Distinguished Flying Cross Memorial Highway

In April 2024, Arkansas became the first state to designate a section of highway as the Distinguished Flying Cross Memorial Highway. The highway honors military personnel who have been awarded the prestigious medal, which was established in 1926 and first awarded to United States Army Air Corps Reserve captain Charles Lindbergh in 1927. The medal is awarded to any enlisted person or officer demonstrating heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in flight.

While driving across Arkansas, Gravel Ridge (Pulaski County) resident Becky Hartley noticed signs marking stretches of highway honoring Purple Heart recipients and Gold Star families. As the widow of a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) recipient and a member of the Arkansas Ira C. Eaker chapter of the national Distinguished Flying Cross Society, she wondered why DFC recipients were not similarly honored.

Hartley organized an effort to honor the recipients, convincing the city councils of Jacksonville (Pulaski County) and Sherwood (Pulaski County) to support the effort. Both councils approved the proposal in early 2024. In April of that year, the Arkansas Highway Department approved the placement of signs on an approximately six-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 67/167 in Pulaski County. During the summer, signs reading “Distinguished Flying Cross Memorial Highway” were installed by the state highway department near Exit 11 South in Jacksonville and Exit 5 North in Sherwood. The highway was the first such designated highway in the United States.

For additional information:
Distinguished Flying Cross Society. https://www.dfcsociety.org/ (accessed December 19, 2024).

Smith, Jeffrey. “Hwy. 67 Signs Honor Top Flight Heroes.” The Leader, August 7, 2024, p. 6.

Mike Polston
CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas