The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Cornelius Walter Cousland, U.S. Army Air Corps, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight while piloting a Douglas amphibian over the Panama Canal Zone, on 31 May 1934. When about 100 yards from the edge of Gatun Lake, at an altitude of approximately 1,400 feet, mechanical failure caused a portion of the right motor to penetrate the pilot’s cockpit with such force that the copilot was fatally injured and fell across Lieutenant Cousland and the controls. The plane started to spin but Lieutenant Cousland, disregarding his own serious injuries from flying glass, ordered his passengers to retain their seats and by his courage, presence of mind, and complete mastery of the art of piloting, maneuvered the disabled aircraft to a safe landing on the surface of the stump-studded lake.