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 Service) John A. Macready, U.S. Army Air Service, for extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight. Lieutenant Macready, with First Lieutenant Oakley G. Kelly, departed from Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York, at 12:36 p.m. on 2 May 1923, in the Army transport airplane T-8 on a nonstop transcontinental flight. They encountered practically every hazard of flying and displayed remarkable ingenuity, skill and perseverance in overcoming the many handicaps imposed upon them by the elements and the mechanical equipment used by them. They arrived at Rockwell Field, Coronado, California, at 12:26 p.m. on 3 May 1923, thus successfully completing the first transcontinental nonstop flight in the history of aviation.