American Minute - May 20 - Charles A. Lindbergh & "The Spirit of St. Louis"

American Minute
with Bill Federer

MAY 20, 1927, at 7:52am, one of the greatest feats in aviation began as 25-year-old Charles A. Lindbergh left Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, in his silver monoplane named "The Spirit of St. Louis."

Thirty-three and a half hours later he landed in Paris, completing the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Lindbergh was decorated by the president of France, the King of England and President Calvin Coolidge.

The son of a Congressman, Charles Lindbergh was a test pilot for a St. Louis firm, performed feats of barnstorming and became an Air Service Reserve cadet, flying mail routes to Chicago.

At the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences, February 1, 1954, Charles Lindbergh stated:

"It was not the outer granduer of the Roman but the inner simplicity of the Christian that lived through the ages."

On the Bicentennial of Air and Space Flight, February 7, 1983, President Ronald Reagan said:

"We Americans have always been at our best when we've faced challenge... Whether...Daniel Boone or Charles Lindbergh...I've always believed that mankind is capable of greatness...But it depends on us.

God gave angels wings. He gave mankind dreams. And with His help, there's no limit to what can be accomplished."