charles Coughlin , Lindbergh served as the lead spokesperson for the America First Committee .

Lindbergh’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, A. Scott Berg , suggested that Lindbergh was less a supporter of the Nazi regime than an individual whose stubborn convictions and political inexperience made him susceptible to being portrayed as such by his rivals. Lindbergh’s acceptance of the Order of the German Eagle , presented in October 1938 by Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring on behalf of Führer Adolf Hitler , was approved by the American embassy without objection. Lindbergh returned to the United States in early 1939 to promote his message of nonintervention . Berg argued that Lindbergh’s views were common in the United States during the interwar era , and his support for the America First Committee reflected the sentiments of a significant portion of the American populace.

Berg also noted:

“As late as April 1939—after Germany overtook Czechoslovakia —Lindbergh was willing to make excuses for Adolf Hitler . ‘Much as I disapprove of many things Hitler had done’, he wrote in his diary on April 2, 1939, ‘I believe she [Germany] has pursued the only consistent policy in Europe in recent years. I cannot support her broken promises, but she has only moved a little faster than other nations … in breaking promises. The question of right and wrong is one thing by law and another thing by history.’”

Berg further explained that leading up to the war, Lindbergh believed the primary conflict would be between the Soviet Union and Germany, rather than between fascism and democracy.

Lindbergh consistently advocated for military strength and preparedness. He believed that a robust defensive military would render America an impenetrable fortress, safeguarding the Western Hemisphere from foreign aggression, and that this should be the sole objective of the U.S. military.

While the attack on Pearl Harbor came as a shock to Lindbergh, he had previously predicted that America’s “wavering policy in the Philippines ” would precipitate a brutal conflict there. In one speech, he warned, “we should either fortify these islands adequately, or get out of them entirely.”

World War II

Lindbergh with Marine Corps aces Joe Foss and Marion Carl in May 1944.

In January 1942, Lindbergh met with Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson , seeking to be recommissioned in the Army Air Forces. Stimson strongly opposed this due to Lindbergh’s history of public statements. Blocked from active military service, Lindbergh offered his consulting services to several aviation companies. As a technical advisor for Ford in 1942, he was instrumental in resolving early production issues with the Willow Run Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber plant. Following improvements in B-24 production, he joined United Aircraft in 1943 as an engineering consultant, dedicating most of his time to its Chance-Vought Division .

Lindbergh with ace Thomas McGuire on Biak Island in 1944. The aircraft is a P-38 Lightning .

In 1944, Lindbergh persuaded United Aircraft to send him as a technical representative to the Pacific Theater to study aircraft performance under combat conditions. In preparation for his deployment, Lindbergh acquired a naval officer’s uniform without insignia from Brooks Brothers and purchased a New Testament from Brentano’s bookstore in New York, noting in his wartime journal entry for April 3, 1944: “Purchased a small New Testament at Brentano’s. Since I can only carry one book—and a very small one—that is my choice. It would not have been a decade ago; but the more I learn and the more I read, the less competition it has.” He demonstrated to United States Marine Corps Aviation pilots how to safely take off with a bomb load double the rated capacity of the Vought F4U Corsair fighter-bomber. At the time, several Marine squadrons were engaged in bomber escort missions targeting the Japanese stronghold of Rabaul on New Britain , part of the Australian Territory of New Guinea . On May 21, 1944, Lindbergh flew his first combat mission, a strafing run with VMF-222 near the Japanese garrison at Rabaul. He also flew with VMF-216 from the Marine Air Base at Torokina , Bougainville Island . Lieutenant Robert E. (Lefty) McDonough, who escorted Lindbergh on one of these missions, reportedly refused to fly with him again, stating he did not wish to be known as “the guy who killed Lindbergh.”

Lindbergh with a P-38J Lightning in 1944.

During his six-month tour in the Pacific in 1944, Lindbergh participated in 50 combat missions as a civilian, flying in fighter bomber raids against Japanese positions. His innovative techniques in utilizing Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters impressed General Douglas MacArthur , who was supportive of his contributions. Lindbergh introduced engine-leaning techniques to P-38 pilots, significantly improving fuel efficiency at cruise speeds and extending the range of the fighter aircraft. P-38 pilot Warren Lewis quoted Lindbergh’s fuel-saving settings: “He said, ‘…we can cut the RPM down to 1400 RPMs and use 30 inches of mercury (manifold pressure), and save 50–100 gallons of fuel on a mission.’” Marine and Army Air Force pilots who served alongside Lindbergh praised his courage and defended his patriotism.

