The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Colonel [then Captain] Francis T. Evans (MCSN: 0-270), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight on 13 February 1917. Lieutenant Colonel Evans successfully looped a seaplane for the first time and demonstrated recovery from spins induced by whip stalls. These maneuvers demonstrated a greater maximum performance for seaplanes than had been though possible and aided materially in the advancement of the science of aviation.