Presidio of San Francisco in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Daring Pilots, Youthful Heroes
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 8, 2014
1. Daring Pilots, Youthful Heroes Marker
The 91st Observation Squadron
Crissy Field was home to many daring pilots who made their mark on aviation history. Among these famous flyers were Major Dana H. Crissy, who died in a crash attempting to fly to the East Coast from here, and Major Hap Arnold, who later led U. S. Army Air Forces during World War II. In 1924, Lieutenant Russell L. Maughan flew from the East Coast to Crissy Field in one day from "dawn to dusk,” and Lieutenant Lowell H. Smith landed here after flying around the world.
Behind the Flight Line
Officers and their families were housed on the bluff by the Golden Gate. Enlisted men lived in the three-story barracks behind you. The mothers, wives and children of the aviators were authorized to go aloft on special occasions to “eliminate worry” about the risks their daring men were taking. Their happy expressions suggest the strategy worked.
Lieutenant Lowell H. Smith landed his aircraft at Crissy Field when he completed the first round-the-world flight in 1924.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • War, World II.
Location. 37° 48.216′ N, 122° 27.984′ W. Marker is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County
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Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Crissy Field Transformed (approx. 0.2 miles away); Aviation Firsts: Crissy Army Airfield (approx. 0.2 miles away); Braving Wind and Waves (approx. 0.2 miles away); Military Intelligence Service Language School (approx. ¼ mile away); U.S.S. Oregon Marine Corps Memorial (approx. ¼ mile away); The Last Word in Airfields (approx. 0.3 miles away); San Francisco National Cemetery (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Francisco.
Also see . . .
1. Major Dana Crissy. In the early 1900s, Presidio coast artilleryman Dana H. Crissy was full of ambition and fascinated by the new invention of human flight. Crissy's dream was to fly airplanes, and in doing so, prove to the world that air travel advancements made it an effective, reliable, and safe mode of transportation. By 1917, he was pursuing his dream when he transferred to the Aviation Section
2. Marker detail: Major Dana Crissy
The airfield’s namesake, Major Dana Crissy, commander of Mather Field in Sacramento, crashed while attempting a transcontinental flight that left here in 1919. The airfield was named in his honor in 1921.
2. Lowell H. Smith, Colonel, United States Army. Arlington Cemetery website entry:
Lowell H. Smith (1892—1945) was a pioneer American airman, who performed the first mid-air refueling, setting an endurance record of 37 hours on a De Havilland DH-4B (August 23, 1923). Smith, as the First Lieutenant, with mechanic Leslie P. Arnold, was also abroad the "Chicago" airplane, which among two others made the first aerial circumnavigation in 1924. Smith held 16 records for military aircraft in speed, endurance and distance. (Submitted on March 17, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. Marker detail: Target sleeve
Air Corps members show off a target sleeve after a practice mission with antiaircraft gunners.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 8, 2014
4. Daring Pilots, Youthful Heroes Marker (wide view looking north across Crissy Field)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 8, 2014
5. NOAA Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary & Golden Gate Bridge (view from marker)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 16, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 201 times since then and 7 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 16, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2, 3. submitted on March 17, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 4, 5. submitted on March 16, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