On July 28, 1944, during a bomber escort mission in a P-38 with the 433rd Fighter Squadron in the Ceram area, Lindbergh shot down a Mitsubishi Ki-51 “Sonia” observation plane piloted by Captain Saburo Shimada, commander of the 73rd Independent Chutai. Lindbergh’s combat participation was revealed in a story published in the Passaic Herald-News on October 22, 1944.

In mid-October 1944, Lindbergh attended a joint Army-Navy conference on fighter aircraft at NAS Patuxent River , Maryland.

Later life

Air Force Secretary [Harold Talbott] swears Lindbergh in as a U.S. Air Force Reserve brigadier general in April 1954, following President [Dwight Eisenhower]’s nomination.

1954 Air Force identification card, with Lindbergh in uniform.

Following World War II, Lindbergh resided in Darien, Connecticut , and served as a consultant to the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force and Pan American World Airways . With much of Eastern Europe under communist control, Lindbergh continued to express concerns about Soviet power, observing: “Freedom of speech and action is suppressed over a large portion of the world…Poland is not free, nor the Baltic states , nor the Balkans. Fear, hatred, and mistrust are breeding.” Lindbergh contended that Soviet and communist influence in the post-war world meant that despite American military victory, the nation had not achieved its war objectives, declaring: “We have not established peace or liberty in Europe.”

Reflecting on the post-war global landscape, Lindbergh stated that “a whole civilization is in disintegration” and believed America had a duty to support Europe against communism. He argued that because the United States had “taken a leading part” in World War II, it could not “retire now and leave Europe to the destructive forces” unleashed by the conflict. While maintaining his conviction in the correctness of his pre-war non-interventionist stance, Lindbergh asserted that the United States now bore a responsibility to support Europe out of “honor, self-respect, and our own national interests.” Furthermore, Lindbergh wrote that “we could not let atrocities such as those of the concentration camps go unpunished,” and strongly supported the Nuremberg trials .

After the war, Lindbergh toured Germany, covering “almost two thousand miles during his last two weeks” in the country. He also visited Paris and participated in conferences with military personnel and the American Ambassador. While in Germany in June 1945, he toured the Dora concentration camp , inspecting the Nordhausen tunnels and examining components of the V-1 and V-2 rocket . He sought to reconcile the advanced technology he witnessed with the “forces of evil” that had harnessed it. Reflecting on the atrocities committed in the camps, Lindbergh wrote in his wartime journal: “it seemed impossible that men—civilized men—could degenerate to such a level. Yet they had.”

In a subsequent journal entry, he also lamented the mistreatment of Japanese people by Americans and other Allied forces during the war, drawing parallels between these “incidents” and German actions. As David Boocker noted in 2009, Lindbergh returned from this two-month European journey “more alarmed about the state of the world than ever,” yet acknowledged that “the American public no longer gave a hoot for his opinions.” Drawing lessons from the war, Lindbergh concluded: “No peace will last that is not based on Christian principles, on justice, on compassion…on a sense of the dignity of man. Without such principles there can be no lasting strength…The Germans found that out.”

Shortly after returning to America, Lindbergh visited his mother in Detroit. During the train journey home, he wrote a letter expressing a newfound “spiritual awareness,” emphasizing the importance of spending time in nature, appreciating sunlight, and listening to birdsong. This letter, as noted by Berg, “revealed a changed man.” As time progressed, Lindbergh’s outlook became increasingly spiritual, and he grew concerned about the impact of science and technology on the world. In 1948, his book Of Flight and Life was published, described as an “impassioned warning against the dangers of scientific materialism and the powers of technology.” He recounted his experiences as a combat pilot in the Pacific theater and declared his transition from a devotee of science to a worshiper of the “eternal truths of God,” expressing apprehension for humanity’s future. In 1949, he received the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy and stated in his acceptance speech: “If we are to be finally successful, we must measure scientific accomplishments by their effect on man himself.”

Lindbergh and his wife, Anne, with President John F. Kennedy at the White House in May 1962.

