Navy Federal Credit Union

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 Second Lieutenant (Air Corps) Dross Ellis, U.S. Army Air Corps (Reserve), for heroism while participating in an aerial flight from Hensley Field, Texas, to Oklahoma city, Oklahoma, on 24 April 1937. When about 40 miles north of Hensley Field, flying at approximately 4,000 feet altitude, the pilot was pulled from the airplane by his parachute which had accidentally opened and his body struck the airplane’s left tail surfaces, knocking them completely off the badly damaged rudder. Lieutenant Ellis, a passenger, disregarding his own safety, and having in mind securing assistance for the pilot, whom he believed to have been seriously injured, piloted the badly damaged airplane back to Hensley Field and, at the risk of his life, landed it safely, thereby enabling him to report the accident and save the airplane from destruction. Lieutenant Ellis, serving as an observer in another airplane, then returned to the scene of the accident and located the body of the pilot who had been killed.

Awards Received