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) Harold L. Neely, U.S. Army Air Corps, for heroism displayed near Hills City, Kansas, while participating in an aerial flight from Lowry Field, Denver, Colorado, to Chanute Field, Rantoul, Illinois, on 18 December 1939. When both engines of a large Army airplane failed during a severe dust storm as the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 11,000 feet Lieutenant Neely, the pilot, signaled to the three passengers aboard to jump and observed two of them descend by parachutes, but due to the construction of the airplane was unable to determine whether the third passenger had cleared the disabled craft. Convinced that if he too abandoned the ship anyone remaining aboard might ride to his death, Lieutenant Neely, with complete disregard for his personal safety, decided to make a forced landing, and flying blindly through the surging dust storm finally brought the airplane down in a crash landing, whereupon he discovered that all the passengers had abandoned the ship before it reached the ground. The courage and willingness to sacrifice himself to protect the safety of others displayed by Lieutenant Neely on this occasion reflect great credit upon himself and the military service.