On April 7, 1954, following President [Dwight D. Eisenhower]’s recommendation, Lindbergh was commissioned a brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve . Eisenhower had nominated Lindbergh for promotion on February 15. In the same year, he served on a Congressional advisory panel that recommended the site for the United States Air Force Academy . He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1954 for his book, The Spirit of St. Louis, which chronicled his 1927 flight and its preceding events. In May 1962, Lindbergh visited the White House with his wife and met President [John F. Kennedy], with their photograph taken by White House photographer Robert Knudsen.

An Apollo 11 viewing pass signed by Lindbergh. He and his wife were Neil Armstrong’s personal guests at the 1969 launch.

In December 1968, Lindbergh visited the astronauts of Apollo 8 , the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon, the day before their launch. In July 1969, he and his wife attended the launch of Apollo 11 as personal guests of Neil Armstrong . Armstrong had met Lindbergh in 1968, and they corresponded until Lindbergh’s death in 1974. Lindbergh shared his perspectives during [Walter Cronkite]’s live television coverage of the first lunar landing and later wrote the foreword to Apollo astronaut [Michael Collins]’s autobiography. While maintaining his interest in technology, Lindbergh increasingly focused on environmental conservation. Following the Apollo 11 launch, he participated in a WWF -sponsored dedication of a 900-acre bird preserve.

Double life and secret German children

Beginning in 1957, Lindbergh engaged in long-term romantic relationships with three women while remaining married to Anne Morrow. He fathered three children with Brigitte Hesshaimer, a hatmaker residing in Geretsried, Bavaria. He also had two children with her sister Mariette, a painter living in Grimisuat. Additionally, Lindbergh had a son and daughter, born in 1959 and 1961 respectively, with Valeska, who served as his private secretary in Europe and lived in Baden-Baden. All seven children were born between 1958 and 1967.

Ten days prior to his death, Lindbergh wrote to each of his European mistresses, urging them to maintain strict secrecy regarding their relationships even after his passing. The three women, none of whom ever married, concealed their affairs even from their children. During Lindbergh’s lifetime and for nearly a decade after his death, these children knew him only by the alias Careu Kent and saw him only during brief annual visits.

In the mid-1980s, Astrid, Brigitte’s daughter, deduced the truth after reading a magazine article about Lindbergh. She subsequently discovered photographs and over 150 love letters from Lindbergh to her mother. Following the deaths of Brigitte and Anne Lindbergh, Astrid publicly revealed her findings. In 2003, DNA tests confirmed Lindbergh as the father of Astrid and her two siblings.

Reeve Lindbergh , Lindbergh’s youngest child with Anne, reflected in her 2003 journal: “This story reflects absolutely Byzantine layers of deception on the part of our shared father. These children did not even know who he was! He used a pseudonym with them (To protect them, perhaps? To protect himself, absolutely!)”

Environmental and tribal causes

In his later years, Lindbergh became deeply involved in conservation movements , expressing profound concern over the detrimental effects of new technologies on the natural world and indigenous peoples , particularly in regions such as Hawaii , Africa, and the Philippines . He actively campaigned for the protection of endangered species , including the humpback whale , blue whale , Philippine eagle , and the tamaraw (a rare dwarf Philippine buffalo). He was instrumental in securing protections for the Tasaday and Agta peoples, as well as various African tribes, such as the Maasai . Alongside Laurance S. Rockefeller , Lindbergh assisted in the establishment of Haleakalā National Park in Hawaii. He also contributed to efforts to protect Arctic wolves in Alaska and helped establish Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota.

In an essay published in the July 1964 issue of Reader’s Digest , Lindbergh recounted a realization he experienced in Kenya during a trip to survey land designated for a national park. He contrasted his time amidst the African landscape with his participation in a supersonic transport convention in New York. While resting “under an acacia tree ,” he recognized that the “construction of an airplane” paled in comparison to the “evolutionary achievement of a bird,” concluding, “that if I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.”

In this essay, he questioned his previous definition of “progress,” asserting that nature exhibited more genuine progress than human creations. He subsequently penned several more essays for Reader’s Digest and Life , urging readers to embrace the self-awareness derived from nature, which he termed the “wisdom of wildness,” rather than solely adhering to scientific principles. As David Boocker observed in 2009, Lindbergh’s essays, published in popular magazines, “introduced millions of people to the conservation cause ” and conveyed a significant “appeal to lead a life less complicated by technology.”

