Today , Lindbergh ’ s Spirit of St . Louis is housed in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington , D . C . It is one of the museum ’ s most popular attractions . // AD MESKENS |
Aircraft . I was interested to learn that it took only 60 days to go from the finished blueprints to a completed plane . Given our backgrounds , my wife and I found that impressive .
After Lindbergh had returned to the United States , President Calvin Coolidge awarded him the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Flying Cross . Time magazine made Lindy its first ‘ Man of the Year ’. The Spirit of St . Louis was transported back to the United States in a crate on the light cruiser USS Memphis .
Lindbergh spent the next 10 months conducting promotional flights over North , Central , and South America . On its final flight , the Spirit of St . Louis went
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from Bolling Field in St . Louis to Washington , where it was donated to the Smithsonian . At that point , Lindbergh had logged 500 hours and 200 flights .
My wife and I live in Minnesota , so a visit to the Charles Lindbergh Home and Museum in Little Falls , Minnesota , is a short drive . The museum has an extensive and wide-ranging collection of memorabilia related to ‘ Lucky Lindy ’, from his early years to his post-flight activities .
The Home and Museum is located in a tranquil setting a very short distance from the Mississippi River . The museum has a theater that shows an informative 17-minute movie , Lindbergh Lands in Paris , in
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a comfortable setting . Cathy and I were intrigued to see his University of Wisconsin Reserve Officer Training Corp ( ROTC ) uniform held in a display case . A plaque next to the uniform recites , “ I spent every minute I could steal from my studies in the shooting gallery and on the range ,” so we know one of the pastimes he enjoyed .
Having played baseball throughout my youth , I enjoyed seeing the glove he used . In his day , the fingers were much wider and the web , such as it is , not nearly as large as it then became . A photo of the Orteig Prize $ 25,000 check is certainly eye-catching .
In what Cathy and I found to be a great touch , a floor in one section
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