Back in Time, May 18

May 18—Charles Lindbergh made history on May 20 — 21, 1927, the day that he flew for 33 1/2 hours from Long Island, N.Y., to Paris, a distance of 3,600 miles; as a further bonus he collected $25,000 from Raymond Orteig who vowed to pay the first pilot to cross the Atlantic non-stop from the U.S. to Paris that sum in 1919. It is claimed that his aircraft was specifically built to meet the Orteig challenge.

This flight turned him into a global celebrity. He was given parades to celebrate. President Calvin Coolidge awarded him a Distinguished Flying Cross and Congress gave him a Medal of Honor; he was promoted to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve among many other honors bestowed upon him. At 25 years of age Lindbergh was the first Person of the Year for Time magazine. South Dakota was no different from the rest of the world and wanted to also honor Lindbergh and get a look at the now famous Minnesota native. Thus the stop in Sioux Falls, S.D., on August 27, 1927. Note tickets were $1.50 for a round trip on a Coach Train leaving from Mitchell at 6:10 am. and arriving in Sioux Falls 8:40 am.