On May 14, 1971, Lindbergh was awarded the Philippine Order of the Golden Heart at a formal dinner at Malacañang Palace in Manila . He was lauded as an aviation pioneer who symbolized technological advancement and had become a symbol of the movement to protect natural life from the impacts of technology. Lindbergh actively engaged in both conservation efforts and advocacy for tribal minorities in the Philippines, frequently visiting the country to protect species such as the tamaraw and the Philippine eagle, which he described as a “magnificent bird.” Legislation was enacted bearing his name to prohibit the killing or trapping of this species.

In August 1971, in Davao City , he ceremonially received a young Philippine eagle that had been kept in captivity after its mother was killed by a hunter. Lindbergh delayed his return to the United States to participate in the presentation. Arturo Garcia, a Davao movie theater manager, had purchased the bird in March 1970 following the hunting incident and constructed a large enclosure for it. Lindbergh entered the cage with Jesus Alvarez, director of the Philippines Park and Wildlife Commission, accepted the eagle, and handed it over to Alvarez, remarking, “Now we have to see if the bird can go back to its natural place.” The Associated Press reported on both Lindbergh’s reception of the Order of the Golden Heart and the presentation of the eagle.

1972 Philippines expedition

Lake Sebu on Mindanao , near where Lindbergh made his 1972 trip to investigate the Tasaday people.

Lindbergh’s later speeches and writings focused on the interplay between technology and nature, emphasizing his lifelong belief that “all the achievements of mankind have value only to the extent that they preserve and improve the quality of life.” In 1972, Lindbergh embarked on an expedition with a television news crew to Mindanao , Philippines, to investigate reports of a secluded tribe. The Tasaday , an indigenous group in the Lake Sebu region, were garnering significant media attention. While both NBC Evening News and National Geographic published stories about the purported discovery of the tribe, controversy arose regarding the Tasaday’s status as truly uncontacted peoples versus their portrayal for media attention, particularly by [Manuel Elizalde Jr.], a Philippine politician who publicized the tribe. Evidence emerged suggesting they were “not completely isolated.”

Lindbergh collaborated with Elizalde to secure a “proclamation from President Ferdinand Marcos to preserve more than 46,000 acres of Tasaday country.” However, during Lindbergh’s 1972 expedition, the support helicopter for his team experienced mechanical difficulties, creating the possibility of a three-day trek through challenging jungle terrain. On April 2, The New York Times published a UPI report stating that Lindbergh’s party had “sent a radio message from the rain forests of the southern Philippines saying their food was nearly gone and they needed help.” Henry A. Byroade , U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines , requested assistance from the 31st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Clark Air Base on the island of Luzon .

U.S. Air Force Maj. Bruce Ware and his crew—co-pilot Lt. Col. Dick Smith, flight engineer SSgt Bob Baldwin, and pararescueman Airman 1st Class Kim Robinson—piloted their Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant over 600 miles (970 km) to rescue Lindbergh and his news crew on April 12, 1972. Lindbergh and the news team were stranded on a jungle ridge line at 3,000 feet (910 m). Due to the terrain, the Sikorsky “had to hover with the nose wheel on one side of the ridge, and the main wheels on the other, with the boarding steps a few feet over the ridge top.” During the operation, the helicopter required two refuelings, prompting Lindbergh to comment on his unfamiliarity with in-flight refueling, especially aboard a helicopter.

After more than twelve hours and eight trips to a nearby drop point, the mission was successfully completed, extracting all 46 stranded individuals. With Lindbergh aboard, the helicopter then flew to Mactan Air Base , Cebu, where photographers awaited. Major Ware rested in the pilot’s seat for several minutes after landing, and Lindbergh hesitated to disembark before him, acknowledging he could not have completed the arduous three-day journey back. Lindbergh and the other passengers were then transported via HC-130 to Manila. As reported by the Associated Press, Lindbergh remarked after his rescue: “We were in no danger but we were stranded and running low on food.”

