Medal, Amelia Earhart, First Woman to Cross the Atlantic by Airplane

Amelia Earhart was awarded this medal in recognition of her transatlantic flight in June 1928. With that flight Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, though she was merely a passenger accompanying pilots Wilmer Stultz and Lou Gordon aboard the Fokker F.VII "Friendship."Another woman, Amy Phipps Guest, owned the "Friendship" and wanted to make the flight herself, but when her family objected she asked aviator Richard Byrd and publisher George Putnam (who later became Earhart's manager and husband) to find "the right sort of girl" for the trip. There are many possible reasons for why they selected Earhart: she slightly resembled Charles Lindbergh, she had a wholesome "All-American" personality, and, of course, she was an accomplished pilot who owned two airplanes and had logged 500 hours in the air.Although she was promised time at the controls, Earhart never flew the plane during the nearly 21-hour flight from Newfoundland, Canada to Wales. She felt like just "a sack of potatoes." Nevertheless, reporters were much more interested in her than either of the pilots who actually flew the plane. The flight brought her international attention and the opportunity to earn a living in aviation.