Major Ware received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions, while the other Sikorsky crew members received the Air Medal . In 2021, Ware recalled receiving his medal “in less than a week,” noting that such recognition typically takes months but “when you’ve got an international hero, it kind of gains some momentum.”

Retirement in Hawaii

The Maui coastline near Lindbergh’s retirement home in Kipahulu , where he supported conservation efforts in his later years.

Lindbergh, along with early aviation industrialist and former Pan Am executive vice president Samuel F. Pryor Jr., actively participated in “efforts by the Nature Conservancy to preserve plants and wildlife in Kipahulu Valley” on the Hawaiian island of Maui . Lindbergh chose the Kipahulu Valley as his retirement location, constructing a rustic A-frame cottage there in 1971. Pryor had relocated there in 1965 with his wife, Mary, after retiring from Pan Am. Lindbergh’s choice of Maui reflected his deep appreciation for natural environments and his “lifelong commitment to the ideal of simplicity.”

Views on technology

Richard Hallion commented on Lindbergh’s profound concern regarding technology’s impact on humanity: “He recognized the narrow margin on which society trod in the unstable nuclear era, and his work after World War II confirmed his fear that humanity now had the ability to destroy in minutes what previous generations had taken centuries to create. And so Lindbergh the technologist changed to Lindbergh the philosopher, protector of the Tasaday, preaching a turn from the materialistic, mechanistic society toward a society based on ‘simplicity, humiliation, contemplation, prayer.’” In her 1988 book, Charles A. Lindbergh and the American Dilemma, Susan M. Gray observed that Lindbergh “established his ‘middle ground’ between technology and human values, embracing both, rejecting neither.”

Death

Lindbergh spent his final years on Maui in his modest seaside home. Diagnosed with cancer in 1972, he succumbed to lymphoma on the morning of August 26, 1974, at the age of 72. Following his cancer diagnosis, Lindbergh “sketched a simple design for his grave and coffin,” contributing to the design of his burial site in a “traditional Hawaiian style.” After undergoing radiation treatments, he spent several months recuperating in Maui and also spent time at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, but with limited improvement.

Upon realizing that his treatment was not yielding positive results, he opted to leave the New York hospital and returned to Kipahulu with his wife, Anne. They flew to Honolulu on August 17 and then traveled to Maui by small aircraft, passing away a week later. He was interred on the grounds of the Palapala Ho’omau Church in Kipahulu, Maui, a Congregational church established in 1864 that had fallen into disuse before being restored starting in 1964 by Samuel F. Pryor Jr. The Pryor family collaborated with the Lindbergh family to establish an endowment for the upkeep of the property. Lindbergh had actively participated in the church’s restoration with his longtime friend Pryor, and both had agreed to be buried in the small cemetery they cleared.

On the evening of August 26, President Gerald Ford paid tribute to Lindbergh, stating that the courage and daring of his Atlantic flight would never be forgotten. He described Lindbergh as a selfless and sincere individual, adding, “For a generation of Americans, and for millions of other people around the world, the ‘Lone Eagle’ represented all that was best in our country.”

Honors and tributes

Statue honoring Coli , Nungesser , and Lindbergh at Paris–Le Bourget Airport .

President Calvin Coolidge presents Lindbergh with a Hubbard Medal , 1928.

Historical marker at South Georgia Technical College .

• Lindbergh received the Silver Buffalo Award , the highest adult honor bestowed by the Boy Scouts of America , on April 10, 1928.

• On May 8, 1928, a statue was dedicated at Le Bourget Airport in Paris commemorating Lindbergh’s New York to Paris flight, as well as Charles Nungesser and François Coli, who had disappeared attempting the same feat in reverse direction aboard L’Oiseau Blanc (The White Bird).

• San Diego International Airport was named Lindbergh Field from 1928 to 2003. A replica of his aircraft is displayed above baggage claim.

• Terminal 1 at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport was named Lindbergh, honoring his Minnesota roots and aviation achievements.

• In 1933, Danish Arctic explorer Lauge Koch named the Lindbergh Range (Danish : Lindbergh Fjelde ) in Greenland after him, following aerial surveys conducted during the 1931–1934 Three-year Expedition to East Greenland .

• In St. Louis County, Missouri , a school district , high school , and highway bear his name. He is also honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame .

• In 1937, a transatlantic race was proposed to mark the tenth anniversary of Lindbergh’s flight to Paris, later modified to a similar distance but different course. See 1937 Istres–Damascus–Paris Air Race .

• He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1967.

• The Royal Air Force Museum in London issued a medal featuring his image as part of a 50-medal set titled The History of Man in Flight in 1972.

• The original Lindbergh residence in Little Falls, Minnesota, is preserved as a museum and is designated a National Historic Landmark .

• In February 2002, the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston , during celebrations for Lindbergh’s 100th birthday, established the Lindbergh-Carrel Prize. This award recognizes significant contributions to “development of perfusion and bioreactor technologies for organ preservation and growth.” M. E. DeBakey and nine other scientists received the prize, a bronze statuette named “Elisabeth” after Elisabeth Morrow, Lindbergh’s wife’s sister, who died from heart disease. Lindbergh expressed disappointment that contemporary medical technology could not provide an artificial heart pump to facilitate heart surgery for Elisabeth, an event that led to his initial contact with Carrel.

Awards and decorations

The Congressional Gold Medal presented to Lindbergh by President Herbert Hoover in 1930.

Lindbergh receiving the Harmon Trophy on December 13, 1928, at the International Civil Aeronautics Conference in Washington, D.C. He was escorted by Orville Wright , standing to Lindbergh’s left.

Lindbergh received numerous awards, medals, and decorations, the majority of which were subsequently donated to the Missouri Historical Society and are displayed at the Jefferson Memorial, now part of the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park , St. Louis, Missouri .

United States government

• Medal of Honor (December 14, 1927) • Distinguished Flying Cross (June 11, 1927) • Langley Gold Medal from the Smithsonian Institution (1927) • Congressional Gold Medal (Approved May 4, 1928, presented August 15, 1930)

Other U.S. awards

• Orteig Prize (1927) • Harmon Trophy (1927) • Hubbard Medal (1927) • Honorary Scout (Boy Scouts of America , 1927) • New York State Medal for Valor (June 13, 1927) • Silver Buffalo Award (Boy Scouts of America, 1928) • Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy (1949) • Daniel Guggenheim Medal (1953) • Pulitzer Prize (1954)

Non-U.S. awards

• Commander of the Legion of Honor ([France], initial award May 23, 1927, promoted to Commandeur October 25, 1930) • Knight of the Order of Leopold ([Belgium], May 28, 1927) • Air Force Cross ([United Kingdom], May 31, 1927) • Silver Cross of Boyacá ([Colombia], January 28, 1928) • Order of the Liberator , Commander ([Venezuela], January 29, 1928) • Order of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes , Grand Cross ([Cuba], February 10, 1928) • Order of the Rising Sun , Third Class ([Japan], September 9, 1931) • Aeronautical Virtue Order ([Romania], January 13, 1933) • Order of the German Eagle with Star (Nazi Germany , October 19, 1938) • Gold Medal “Plus Ultra” ([Spain], June 1, 1927) • Order of the Golden Heart ([Philippines], May 14, 1971) • Fédération Aéronautique Internationale FAI Gold Medal (1927) • ICAO Edward Warner Award (1975) • Royal Swedish Aero Clubs Gold plaque (1927)

Medal of Honor

Lindbergh’s [Medal of Honor].

Rank and organization: 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. G.O. No.: 5, W.D., 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.

Other recognition

• 1934–1939 Trustee of the Carnegie Institution • 1965 International Aerospace Hall of Fame Inductee • 1991 Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame Inductee • Ranked No. 3 on Flying magazine’s 51 Heroes of Aviation • Member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows

Writings

In addition to “WE” and The Spirit of St. Louis, Lindbergh authored numerous works on science, technology, nationalism, war, materialism, and values. His published books include The Culture of Organs (with Dr. Alexis Carrel ) (1938), Of Flight and Life (1948), The Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh (1970), Boyhood on the Upper Mississippi (1972), and his unfinished Autobiography of Values (published posthumously in 1978).

In popular culture

Literature

Beyond numerous biographies, such as A. Scott Berg’s acclaimed 1998 bestseller Lindbergh , Lindbergh’s life and persona influenced or served as the basis for characters in various fictional works. Shortly after his famous flight, the Stratemeyer Syndicate launched the Ted Scott Flying Stories series (1927–1943) for young readers, authored under the nom de plume “Franklin W. Dixon ”. The protagonist, Ted Scott, mirrored Lindbergh, notably replicating the solo flight to Paris in the series’ inaugural volume, Over the Ocean to Paris (1927). [Agatha Christie]’s novel Murder on the Orient Express (1934) and its 1974 film adaptation Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film) commence with a fictionalized depiction of the Lindbergh kidnapping .

Several alternate history novels explore Lindbergh’s alleged Nazi sympathies and non-interventionist stance during the early years of World War II . In [Daniel Easterman]’s K is for Killing (1997), a fictional Lindbergh assumes the presidency of a fascist United States . [Philip Roth]’s novel The Plot Against America (2004) presents an alternative history where Lindbergh defeats Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1940 presidential election and aligns the United States with Nazi Germany .

[Robert Harris]’s novel Fatherland (1992) posits an alternate reality where the Nazis achieved victory in the war, the United States defeated Japan , and Adolf Hitler and President Joseph Kennedy negotiated peace terms, with Lindbergh serving as the US Ambassador to Germany . [Jo Walton]’s novel Farthing (2006) explores an alternate history where the United Kingdom made peace with Nazi Germany in 1941, Japan never attacked Pearl Harbor , preventing U.S. involvement in the war, and Lindbergh, as president, pursues closer economic ties with the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere .

In Back in the USSA by Eugene Byrne and Kim Newman (1997), Lindbergh is depicted as a member of the Revolutionary Fraternity Squadron, a group of heroic aviators undertaking propaganda tours across the USSA, portrayed as one of the more honorable members.

Film and television

• Lindbergh has been the subject of numerous documentaries, including Charles A. Lindbergh (1927), a British film by De Forest Phonofilm; 40,000 Miles with Lindbergh (1928), featuring Lindbergh himself; and The American Experience—Lindbergh: The Shocking, Turbulent Life of America’s Lone Eagle (1988).

• The 1942 MGM film Keeper of the Flame , starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy , features Hepburn as the widow of a national hero reminiscent of Lindbergh.

• In the major motion picture The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), directed by Billy Wilder , Lindbergh was portrayed by James Stewart , an admirer of Lindbergh and a World War II aviator himself. The film primarily focuses on Lindbergh’s record-breaking 1927 flight. Prior to Stewart’s casting, John Kerr declined the role due to Lindbergh’s alleged pro-Nazi sympathies.

• In 1976, [Buzz Kulik]’s television movie The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case , featuring Anthony Hopkins as Richard Hauptmann , premiered on NBC .

• Lindbergh was the subject of prolific director [Orson Welles]’s final film project in 1984, The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh , in which Welles discusses the human spirit while quoting Lindbergh’s journal. Although never intended for public release, a brief clip is featured in Vassili Slovic’s 1995 documentary Orson Welles: the One-Man Band.

• The 2020 HBO alternate history miniseries The Plot Against America , based on Philip Roth’s novel of the same name, features actor Ben Cole as a fictionalized President Lindbergh following his defeat of Roosevelt in 1940. The series depicts Lindbergh as a xenophobic populist with significant ties to Nazi Germany.

• Charles Lindbergh “Chuck” McGill , a fictional character in the television series Better Call Saul (2015–2022), was named in honor of Lindbergh.

Music

Within days of his flight, numerous popular songs celebrating Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis were published by Tin Pan Alley publishers, including “Lindbergh (The Eagle of the U.S.A.) ” by Howard Johnson and Al Sherman , and “Lucky Lindy! ” by L. Wolfe Gilbert and Abel Baer. Over the two years following Lindbergh’s flight, the U.S. Copyright Office registered three hundred applications for songs about Lindbergh. Tony Randall revived “Lucky Lindy” for his 1967 album of Jazz Age and Depression -era songs, titled Vo Vo De Oh Doe.

While the precise origin of the name “Lindy Hop” is debated, it is widely acknowledged that Lindbergh’s 1927 flight contributed to its popularization. Following “Lucky Lindy’s” transatlantic journey, the Lindy Hop became a fashionable dance, and songs referencing the “Lindbergh Hop” were quickly released.

In 1929, Bertolt Brecht wrote a cantata titled Der Lindberghflug (Lindbergh’s Flight), with music by Kurt Weill and Paul Hindemith . Due to Lindbergh’s perceived Nazi sympathies, Brecht removed all direct references to him in 1950 and renamed the work Der Ozeanflug (The Flight Across the Ocean).

In the early 1940s, Woody Guthrie composed “Lindbergh” or “Mister Charlie Lindbergh,” a song criticizing Lindbergh’s association with the America First Committee and his suspected sympathies towards Nazi Germany.

Postage stamps

•

Lindbergh’s numerous flights in the Spirit of Saint Louis were depicted on a 10¢ U.S. Air Mail stamp , issued on June 11, 1927 (C-10).

Scott C-10 and #1710 with May 20, 1977 First Day of Issue CDS.

Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis have been honored on various postage stamps worldwide over eight decades, including three issued by the United States. Less than three weeks after the flight, the U.S. Post Office Department released a 10-cent “Lindbergh Air Mail” stamp on June 11, 1927, featuring engraved illustrations of the Spirit of St. Louis and a map of its route from New York to Paris. This was the first U.S. stamp to bear the name of a living person. On May 20, 1977, the 50th anniversary of the flight from Roosevelt Field , a 13-cent commemorative stamp depicting the Spirit over the Atlantic Ocean was issued. On May 28, 1998, a 32¢ stamp titled “Lindbergh Flies Atlantic,” featuring Lindbergh and the Spirit, was issued as part of the Celebrate the Century stamp series.

Other

During World War II, Lindbergh was frequently targeted by [Dr. Seuss]’s early political cartoons, published in the New York magazine PM . Seuss criticized Lindbergh’s isolationism, antisemitism, and alleged Nazi sympathies.

The Spirit of St. Louis is featured in the opening sequence of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005).

The St. Louis-based airline GoJet Airlines uses the callsign “Lindbergh” in honor of Charles Lindbergh.

The aeronautically themed Hotel Charles Lindbergh at the German theme park Phantasialand was named after Lindbergh.

See also

• Amelia Earhart • History of aviation • List of firsts in aviation • List of Medal of Honor recipients in non-combat incidents • List of peace activists • Uncommon Friends of the 20th Century (1999 documentary)

Notes

• ^ Lindbergh fathered six children with his wife Anne Morrow, the eldest of whom, Charles Jr., was kidnapped and murdered in infancy. He also had seven other children with three different European women out of wedlock. • ^ Dates of military rank: Cadet, Army Air Corps – March 19, 1924; 2nd Lieutenant, Officer Reserve Corps (ORC) – March 14, 1925; 1st Lieutenant, ORC – December 7, 1925; Captain, ORC – July 13, 1926; Colonel, ORC – July 18, 1927 (As of 1927, Lindbergh was a member of the Missouri National Guard and assigned to the 110th Observation Squadron in St. Louis). Brigadier General, USAFR – April 7, 1954. • ^ “Always there was some new experience, always something interesting going on to make the time spent at Brooks and Kelly one of the banner years in a pilot’s life. The training is difficult and rigid, but there is none better. A cadet must be willing to forget all other interest in life when he enters the Texas flying schools and he must enter with the intention of devoting every effort and all of the energy during the next 12 months towards a single goal. But when he receives the wings at Kelly a year later, he has the satisfaction of knowing that he has graduated from one of the world’s finest flying schools.” - “WE” p. 125 • ^ Quote: So while the world’s attention was focused on Hopewell, from which the first press dispatches emanated about the kidnapping , the Democrat made sure its readers knew that the new home of Col. Charles A. Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh was in East Amwell Township, Hunterdon County. • ^ Lindbergh’s “flight to Europe” ship SS American Importer was sold to Société Maritime Anversoise, Antwerp, Belgium in February 1940 and renamed Ville de Gand. Just after midnight on August 19, 1940, the vessel was torpedoed by the German submarine U-48 about 200 miles west of Ireland while sailing from Liverpool to New York and sank with the loss of 14 crew. • ^ In 1927, the Medal of Honor could still be awarded for extraordinarily heroic non-combat actions by active or reserve service members made during peacetime , with almost all such medals being awarded to active-duty members of the United States Navy for rescuing or attempting to rescue persons from drowning. In addition to Lindbergh, Floyd Bennett and [